It is important to us that we are a true civic university where our teaching and research and external engagement activities complement and support each other.
We encourage an approach amongst students and staff to work in a way that is sensitive the wider needs of society. We have the potential to deliver benefits not only to the employers who take on our students or the organisations who use our research, but to schools, local authorities, communities of interest and other stakeholders.
We have provided a selection of examples from across the University which demonstrate where staff and students are making a difference, and playing a role in civic society.
These examples are called ‘Case Studies of Engagement in Action’. These are projects or activities which have been set up within Schools, Centres and Institutes and may have been funded by the University, by a specific School in the University, by charities, endowments or by other means.
Newcastle Law School's Street Law project is a pro bono initiative which works with children and young people in the region to raise awareness of, educate, engage, and encourage participation in issues surrounding children’s law and children’s rights.
Law students from each stage of study at Newcastle University are recruited and trained each year to become Street Law Ambassadors. They deliver interactive sessions to groups of local children and young people, on legal issues such as police powers, access to legal advice, rights at school, street drinking and transitions to adulthood.
This is set in the wider context of an understanding that it is important and empowering for children and young people to know their rights. Colleagues Professor Kathryn Hollingsworth and Jenny Johnstone from Newcastle Law School worked together to establish this project to harness the research strengths within the Law School and the enthusiasm of the Law School students.
The project has developed positive relationships between the law school and the local community. Young people within the North East have welcomed the information and guidance. Furthermore development of topic areas for the Street Law project has been informed by the young people who they have met, and so the project has become responsive to real need.
The students who volunteer to be part of the Street Law programme have deepened their understanding of how law needs to be explained and applied in real life settings, which is so valuable for their professional development and for their career potential.
“I found my participation in the Street Law scheme as an invaluable and rewarding experience last year. It surpassed my expectations and allowed me an insight into the real application of law in day-to-day life, for various vulnerable members of the community. I feel like this is an insight most Law students don’t get the opportunity to have, to be able to distinguish between what we read in black and white, and what happens in real life. “- Lynsey, Street Law Ambassador
But the students also gain a great sense of personal achievement and pride in working with the young people
“Being involved in Street Law has been really rewarding- it has allowed me to meet some great people, both within the university and in the youth groups we work with. Not only that, it is a great way to improve legal research skills and being able to present the law in an accessible, interactive way is something which the whole team has enjoyed. What appeals to me most about the Street Law project is being able to give something back to the local community. I can honestly say we have learnt as much from the young people as they have learnt from us, and I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to get involved to do so!” - Amy, Street Law Ambassador
“The project is an amazing opportunity to raise awareness through different youth groups. It is great to see how valuable the sessions are for young people, who usually are not aware about their rights…The best feeling is when it is visible that the group is interested in the topic and can use the information provided in real life”. - Magdalena, Street Law Ambassador
The Street Law project is an excellent example of the civic university approach which is actively engaged with its wider community and relates this to it sense of purpose and it applies it to it sense of place (in this case the local region). By harnessing the research skills of it academics, the commitment and dedication of it students, Newcastle Law School has been able to undertake a transformative demand led project.
The Street Law Project won a national award in 2012 ( Alistair MacQueen award) and has been a successful pilot approach that the Law School are looking to extend into other areas.
For more information on the Street Law project, please visit the Newcastle Law School
This project brings geographers together to go into schools and run peace studies days as part of citizenship studies programmes or equivalents. In this sense, 'peace' is meant a broad range of issues from international conflict and nonviolence, to everyday coexistence, community mediation, and anti-discrimination.
We are excited to be working with Benfield School in Newcastle, planning a first peace studies day in July 2013. A workshop has been held with the project team, teachers and students to plan the July activities.
The ‘Kropotkin Institute' has been established by Dr Nick Megoran, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology. It is named after the radical geographer, Peter Kropotkin, who argued that geography should be about “a means of dissipating [hostile] prejudices and of creating other feelings more worthy of humanity."
Dr Megoran is interested in political geography. He researches how and why society often separates itself into different groups that can become exclusionary, antagonistic and aggressive, and explores what approaches might be taken to help us to counteract this divisive mood in society.
The 'Kropotkin Institute' seeks to use research built up by Dr Megoran and colleagues to help young people challenge assumptions and look towards positive ways of working and living together.
This initiative is building an ongoing relationship with local schools. This is at the heart of the approach; to be able to understand their needs and work with them to produce a model for engaging young people that is interesting and relevant to them.
It is hoped that in the long term a web-based resource will be created to equip schools and geographers from around the country to replicate the programme in their local communities.
Social renewal is about responding to the question: how can societies and communities (local, regional, national and international) thrive when faced with rapid, transformational change? The Newcastle Institute for Social Renewal seeks to generate the impact from the University’s research to make a difference to society in order to respond to these changes. The Kropotkin Institute is an example of taking research and expertise out to people where, by working together positive changes can be made.