Anuja, an international student pursuing MSc Criminal Psychology, shares her experience volunteering with peers at the annual Pint of Science festival
Hello! I’m Anuja, an international student ambassador currently working towards a Master’s in Criminal Psychology, and I recently had the opportunity to volunteer for Pint of Science 2024. To support the science festival, my School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (SCCJ) hosted research talks focusing on highly sensitive and controversial, yet significant topics of criminal investigation.
What is Pint of Science?
Aiming to inform the public about current scientific advancements, Pint of Science is an annual science festival that brings experts to public spaces such as pubs and cafés to present their studies and discoveries.
It is mainly organised and run by volunteer postgraduate or postdoctoral researchers, lecturers and public engagement staff who are based at universities or research institutions.
The goal of the event was to learn beyond the walls of the classroom and in a community setting instead, such as over a pint of beer in a pub, and discuss some of the very relevant issues and their potential solutions found through research.
I was a part of the core volunteering committee, and had responsibilities of moderating the speakers, plan for activities between the talks such as the quiz, and looking over the marketing side of the event. Being a part of the meetings with the members and understanding the sequence of the research talks, about the presentations was a task spread over one week.
The event was from 7:00pm to 9:30pm held over 2 days, hosted at the Southsea Village which was a cosy and welcoming place that could accommodate 30-40 guests. Both days, there were 3 talks, so a total of 6 encompassing significant and controversial topics on crime, harassment, and their investigations. It received a very welcoming response from the aware and responsible audience. I thought it was engaging and informative.
As an international student, this was a once in a lifetime experience volunteering and actively engaging myself in such an enriching and out-of-the-box event.
Pint of Science is truly one of a kind, and I believe such fun and necessary events must be conducted for the learners and the community. All volunteers were gifted a t-shirt and pint glass as a thank you, which I will cherish to commemorate the event.