Outreach and communication

How universities can use civic engagement and collaboration to impact their local communities as well as communicating and sharing knowledge with the public

Student athlete with a gold medal

Using sports storytelling to raise an institution’s profile

How the University of Stirling leverages student athletes’ stories to create impactful content and drive engagement

Greg Christison

University of Stirling

An underwater scene

Sharing shipwreck stories to rewrite maritime history

The story of the Gloucester shipwreck was too important to stay submerged. Here’s how University of East Anglia academics, museum curators and the discoverers of the Gloucester wreck brought it back to the surface

Claire Jowitt

University of East Anglia

A Black man has his blood pressure taken

‘You can change the world with a haircut’: engaging communities at risk

With Black and minority ethnic communities disproportionately affected by high blood pressure, academics found innovative ways to reach them. Here’s how to launch a community outreach programme that works

Nicola Thomas

London South Bank University

Students standing and chatting outside of a campus building

How unlocking data maximises student support and success

See how using sophisticated dashboards and targeted interventions can enable institutions to deliver personalised, preventative, proactive and predictive student support

Aleata Alstad-Calkins

Roehampton University

Boy receives immunisation from medical professional.

Knowledge exchange as a driver of better health outcomes

A model for how universities can collaborate with public or private sector organisations and community groups to co-develop solutions to local problems

Amina Ismail , Vicki Doyle

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

LSHTM Tavistock Place

Construction with the local community: how to manage estates projects in a built-up area

Dedicating resources to community engagement from the start is a key investment for the success of estates projects and future relationships

John Starmer, Vicky Ratcliffe

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Engage Involve

A student withdrawing money from an ATM

Make money management matter: five rules for cost-of-living communications

A finalist for THE’s Outstanding Marketing/Communications Team of the Year award shares strategies for leveraging data and insights to help students better manage their finances

Lauren Phillips

University of Leeds

High school students in laboratory

Encouragement and talent development for future scientists

Secondary students need access to practical laboratory experience and career guidance. Mamta Sharma explores ways to introduce budding researchers to the lab setting and broaden scientific horizons

Mamta Sharma

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Students holding their graduation caps in the air

Working with local authorities to support asylum seekers into HE

How institutions can partner with local authorities to provide English language support to asylum seekers and refugees who wish to pursue higher education

Gabrielle Smallbone

Kingston University

Online student studying at her laptop

Bringing the human touch into the virtual classroom

Personalising learning experiences and building trust are just two of several strategies outlined in this resource aimed at helping teachers build supportive online learning environments

Lauren Flannery

University of East Anglia

A teacher reads a story to her primary school class

An on-campus primary school helped to enrich the community and embed social responsibility

Establishing a university primary school made a difference in the local area and sparked a sense of social responsibility in students. Andrew Lenehan explains how he did it

Andrew Lenehan

Manchester Metropolitan University

Four students sit on a grassy lawn

How to cultivate a green campus: the journey to carbon neutrality

Achieving carbon neutrality is not an easy task but it is a necessary one. Here are four strategies to achieve it

Kay Choy, Jimmy Lam, Kenny Chan

Hong Kong Baptist University

Young male Asian graphic designer working

Fostering a start-up culture among academic staff

An environment of entrepreneurship that supports academic staff will, in turn, have a positive impact on start-up-minded students. Here, Gavin Clark outlines five approaches

Gavin Clark

University of the Arts London

Members of the Network for Persons Affected by NTDs in Liberia.

Lessons for co-producing research with affected communities

Advice on meaningfully engaging with diverse communities to co-produce research, drawn from a project looking at treatment for neglected tropical diseases in Liberia

Rosalind McCollum

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

The evolution of a paper plane from crumpled to flying form

Ways to enhance your institution’s change agility

How to involve and empower staff to make changes that can have a big impact on their roles and the institution as a whole

Kristy-Jai Chantrey

The University of Newcastle, Australia

A student presenting a green initiative in front of an audience

How to include student voices in green campus initiatives

As centres of knowledge and innovation, higher education institutions have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to lead by example in promoting sustainability and environmental awareness. Here are ways to do it

Sowparnika Pavan Kumar Attavar

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

Business woman on her laptop in her living room

Ways to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in students

Some practical tips to help nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs

Isabelle Ford, Hannah Willis

Cardiff Metropolitan University

View of Kiev, Ukraine.

Support for universities during a time of war: working with Ukrainian partners

Lessons on supporting universities in conflict zones, drawn from working with Ukrainian institutions after the Russian invasion

Ian Gadd , Rachael McDonald

Bath Spa University

An illustration of young people putting a lighbulb together

When engaging young people in participatory research, trust is key

How can we collaborate with young people to co-produce research? Keep these three things in mind

Abigail Harrison Moore, Lauren Theweneti

University of Leeds, Sheffield Hallam University

A student smiling in class

Using emotions to boost learning

A professor explains how he leverages emotions to enhance students’ learning, using an approach called ‘mastering emotions in entrepreneurship education’

Vik Perez

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Man looking at Youtube on a laptop

How to collaborate successfully with big business

Lessons for university teams on working with corporate business to deliver mutually beneficial projects

Tanya Wood

King’s College London

A woman studying at her laptop

Promoting online courses: five effective marketing strategies

Several ways to promote Moocs and other online courses, including a focus on email marketing and paid advertising

Luke Howard, Ari Badlishah

The University of Edinburgh

Figures attached by strings

Seven tips for successful collaborations with other institutions

Collaborating with other institutions is a complex process, but in the current education environment, it can be transformative. Here’s how to make it work for all parties involved

Sami Mohamed

Dubai Medical College for Girls

Children participating in outreach programme School Tasking

School Tasking: forget explosions, it’s all about the skills

Successful university outreach doesn’t always have to involve awe-inspiring explosions and colour-changing chemical reactions, but it should seek to hone key skills through dynamic and interactive activities that enable all children to shine

Ali Struthers, Alex Horne

The University of Warwick, Avalon Entertainment

A group of people work around a laptop

A five-step framework to integrate sustainability into higher education

To integrate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into curricula, students need to be truly engaged. The five-step SCORE framework could be the answer

Mariam Shadan, Yusra Idrees

Dubai Medical College for Girls

woman typing on laptop, social media

How to preserve academic credibility when engaging with social media

As political expression on social media can harm public perception of scientists, strategies such as sharing research, separating personal and professional identities, and engaging objectively are ways that academics can use it effectively while preserving credibility

Eleonora Alabrese, Francesco Capozza, Prashant Garg

University of Bath, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Imperial College London

A woman holds up a bar chart to an iPhone camera

19 ways to promote your online course

In a crowded marketplace, marketing online courses can be challenging. Here are 19 proven strategies to get the word out

Shefa Mostafa Gawish

Dubai Medical College for Girls

A group of people work around an office table

The benefits of engaging third space practitioners in curriculum development

Third space practitioners are often overlooked in the curriculum development process, to everyone’s detriment. Here’s a look at the viewpoints they can offer and how to engage them better

Steve Briggs

University of Bedfordshire

Greatuates in their gowns

We need to improve credit portability. Here’s how

Here are some ways universities can improve the process of institutional transfer, making life easier for students and staff

Lauren Schudde, Huriya Jabbar

University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California

Webinar image

Campus webinar: How to present research to a wider audience for greater impact

Learn about ways to articulate and present your work to non-academic audiences from experts from Campus+ partner institutions in the UK and North America

Gregory Goldsmith, Patricia Raun, Denise Baden, Krystina Silva

University of Alberta, Virginia Tech, University of Southampton, Chapman University

The UK Houses of Parliament in Westminster

What I learned about knowledge transfer with policymakers during my parliamentary fellowship

Advice on how to share your research with the aim of maximising knowledge transfer among policymakers in parliament

Rajiv Prabhakar

The Open University

A sign saying "digital literacy" hung up on a shelf with books behind it

Closing the digital divide in higher education

A one-size-fits-all approach to digital literacy training simply won’t cut it; institutions need to tailor programmes to the varying needs of their staff

Pavana Kiranmai Chepuri

Woxsen University

Student unpacking his car with his parents on campus

Building a parent-friendly campus: practical considerations

Including parents in the academic experience can help build a stronger campus community and set students on a path towards success

Poornima Panduranga Kundapur

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

A professor giving a lecture

AI communities of practice can help us face its challenges head on

GenAI’s disruptive effects have driven universities to seek answers as uncertainty mounts. Communities of practice focused on the technology could provide solutions

Mariángeles Castro-Sánchez

Universidad Austral

Female director supervising a film shoot

Supporting mature students into creative careers

Helping mature students pursuing creative subjects to make the most of their university experiences shouldn’t be difficult. Here are some suggestions

Emma Lennox

Queen’s University Belfast

Five hands holding stars

Ways to empower EAP students to give high-quality feedback

Helping English for academic purposes students provide better quality feedback to their peers can give them more autonomy and free up teachers’ time

Jingfei Zhang

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Microphone on stage in club

Academics can (and should) be idiots

The comedy stage can be a place for academics to be silly and let it all hang out. Chris Pahlow explores why humour is effective for scholars and the people they’re trying to communicate with about their research

Chris Pahlow

Amplifying Research

A lightbulb against a pink background

Ways to create time and mental space for strategic innovation in higher education

How higher education institutions can better position themselves to adapt and innovate

Catherine Wehlburg

Athens State University

A filming set up of a female student speaking to camera

Ease autistic students’ transition to university with low-stimulus videos

University communications are often high impact and visually appealing. But this can be the opposite of what some of our students need

Norman Darwen, Mark Hughes

University of Manchester

Student receiving guidance from a teacher

Five steps to prevent disengagement

Follow these steps to ensure students at risk of dropping out of their studies feel supported to get back on track

Layal Hakim

University of Exeter

People at a conference

Why peer-to-peer conferences benefit doctoral students and their institutions

Solid research skills aside, PhD students need to master the art of collaboration and communicating their ideas. A student-led conference can offer that support

Heli Wang

Singapore Management University

multiracial group of students on university steps

What makes a good university taster event?

Showing a course’s real-world applications and linking to potential students’ studies will help to ensure that your higher education taster event turns interest into enrolments

Russell Woodward, Amanda Markey

University Centre, Grimsby: The TEC Partnership

Female construction worker surveying a building

Empower migrant and refugee women for career success

Creating educational opportunities tailored to the needs of refugee women equips them with the skills and confidence to pursue employment opportunities

Temitope Egbelakin

The University of Newcastle, Australia

One red megaphone in line of blue, clear communication concept

Why is no one listening?

Academic ways of communicating are often the exact opposite of what you need to draw widespread attention to your research, writes Simon Hall. Here are simple ways to help your message reach its audience

Simon Hall

University of Cambridge

A new student outside campus with her mother

Developing an effective orientation programme for families and friends

Bring families and friends into the onboarding process to ease first-year students into university life

Kareina Cadel

Dalhousie University

illustration of hand and five stars, reputation concept

Five strategies to cultivate university reputation

The reputational crisis of many universities is a crisis of identity, writes Santiago Fernández-Gubieda. Here, he explains that reputation starts within the organisation, and offers five actions to foster public trust in universities

Santiago Fernández-Gubieda

University of Navarra

A student at her laptop deep in thought

Harness the power of ‘I wonder’ in your teaching

By embracing the power of ‘I wonder’, we can transform our physical and virtual classrooms into dynamic spaces for exploration and discovery, creating a more inclusive and responsive educational atmosphere

Lauren Flannery

University of East Anglia

Male librarian sorting out books

Empower minority staff and students to thrive at your institution

Practical strategies to reduce representation burdens, build diverse talent pipelines and foster inclusive environments in higher education

Pallavi Banerjee

University of Exeter

Departures sign at an airport

It’s time: how to get your department off X

With a flurry of HE professionals leaving the platform, here’s how to notify your followers and provide alternative options for staying up to date

Ned Potter

University of York

Woman inteviewing man, looking thoughtful

Oral history for all: a research method that crosses disciplinary boundaries

Oral history’s potential to capture lesser-known perspectives and fill knowledge gaps deserves appreciation beyond the humanities

Sien van der Plank, Lareb Dean , Padmini Broomfield

University of Southampton