The University’s latest community cafe series launched last night to a capacity audience in the Acorn Centre, Inverurie.
Over 100 people turned out to hear Dr Gordon Noble, lecturer in archaeology at the University, discuss ‘Bennachie and the Picts’ and outline how the community can get directly involved with current research through a community engagement project recently funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The new cafe series aims to bring more researchers face to face with the public and builds on the highly successful past and present cafe programmes taking place at Waterstones city centre, Aberdeen College, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Satrosphere, Foresterhill Suttie Centre, Banchory’s Woodend Barn and Fraserburgh.
Dr Ken Skeldon of the University’s Public Engagement with Science Unit which created the new series said: “It is fabulous to see our new cafe venture being so well received by the local community.
"These series continue to demonstrate the University’s commitment to share its research activity with the community and to support our own researchers to lead that process.
"Our evaluation from last night’s event shows that 65% of the audience had travelled from the immediate vicinity and 86% had not attended any previous cafe event so we really are furthering the University’s reach into the community”
The Inverurie Cafe Scientifique continues monthly until June and is organised in partnership with TechFest-SetPoint and supported by a science engagement grant from the Scottish Government. By the end of 2012 the University-led community cafe programme will have brought 120 researchers together with 10,000 members of the public, making it the most extensive initiatives of its type in the UK. Full details of forthcoming events, including four sessions happening next week as part of National Science and Engineering week, can be found here