WIE hosting Monash academics for week-long public engagement residency

From 9th to 13th March, WIE are delighted to be hosting Professors Jo Winning and Catherine Mills (Arts, Monash University) for a week-long residency and programme of events. The week-long programme is designed to draw together the faculties Arts and Social Sciences at both Monash and Warwick to explore the nature and value of public engagement at the two institutions and use this as a basis for new collaborations, new research, and to equip both universities in the aim of articulating the value of the so-called H.A.S.S. (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences) family of disciplines.

The programme will see the core team of Professors Winning and Mills, and Prof Helen Wheatley (WIE, Academic Director) and Dr James Hodkinson (Faculty Public Engagement Lead, Arts) work closely on a range of activities.

We will work towards a piece of co-authored, published research on research and engagement, run an expo-style sharing event showcasing both Monash and Warwick research in the two faculties and promote collaborative work, and also begin drafting a larger funding bid to fund more ambitious shared projects.

Additionally there will be two smaller open door, drop-in sessions to allow Warwick staff to consult informally with our Monash guests about future projects: these will run Tuesday 10 March, Arts 2:30 – 3:30 pm (FAB1.38) and Wednesday 11 March Social Sciences 2:30 pm – 3:30pm (Social Sciences, B1.36).

We are delighted to be funded in this undertaking by the Research Activation Fund of the Monash-Warwick Alliance. Our broader project, ‘Towards Permeability: Understanding the Impact of Public Engagement in the HASS Disciplines across Monash and Warwick Universities (Phase 2)’ follows on from a first phase in which Helen Wheatley visited Monash in June 2025, generously funded by Monash Arts. There, we scoped out the themes of shared interest, opportunities for comparative learning and knowledge exchange, and begin to envisage a longer-term project designed to investigate how cultures of ‘engagement’ were transforming research methods and research impact in both the UK and Australia.