Public Engagement

Members of our department engage frequently with the public to showcase their research, inspire the younger generation and engage with the local community. Our researchers committed to sharing their work with a wide variety of different populations, across all age groups, interest groups and all sections of society. A core segment of our pubic engagement efforts involves reaching out to school pupils who are interested in studying psychology and neuroscience, with talks, workshops, outreach events and the UNIQ Spring and Summer schools.

EP Engagement ambassadors programme

Applications for the 2025 EP Engagement Ambassadors programme were open 1-30 November 2024.

Engaging with public, patient, and policy audiences is a vital component of academic research. It not only lets us inform and inspire the many audiences who are major stakeholders in our research, but it can also help to shape us as researchers and shape the research that we do. To foster a culture in which engagement can thrive, EP has now secured places for its members on this scheme, which has been running at NDCN and the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging since 2017. Each year the ambassadors receive formal training in public, patient, and policy engagement and are given lots of opportunity to hone their engagement skills throughout the year. 

The Engagement Ambassadors scheme offers places to members of WIN, NDCN, and EP, who are trained together in a joint cohort alongside the university's Sports Engagement Ambassadors (2025 applications also open 1-30 November).

Considering applying? Please read the FAQ first.

2025 EP Engagement ambassadors

Jo Archibald works in Experimental Psychology as a Research Assistant. 'I was previously a primary school teacher for almost 20 years, but stepped outside the classroom to try to impact change from a different angle. I am currently working on a numeracy project in Early Years which I love. I joined the Engagement Ambassador Programme to learn more, increase my skills, helping me on my journey to work in the  'in-between' spaces where so much is lost in communication.'

Amrita Bains is a researcher investigating what motivates people to read, from fostering learning to providing moments of joy and escape. 'Using experimental designs, I investigate how factors like autonomy and storytelling formats influence reading enjoyment and comprehension. I became an Engagement Ambassador to enhance my ability to connect research with practice, particularly by engaging with policymakers and diverse audiences to drive meaningful change.' (Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash). 

Franziska Braendle has been a Postdoc in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford since September 2024. 'Before moving to the UK, I completed my PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. My research focuses on understanding our intrinsic motivations using video games as experimental paradigms. I am excited to be an engagement ambassador because I believe that only through shared understanding can both the public and researchers benefit from each other's insights.'

Nicola Dawson is a career development research fellow in Experimental Psychology, and a research speech and language therapist in a specialist educational setting for children and young people with developmental language disorder (DLD). 'My research concerns typical and atypical language development, and its association with literacy, learning and socioemotional development, particularly in adolescence. My aim as an Engagement Ambassador is to build connections between research and the wider community and to facilitate active participation in the research process among the groups and individuals I work with.'

Jane Gregory is a clinical psychologist researching why some people can't stand certain sounds, like other people eating and breathing. Her research led to writing a self-help book, Sounds Like Misophonia: How to stop small sounds from causing extreme reactions, and she talks about misophonia at nerdy comedy nights and music festivals. She's looking forward to discovering new ways to reach the public, to share the exciting world of experimental psychology and to help the general public shape the future of research.

Jiedi Lei is a clinical psychologist and NIHR senior research fellow, currently completing my clinical research fellowship in TOPIC research group at the Department of Experimental Psychology. My work focuses on supporting autistic children and young people, their caregivers, and other stakeholder groups (e.g., educators, clinicians) to identify, explore, and apply their character strengths in everyday life. I also work on improving our understanding mechanisms that maintain social anxiety in autistic adolescents to improve treatment outcomes. I am delighted to join the Engagement Ambassador Scheme, as public engagement is what allows me to ensure that 1) my research questions are most pertinent to the client groups I support and represent; 2) my research methodology is respectful and allows their voices to be best represented; and 3) my research findings are shared in a meaningful way to different stakeholder groups that facilitates translation into practice. I have a particular interest in communicating research to those from minoritised and under-represented groups in psychology research.

Raquel Pinacho combines researching the neuronal underpinnings of psychiatric disorders and their impact on learning with supporting other researchers in the lab. 'I wanted to become an Engagement Ambassador because I felt a need to ensure my work reaches patients and younger audiences, to make science more relatable and inspire a wider variety of people to pursue it!'

Charlotte Qi is an undergrad student doing Experimental Psychology. 'I’ve been inspired by amazing science communicators and hope to continue the positive impact to share research in an accessible and engaging way. I’m excited about the training sessions and looking forward to learning from everyone.'

Alice Watson is an Office Manager within the Professional Services team at the Department of Experimental Psychology. 'I provide support with a wide range of administrative tasks and handle internal communications. I have been inspired by the research going on in the Department and I am eager to engage the public with it and to help make it more accessible to non-scientists (like myself!). I look forward to learning more about external engagement and representing Experimental Psychology as an ambassador this year.'