Education and Public Engagement
As a publicly funded research centre, I-Form recognises the importance of engaging with the public about our research and the motivations behind it. Public engagement also offers an opportunity for researchers to improve their communication skills and to ensure they remain connected to the bigger societal picture.
We believe it is vital to share the outcomes of our research, to explore the societal implications of advanced manufacturing, to listen to public input on Industry 4.0 issues, and to respond to societal needs and concerns through our research.
The ethos of public engagement for I-Form is driven by a move away from the traditional ‘deficit models’ of public engagement and towards more ‘dialogic’ and ‘participatory’ models, with the ultimate goal of facilitating engaged research. (Engaged research is carried out in collaborative engagement with the community and is advanced with community partners.)
