Welcome - Schools - Approaches - Competitions (Mesh)

Project Report: Creative Arts and Social Inclusion: Engaging communities with substance misuse and HIV in Zimbabwe

Substance abuse and HIV are highly prevalent, complex and often misunderstood conditions among young people in Zimbabwe. Supported by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, Clement Nhunzvi and his team in Zimbabwe used a creative arts competition to engage school children (13-20 years) in social inclusion and stigma reduction when confronting substance abuse and HIV in the community.

Project Report: The Sciback-skit programme: Engaging young people as malaria ambassadors in Kenya

In this project from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya and funded by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, high school students were educated about malaria and scientific research, to inspire them to become ambassadors in their communities, and to go on to have careers in science.

Webinar: Engagement at a distance: Sharing lessons from experience

This interactive Mesh learning webinar held in September 2020 explored the possibilities for community engagement with health research when we cannot meet in person. Find the recording here

Report: Next Generation Biomedical Scientists (NGBS)

The NGBS was a nationwide programme in Zimbabwe engaging secondary school pupils in order to raise awareness on genomics technologies and careers in genomics technology. The project sought to inspire high school students to identify local health challenges, and through community engagement, originate research-based solutions.

Report: I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here!

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! is an online, student-led STEM engagement activity that has is run in the UK and internationally. Students log in, read six scientist’s profiles, ask them questions, take part in text based live chats and vote for the one they to win a cash prize. The project in Kenya is in partnership with the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme.

Webinar: Why is it important for health researchers to engage school students?

This webinar from Dr Alun Davies from KEMRI | Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kenya, outlines the goals, methods and outcomes of school engagement as a “win-win” engagement approach for both researchers and students

Literature: Planning for the social and economic impacts emerging from school-university engagement with research

In this article from the Journal of Science Communication (2015) the authors reflect on their work with teachers and students at a local school in Milton Keynes in the UK. They propose a flexible and adaptive metric to support all stakeholders with planning school engagement.

Report: KEMRI | Wellcome Trust Research Programme: School Engagement Programme

The KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme's School Engagement Programme (SEP) aims at promoting an interest in science and science related careers amoung students as well as promoting mutual understanding between members of the community and researchers. 

Project Report: Z Factor: Using themed drama competitions to facilitate conversations on psychosis

An overview of a project in Zimbabwe engaging communities on mental health stigma and discrimination. It worked to help combat stigma and open up collaborative pathways between the traditional/faith based and medical models of mental health treatment

Resource: Informal Science Education

InformalScience.org is a central portal to project, research and evaluation resources designed to support and connect the informal science education community in museums, media, public programs and a growing variety of learning environments

Project Report: mGenAfrica

mGenAfrica is an internet-based platform and mobile application designed to promote engagement between research staff in genomics and other health research fields with high school learners (16-19 year olds)

Guide: Cards Against Malaria - A Hands-on Activity

This article describes and provides the tools to use a card game developed to engage players with the genetics behind malaria susceptibility.

Science Engagement in Schools: Panel Discussion from 2017 Wellcome Trust International Engagement Workshop

The benefits of running science engagement activities in schools, as well as some of the key challenges of doing so, were explored by a panel of school engagement experts from around the world in this discussion the Wellcome Trust International Engagement Workshop in 2017