October 2014 – Civic Learning 2.0

Public Engagement blog: My random thoughts on engaging people

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Mark Charlton

I read a report from a British university recently that proudly boasted that one million (yes, one million) people had benefitted from its engagement activities over the course of just one academic year. This, from a university in a city with a population of just over 120,000, a fifth of which are students. This bold claim of engagement might well have some truth to it, after all, a university city can be a famous place. Tourists might well flock to see its dreaming spires, however one million were engaged people in one year? Continue reading “Public Engagement blog: My random thoughts on engaging people” →

Public engagement blog: Community problem solving

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Mark Charlton

Communities across the United Kingdom have different social challenges and those working in Higher Education have the opportunity to share knowledge by working in partnership with them. According to a HEFCE report in 2010 it is one of the services universities offer society. The report notes five key areas Higher Education can deliver public benefit. Continue reading “Public engagement blog: Community problem solving” →

I’m Mark Charlton, Associate Director of Public Engagement at De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom. I’m passionate about universities using Service-Learning, community-based learning, civic learning, the scholarship of engagement, learning-linked volunteering and all the other ways we describe students sharing their skills and knowledge beyond the campus. I encourage all staff and students to embed the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals into their work. I also lead the United Nations Academic Impact Initiative Global Academic Hub for SDG 16 at DMU. I am a PhD Scholar, researching the impacts of civic engagement on students’ political participation.