University of Salford, 2022/23 Engagement Report
The University of Salford has a long history of public and community engagement, working with local, regional and national partners to create extraordinary experiences. We are a University that engages with society to bring positive benefits for all. We work in partnership with the people of Salford, Greater Manchester and the global community to educate, inspire, empower and transform lives.
Engagement sits at the heart of this work and this report shows a snapshot of this activity through data collected from all areas of the University relating to engagement activities and events that involved an exchange of knowledge that took place between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023.
Events ranged from community workshops to public lectures, as well as performances, exhibitions and installations. Online engagement also contributed, with interviews, media articles and podcasts, published with experts from our academic community.
This report aims to highlight and celebrate some of the activities and achievements from the period.
Science and Sustainability
The Science and Industry Museum’s recent exhibition entitled ‘Turn It Up! The Power of Music’ featured contributions from Duncan Williams, Senior Lecturer in Acoustics & Audio Engineering, and attracted a quarter of a million visitors.
We took Game Lab to New Scientist Live which welcomed 5,000 young people as well as business and industry audiences.
Manchester Science Festival 2022 featured demonstrations of prosthetic hands from experts in the School of Health and Society and drew an audience of over 20,000 visitors.
At the British Science Festival, Professor Andy Miah collaborated on ‘The Compass’, a multimedia art installation that represented our shared navigation of knowledge, discovery, and the science that shapes our world, and which attracted over 10,000 people to Leicester city centre.
Professor Chloe James worked on a sci/art collaboration entitled ‘Microcosmic’ with artist Paul Miller, communicating her ‘Phage’ research to family audiences visiting Lightwaves Festival, run by Quays Culture at Salford Quays.
Our home-grown annual Go Green Salford programme brought together 450 people, including staff students and community groups, to explore sustainability-related activities across a month-long festival in March, with exhibitions, talks, workshops and activities happening across the campus.
Over 1,000 people took part in a bespoke archaeological training programme, culminating in a community-led excavation on the Broadfield Park slopes in Rochdale, led by our in house Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service. Read more here.
Arts and Creativity
Over 1,500 people attended the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology’s 2022 degree shows in June.
The School worked with local resident and author, Deborah Munganyinka, to present her ‘Truth that Fights’ memoir, narrating her survival of the Rwandan genocide and subsequent journey to healing.
New Adelphi Theatre presented a packed programme of 41 dance and theatre shows, both touring work and home-grown and inhouse productions and welcoming over 10,000 people.
BBC New Generation Thinker Professor Jade Munslow Ong contributed to a variety of BBC radios shows and podcasts, including ‘Arts and Ideas’ and ‘The Essay’, totalling over half a million listens. Find out more about South African Modernism 1880-2020, AHRC funded research project here.
Professor Ursula Hurley was the expert judge and editorial director for the Erbacce poetry competition, widening participation in literary cultures for developing nations. This online event attracted 12,000 people internationally.
The Emergence postgraduate dance company toured 9 UK theatre venues, including 2 livestreamed events, performing the work to international audiences of over 1,000 people.
Music
The Music Events Team presented a varied programme of music ranging from classical to pop across 43 concerts taking place on and off campus.
The programme included the long-running lunchtime concert series, collaborations with Greater Manchester Music Hub and showcase performances at Manchester’s iconic music venue, Band on the Wall.
The annual programme attracted a total audience of over 7,000 across the year.
Exhibitions
The Art Collection team’s work brought in audiences and participants of more than 38,000. Over half of those numbers were visitors to ‘For Man is Coming Here’, an exhibition at Bury Art Museum, exploring climate change caused by man’s negative impact on the planet.
Internationally, the collaborative programme Peer to Peer: HK/UK 2022 connected visual artists and arts organisations across the UK and Hong Kong and attracted audiences of 17,000, both in person and online, in collaboration with Open Eye Gallery.
In the heart of our Peel Park Campus, over 10,000 people visited Rachel Goodyear’s ‘Stirrings’ exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
Health
The School of Health and Society’s honorary professorial lecture series introduced monthly evening public lectures on a range of current healthcare themes, with external speakers presenting to hundreds of people across the year.
Professor Neal Hazel, Chair of Criminology and Criminal Justice and recently appointed Trustee at the National Children’s Bureau, provided useful policy and practice messages to various HM Prison and Youth Custody services through meetings and workshops held throughout the year.
Our ESRC-funded Festival of Social Science 2022 presented 12 events, predominantly addressing the festival theme of ‘My Local Area’, which drew an audience of over 600 adults and children. Find out more about the programme here.
Find out about more Health and Society events here: University of Salford Events | Eventbrite
Sharing Expertise
Salford Business School’s interviews with media outlets contributed a readership of over 125,000 with ‘Predicted cost of living household trends which could save you money this year’ attracting around 40,000 views in January.
Salford Digital Archives collaborated with Manchester’s Portico Library on an exhibition which included zines from our archive, which is usually housed at Salford’s Clifford Whitworth Library.
Microsoft Ignite Conference, UK Spotlight Show invited a contribution from Dean of Salford Business School, Professor Janice Allan, to present to 26,000 business and industry audiences at a hybrid event. Discover more about the event here.
