Edinburgh Beltane

Edinburgh Beltane is one of the larger Beacon partnerships, bringing together the expertise from 5 Higher Education Institutions in Edinburgh and the prospective University of Highlands and Islands (UHI), with 11 other public, policy, research and engagement partners who increase the capacity to innovate and inspire. The name 'Beltane' comes from a local Edinburgh festival, the traditional Celtic event which brings communities together.

Edinburgh Beltane has a strong focus on the partnerships which promote knowledge exchange, enable participants to see the bigger picture and ultimately underpin quality public engagement activities. The vision is that working together, sharing resources and supporting each other can achieve better results than anyone working individually. By creating opportunities to network and share best practice, interdisciplinary and cross-organisation public engagement collaborations are actively encouraged. This extends into an online community with an innovative website hub which features a wiki, forums and blogs. 

Visit the website http://www.edinburghbeltane.net/

Discover Science Event at Edinburgh Beltane

The Edinburgh Beltane is steered by working groups made up of volunteers from the partners, and this wide range of input helps keep the programme relevant and valuable. This also allows the Beltane to remain responsive to the needs of a diverse partnership, and provide the right opportunities such as comprehensive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) resources. These include:

A training course database;Competency tables which help researchers identify a structured route into public engagement, and; A 'Beltane Certificate' option to recognise participation in a public engagement CPD programme.

Read more http://cpd.edinburghbeltane.net/

Edinburgh Beltane also draws on the expertise of the external community to create opportunities, including a collaboration with Scotland's Futures Forum, ESRC Innogen Centre and the Institute for Advanced Studies to deliver a series of high-impact 'Research Futures' events at the Scottish Parliament in 2010-2011. These will bring together research ideas which will affect devolved issues in the next decade, and empower the public to engage with policy makers and reflect on these ideas.

Read more http://www.edinburghbeltane.net/content/research-futures-events

The Edinburgh Beltane partners:

The University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, UHI Millennium Institute, Edinburgh College of Art, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh Consortium for Rural Research, Edinburgh International Science Festival, Global Science Network, National Museums Scotland, Optos plc, Our Dynamic Earth, Roslin Institute, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Royal Observatory Edinburgh Visitor Centre,  The Herald, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, The Sutton Trust, Vitae

Edinburgh Beltane core team contact details

Find out more, see resources or join in the conversation at www.edinburghbeltane.net

Beltane's public-facing partner website features public engagement events across Scotland www.engagingscotland.net

General enquiries - info@edinburghbeltane.net or 0131 650 4874/4875

Dr Heather Rea - Programme Manager and Network Coordinator (h.j.rea@ed.ac.uk)

Lara Isbel - Training and Development Coordinator (lara.isbel@ed.ac.uk)

Sarah West Alin - Communications and Events Officer (sarah.west@ed.ac.uk)

Ruth Cooper - Programme Administrator (ruth.cooper@ed.ac.uk)