From price shocks to maternity care: PhD students quizzed in Curious Festival of Knowledge
The Curious Festival of Knowledge will see PhD students put through their paces as they explain their thesis ideas to members of the public
From maternity care to energy pricing reform - PhD students are to be put through their paces by members of the public.
Four academics will pitch their research projects on major societal issues to an audience in order to gain real-life feedback on their work.
It is hoped the sessions will give feedback on policy responses to complex real world problems.
Professor Graeme Nixon, Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) Director, said: “An event like this is a great opportunity to show what can be done when our students’ cutting-edge social research comes into contact with the real-world problems that inform the research.
“Having a live and interactive audience there to contribute is really vital because ultimately, if research is to have a benefit to society by informing the work of government and other institutions it needs to be shaped by the people it will impact.”
As part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s free Curious Festival of Knowledge, four students from the SSGSSS will present their policies.
The students will then field questions from the audience on each of their proposals in a unique event that offers real-time feedback on policy issues.
Professor Martin Hendry, RSE Vice President of Public Engagement, said: "It is a superb addition to this year’s Curious festival to have the SGSSS represented so well.
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“This is a perfect shop window of the kinds of research and thinking that goes into making policy at the national level, and events like this can only help inform and shape what are nuanced policy responses to complex problems.”
Julie Salama is doing her PhD on disability and accessibility in sustainable transport, exploring how transport planning and future mobility systems can better reflect the diverse experiences and needs of the people who use them.
She said: “The transition to low-carbon transport is an opportunity, not only to rethink how we travel, but to also ensure that the systems we build are genuinely equitable and accessible to the people who rely on them.
“Taking part in the RSE Curious Festival gives me the opportunity to bring research on hidden disability and transport accessibility into wider public discussion, while also hearing directly from the people these decisions ultimately affect.”
Clare Jouanny is doing her PhD research into pelvic conditions.
She said: "My research so far has been mainly online with primary healthcare professionals, so I am keen to find out what the public think in real life.
“Their reactions will be valuable to help me shape the next stage of research when I am planning to do a pilot study in GP practices in Scotland."
Rinaldi Rinaldi is examining energy pricing reform and how this might be done to protect customers during major shocks.
He said: “This event gives me a valuable opportunity to hear how members of the public respond to the real-life trade-offs behind energy prices and subsidies, which can help make my research more relevant to the people affected by these policies.”
Cheyne Wooderson is bringing the human factor to operations management through her research exploring how maternity quality-care frameworks are implemented in practice.
She said: "I came into this research because I care about how women are treated during birth, not just whether they survive it.
“Getting to pitch that directly to the public, and let them vote on it, feels like the whole point of doing research like this in the first place."
The event takes place on Tuesday, September 8 at 6pm at the RSE building on George Street in Edinburgh.
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