The UNBC Public Scholarship Lead, Dr. Fiona MacDonald, is hosting a workshop to learn how to contribute to The Conversation. UNBC is an institutional member of The Conversation and the workshop will be facilitated by Deputy Editor, Lee-Anne Goodman. Lee-Anne is flying in for this special event. 

This platform empowers the academic and research community to contribute editorial-style news regarding a wide array of topics for dissemination to the broader public. The Conversation has extensive web and communications platforms, and the pieces they publish are often picked up by traditional media outlets across North America and around the world. Coverage can also lead to more in-depth reporting or interview requests on topical issues as well as a real impact on public policy decisions. Dr. MacDonald has published several pieces with The Conversation, including this piece on an increasingly polarized society. Several other UNBC faculty members have published with The Conversation as well including this piece from Canada Research Chair, Brian Menounos.

The workshop will take place on September 26 from 10:00am-11:30am in room 10-4588 in the Teaching & Learning Building. The session is designed for UNBC faculty members who are interested in contributing to The Conversation and will include information about the editorial process, why this work is important, how work is shared and distributed, developing ideas into great content, and more. The session will also be a superb opportunity for newer faculty members to gather and meet your colleagues. You may also bring a graduate student as a potential co-author as indicated on the RSVP form. While only PhD candidates and faculty members can solo author for The Conversation graduate students at all levels can co-author with faculty and the workshop offers valuable training on how to write public-facing accessible pieces. 

Participating in public outreach such as through The Conversation offers the academic community several benefits, including widespread dissemination of your research and a measurable knowledge dissemination tactic that is very useful for grant applications. It also helps share UNBC’s valuable voice to issues that are having an impact on the global audience. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and look forward to continued collaboration with UNBC’s research community.

Please RSVP through the link below at your earliest convenience. Space is limited and we will be offering light refreshments.