Supporting Adolescents' Digital Literacy

Michaela Gummerum (Psychology) , Pip Brown (Psychology) , Laura Waller (Coventry City Council) & Yaniv Hanoch (Coventry University)

Michaela and Pip are planning to work with Ramona McGarry and Laura Waller from #CovConnects (Coventry City Council) and Yaniv Hanoch (Coventry University).

They are partnering up to deliver four hands-on and co-created workshops for misinformation, fake news, and conspiracy theories in secondary schools and libraries across Coventry. These workshops will target adolescents and young adults and hope to support the development of digital literacy among the age group.

Conversation and Coffee Classes

Jane Bryan (School of Law) & Farida Butt (Milk and Mocha Coffee Shop, Education4All)

In November 2023, a Conversation and Coffee Class (CCC) was launched, specially designed for newly arrived communities who were experiencing difficulties with their English language skills.

The initiative was undertaken by Professor Jane Bryan from Warwick Law School and Farida Butt, the owner of Milk and Mocha Coffee Shop in Kenilworth, who is also the Managing Director of Education4All with the support of a student lead, Naveera Abhayawickrama.

This project aims to provide a relaxed environment where student volunteers and local community members can improve their English-speaking skills, connect and develop intercultural awareness while enjoying free coffee and cake. The class promotes a feeling of togetherness, fosters cultural exchange, helps to build connections and enhances student employability.

Every fourth week, the group visits the Warwick campus to enable them to experience other spaces for wellbeing and career-focused activities.

Since its inception, the class has been providing support to 25 newly arrived women from across the globe.

Connecting Vincentians to their History

Kate Astbury (Modern Languages and Cultures) & Jacqueline Roberts (St Vincent & Grenadine Second Generation Heritage group)

We are strengthening the partnership between Warwick and the heritage charity SV2G to create more extensive opportunities for members of the Vincentian community in Britain to engage with the history of the island of St. Vincent.

Having extensively researched the role of revolutionaries from St Vincent in the global revolutionary wars of the long 18th century over the last year, we now want to work together on disseminating what we have learnt on on deepening our knowledge of the warrior women of the Caribbean who resisted enslavement.

We will continue to develop our model of coproduction and look at how we can best share the co-produced research with inhabitants of St Vincent but also share the method of working with other groups.

Digital Resources Equity in Paediatric Cancer Services

Samantha Flynn (Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal & Research) & Kate Oulton (Great Ormond Street Hospital)

We are partnering to co-produce digital resources to improve equity in paediatric cancer services, primarily for children with intellectual disabilities and/or who are autistic.

We will work with children and young-people to co-design a workshop that will then be delivered with young cancer patients with the aim of co-producing digital resources using research evidence generated from our collaborative work. We will focus on inclusivity and accessibility throughout the co-design and co-production activities, thinking through every aspect of the process and what reasonable adjustments and resources are needed.

We want to push the boundaries on what is achievable, ensuring no child who wants to take part is left out. This might involve for example, adjustments in relation to mobility, communication, sensory, learning and behaviour needs, as well as any medical needs.

We will work with an artist to support the delivery of the workshop, a live illustrator who will capture the main concepts discussed during the workshop, and a film maker who will record elements of the workshop and film children and young people during the workshop, collating information about their experiences of co-designing the workshop and co-producing digital resources during the workshop. Both the outputs from the live illustration and the filming will be disseminated alongside the co-produced digital resource(s). Following the workshop, we will develop a set of guidelines for co-designing workshops and co-producing digital resources with children and young people.

Co-created Song Writers

Nadine Holdsworth (Theatre & Performance) & Beth Fiducia-Brookes (Underground Lights)

This project involves a collaboration with Underground Lights, a Coventry-based community theatre company working with adults experiencing homelessness, mental health distress and social isolation. With a focus on co-created song writing, members will explore songs that are meaningful to them, the themes they want to address in their songs; lyric writing, arrangement, use of instruments and recording techniques.

During this project we will document the significance and impact of the trauma-informed, participatory, inclusive and co-created methodologies central to the work Underground Lights undertakes. The project will culminate in a co-created exhibition on Warwick’s campus that captures the processes and outcomes of the creative workshop phase.

Positive Migration Strategies for the Outer Hebrides

Michael Gray (Applied Linguistics) & Christina Morrison (Western Isles Council)

This is a partnership between the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council)and the University of Warwick. It will enhance the impact on the Islands which both partners are seeking.

“The overarching aim and ambition of the Comhairle’s Corporate Strategy is to retain and increase the population of the Outer Hebrides” (Corporate Strategy, 2024 to 2027). This is a driving need as the population of the Islands is declining and ageing. Encouraging economically active people to move to the Islands, or to return from work or study elsewhere, are essential to strengthen the local economy and to promote caring and resilient communities which ensure a high quality of life for residents. Much successful work has already been done to achieve these aims.

Michael is passionate about research which has a positive impact on people. His career in further education was focused on helping young and older learners to return to education and training and to develop their vocational, academic and life skills. Following a theme from his recent Masters dissertation at Warwick, his PhD project focuses on the experiences of migrants from the UK to the Outer Hebrides, the archipelago lying to the west of Scotland and facing the Atlantic.

Therefore, there is considerable overlap and synergy in our work. Through a series of open meetings in 2024 and 2025 we both aim to learn from new residents and from those born on the islands, in order to create opportunities for future new residents to settle successfully on the Islands.

Health Check Pop-Up for Underserved Communities

Kate Owen (WMS) & Inderjit Kaur (Coventry City Council)

Professor Kate Owen is working with Coventry City Council migration team to set up regular "pop-up" clinics from migration communities. Medical students will use their clinical skills to offer basic health checks and advice (under supervision) to groups of people who are less likely to access healthcare or who may have no recourse to funding.

They will also help visitors register with a local GP, if they wish. This project has the potential to benefit both students and local communities working in partnership together.

Connections and Conversations Through Poetry

Yanyan Li (Applied Linguistics) & Emilie Lauren Jones (Coventry Poet Laureate)

In the context of increased international mobility, this project brings together local residents and newcomers in Coventry through the power of poetry to foster social connections and build community. Led by Yanyan, a PhD student in Applied Linguistics, and Emilie Lauren Jones, Coventry’s first Poet Laureate, the initiative explores how poetry can serve as a tool for communication, empathy, and rapport building. Over a series of workshops, participants will engage in creative activities such as writing free verse, shared word banks, and humorous poems, ultimately culminating in a performance at the Springboard Festival 2025. Through the co-creation and performance of poems, this project seeks to strengthen social bonds, amplify diverse voices, and celebrate cultural inclusion among participants. A digital anthology featuring the poems and reflections will be shared online, preserving a lasting record of the project’s impact. The initiative aims to deepen understanding of community connections, foster social integration, and inspire ongoing engagement with arts-based research communication in Coventry.

Empowering Black and Asian Women in Menopause Research

Claire Mann (WMS) , Neelam Heera (Cysters) & Nina Kuypers (Black Women in Menopause)

Dr Claire Mann from University of Warwick will be working with project partners from Cysters, an organisation representing South Asian women, and Black Women in Menopause, which advocates for Black women’s health. Both Cysters and Black Women in Menopause represent grassroots expertise and work to dismantle cultural and systemic barriers that women face in accessing care and resources

Through an innovative partnership with Cysters and Black Women in Menopause, this project will engage Black and Asian women in co-produced workshop events, empowering them to influence the latest menopause research priorities and address the health inequalities that affect them.

Our objective is to make the inclusion of Black and Asian perspectives an integral part of the menopause research landscape. By co-developing a research proposal with community partners, we aim to build an adaptable framework for incorporating underserved voices in future research, ultimately fostering a more equitable healthcare landscape.

Voices unveiled: collaborative discussion for de-stigmatising women's health through performance

Erin Greaves (WMS) & Sioda Adams (Earthbound)

Erin and Sioda have a shared vision to reduce stigma and de-mystify aspects of women’s health through a contemporary feminist lens using performance art. They are collaborating to develop science and community-based research, to find content for a new theatre performance piece and workshop offering, which aims to empower girls & women. Both collaborators are particularly passionate about reaching less privileged communities through the work; performance art is a different form of communication and a language that is often more accessible than academic language, thus it bridges the gap between the public, healthcare professionals and academic research. This work aims to level up in terms of who can access knowledge and education and provide a language for discussion around women’s health, empowering women to have more conversations about female related health and to access correct health care, with confidence in speaking to healthcare professionals about their health. Ultimately, this project will also aim to reduce inequalities in women’s health by empowering those in underserved communities to seek help and participate in research such that all women are equally represented.

Through targeted focus groups, Sioda and Erin will design and test a workshop model that brings science and creative expression/female empowerment together, which will in the future, be delivered alongside performances of the touring production and research outcomes will inform the creative process of the final performance piece.

Early Action Benefits Advice Hub

Dr Tara Mulqueen (School of Law) and Alan Markey (Coventry Independent Advice Service)

Dr Tara Mulqueen (Associate Professor, School of Law) is working with Alan Markey (Coventry Independent Advice Service) to trial a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Clinic at Holbrooks Community Centre in Coventry. With the support of trained student volunteers, the clinic will help with all aspects of the process of applying for PIP and challenging decisions, addressing gaps in local advice provision. This clinic will also explore opportunities to operate as a resource centre for people why may be able to do the application themselves with some support, enabling the clinic to reach more people and integrating public legal education with more traditional forms of advice. The trial will form the basis for a longer-term collaboration. building on and strengthening existing relationships and creating opportunities for ongoing research and community engagement. The initiative is part of Warwick Law in the Community (LinC).

The Rise and Fall of Coventry's Mayor Siegfried Bettmann - A Migrant's Tale

Christine Achinger (Modern Languages and Cultures) & STAMP Theatre 

Siegfried Bettmann’s life exemplifies some of the complexities of British migrant experiences in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, the creativity and progress that migration brings as well as the nationalism and xenophobia of the city and the country in times of crisis.

Bettmann was born into a large Jewish family in Nürnberg, Germany, and emigrated to the UK in 1885. He founded and directed the Triumph bicycle and later motorcycle and car factory in Coventry, became a British citizen and played a significant role in civic life as a committed philanthropist, member of the Liberal Party, local councillor and Justice of the Peace. In 1913, he was elected the first non-British-born Mayor of Coventry. In spite of his British citizenship and staunch support for the British war effort in WWI, in particular through the accelerated delivery of motorcycles to the army, he was forced out of that office in 1914 as an enemy alien.

Based on Bettmann’s memoirs and available records, Christine Achinger (SMLC) and STAMP Theatre and Media Productions CIC are collaborating with teachers and students from Blue Coat School and local volunteers to produce an audio story of his life that will be available via a QR code in several places in Coventry and on relevant websites.

Youth Engagement and Empowerment Initiative (YEEI): Mentoring Future Community Leaders through 21st Century Skills

Freeha Azmat (WMG) & Naima Qureshi (University of Education)

This initiative, launched by the Academic Leaders Innovation Forum (ALIF) and the Youth Support Programme (YSP) team at the University of Warwick, aims to empower unemployed youth in rural Punjab. It provides training in digital literacy, transferable skills, critical thinking, and global citizenship to help young people overcome barriers to education and employment.

Following the success of YSP Cycle 1—featured on Pakistan’s national television and attracting 517 applicants despite targeting only 25 students—this project seeks to expand its reach and meet the growing demand for skills training in underserved communities.

By combining ALIF’s community outreach expertise with YSP’s proven curriculum, the program delivers essential employability skills while fostering long-term community development. A mentor-mentee model ensures sustainability, with Cycle 1 graduates guiding new participants to reinforce learning and leadership.