Dashboard – Darwin Tree of Life

CV

My Work:

My work involves bringing people together to share ideas about the science we do – whether that’s students, scientists, nature enthusiasts or just people walking past on the street. Science is better with more people involved.
About Me:

Hello, I’m Jack. I like exploring new places and talking about new things. My job usually involves meeting people like you in person, to share ideas and find inspiration, so this year has been quite different. And that makes me doubly excited to get to speak to you on here.
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My Work:

My work involves bringing people together to share ideas about the science we do – whether that’s students, scientists, nature enthusiasts or just people walking past on the street. Science is better with more people involved.
Read more

My job title is Public Engagement Coordinator. This means I help connect our science
I'm currently solving this problem:

Public engagement is all about how science is made better the more people involved in it, and the more points of view it is exposed to. Sometimes scientists can find that a little scary – they worry that people might find the work they are doing boring, or worse that spending time or money investigating the question we are looking into. Other times scientists are just so darn busy! How can they make time to engage with the public when they have so much research to do.

I work to make public engagement as easy as possible for our teams. Sometimes this means providing training so they feel confident, sometimes providing funding or practical support. It’s the practical
I'm currently working on these species doing this:

I am looking at the species Interestocus Inscientus. Getting people to speak to other people and share their thoughts on the work we do.

My Interview
- How has your work progressed recently?
  
  It's coming along great. I joined the team in March and it's been a little strange joining in lockdown, but I've now met all the other teams on zoom and will hopefully get some face to face meeting in over the summer.
  
  What have you got planned for your research over the next year?
  
  We'll have our first pilot in-person activities. Those will be really exciting, and feel like quite a moment after this last year. It'll also be great to get onto campus for the first time and get a sense of how everything works in real life.
  
  How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  Mischevous Ideas Fan
  
  What or who inspired you to follow your career?
  
  I've had lots of brilliant teachers in my life, but the biggest inspirations have been my mum and my grandparents.
  
  What was your favourite subject at school?
  
  Drama or Maths
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  I remember wanting to go on a big old fashioned sailing ship and travel around the world. I don't think the reality would have been as good as I imagined it.
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  Not very often. I was quite clumsy though, and had to have stitches about five times while I was at school. The worst I got in trouble was for climbing onto the roof of our house (I liked the view up there) and, considering how clumsy I was, I can see now why my mum was so angry.
  
  If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
  
  I enjoy cooking a lot. I've worked in kitchens before and they are usually busy and stressful but if I could be a chef for a restaurant with only one table and where I could pick what people ate then I think I'd enjoy that.
  
  Who is your favourite singer or band?
  
  I've been listening to Fontaines DC and Sports Team quite a lot in lockdown. But secretly my fave would be Laura Marling or Van Morrison. The best gig I've been to was Ezra Furman for sure!
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  A really good curry. Meera Sodha's cookbook is very well used in my house (and covered in splodges and stains as a result).
  
  What is the most fun thing you've done?
  
  I remember going 'gully hopping' with a big group of my friends when we were camping after our a-levels. We put some old clothes and shoes on and then climbed all the way up the path of a mountain river in Wales. It was summer so it wasn't too cold, and it was great.