Public engagement training

These one-day training sessions are aimed at RCPath members and are developed and delivered by a team of public engagement experts from the Science Museum Group. There are two levels - standard and advanced. Each of these is usually run once a year.

Standard Public Engagement Training

This is run once a year
5 CPD credits available for attending
The next in-person training session will take place in 2024. Please check this page for updates on dates.

The standard level is aimed at those who are interested in volunteering at, and organising, different public engagement events with a range of different audiences. The training will cover how to plan events, how to identify your audience, and how to cater for different learning styles. It offers an excellent opportunity to generate event ideas that you can take away to replicate yourself or pass on to colleagues.

Eligibility for booking

Places are limited and priority will be given to members of the College, although laboratory scientists and staff will also be considered.
If you would like to take part in the training for free, you will need to organise or help facilitate two public engagement activities in the year after your training date. You can also opt to pay for the training if you do not wish to agree to running two events within a year - the fee is £150.00
There are limited travel bursaries available for eligible applicants. Please contact us in the first instance to express your interest in these.

Please email [email protected] for more information and to sign up. Please provide your full name, role/title and place of work.

Advanced Public Engagement Training

The advanced public engagement training is usually run once a year and the date of it is linked to the timings of the Science Museum's Late events (see below)
The date of the next session is 27 - 28 July 2023
15 places available for those who have already taken part in the standard level
8 CPD credits for attending

The advanced level is only for those who have already taken part in the standard level of training. The training will use the Science Museum 'Lates' event to explore the way science communicators put their ideas into action. Participants then have the opportunity, in collaboration with specialists from the Science Museum, to develop and present an idea for one of the Science Museum's 'Late' event. Some of the attendees of the advanced training go on to deliver activities at a relevant 'Late' event at the Science Museum.

Eligibility for booking

Places are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
There is no fee for this training but attendees must be able to attend both parts of the training, and have attended the College's standard level training beforehand.
There are limited travel bursaries available for eligible applicants. Please contact us in the first instance to express your interest in these.

How to apply

You can apply to attend the advanced training by emailing [email protected] with your full name, role/title and place of work. Note you need to have attended the standard-level public engagement training to be eligible for a place. If you need help covering travel, please mention it then.

Online public engagement training

We ran online public engagement training in autumn 2020 and autumn 2021 to give an opportunity for our members to gain new skills and to get involved in National Pathology Week in November.

The sessions were delivered by trainers from the Science Museum Group, who have also developed this bespoke training course especially for the College.

Participants gained skills in developing and delivering public engagement talks and activities for school students aged 13 to 18. They all developed a short ‘Meet the Pathologist/ Scientist’ interactive talk for secondary school students, which they delivered at one of a number of online careers events the College ran. You can see the recordings of the 2021 virtual careers talks here.

Public engagement training