Abstract

Public engagement practices continue to grow in prominence within higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, with increasing cultural and institutional pressure for academics to undertake such activities within their roles. However, it is unclear how well ‘traditional’ academic skills developed in research and teaching domains might support academics to engage in public engagement. The following qualitative study explores the topics of ‘public engagement skills’ and ‘skill transfer’ to reflect on the readiness of UK academics to undertake public engagement. A total of 15 STEM academics from UK institutions participated in semi-structured interviews to identify skills and perceptions of skill transfer between ‘traditional’ academic and public engagement activities. A series of skills were identified and classified in ‘communication’, ‘expressive engagement’ or ‘organisation and management’ categories, highlighting a range of skills commonly drawn upon in public engagement practice. Further questioning revealed two groups within the cohort – ‘transfer proponents’ and ‘skill separatists’ – who held differing perspectives on the transfer of academic skills to public engagement contexts. We reflect on the nature of skills and dispositions, practices of public engagement, and the need to support academics, with future research avenues highlighted.