Public Engagement

Our public engagement efforts have two main goals:

Share our research with the public and understand how our research is perceived by the public. A knowledge exchange that brings us closer to the wider community and allows us to explain who might benefit from our research, and how our research might meet the needs of society.
Encourage the wider population to take an active interest in scientific research, with a particular interest in inspiring the next generation of scientists.

Over the years, members of the Draper group have carried out public engagement activities as individuals or as a group. Our most significant effort, in collaboration with Matt Higgins and Sumi Biswas' groups, resulted in the Designer Malaria Vaccine exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in 2018. During a week in early July, the exhibition is visited by thousands of members of the public, including 2500 schools students, and is one of the most important events in the British public engagement calendar. The Designer Malaria Vaccine stand, including the "shoot a parasite" and "save the island from malaria" games, has also made appearances at the IF Science Festival in Oxford and at the Department of Biochemistry open days.

Members of the Draper group regularly take part in local Science Festival events in Oxfordshire, at the Oxford open house days, and visit schools to share their research enthusiasm with the younger generations. Members of the Draper group have also featured in the media, both locally, nationally, and internationally, discussing vaccines and scientific research.

Simon's NDM podcast: https://www.ndm.ox.ac.uk/podcast-meet-our-researchers/malaria/simon-draper-progress-in-malaria-vaccine-research

You can follow Simon on Twitter at: @S1monJDraper

Designer Malaria Vaccines at Oxford IF Science Festival