The Festival of Learning in 2014: put 9^th– 15^th June in your diary and get engaging!

I have been relatively quiet on the research blog on all things Festival of Learning over the past few months, but that doesn’t mean we’ve not been working on the Festival of Learning. In-fact quite the opposite – since the Festival doors closed back in June, we’ve taken time to reflect, evaluate and consider how the Festival should evolve in 2014.

Looking back

Before I say anything further about our plans for next year, can I take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone that was involved in the Festival in 2013. The public reaction has been absolutely fantastic. We had an estimated 4,000 visits to the Festival, an average satisfaction score (from 1,400 evaluation forms) of 5.9 out of 7 (where one equalled very poor, and 7 equalled excellent) and 96% of respondents suggested that they wanted to come to another event. Further to this, the Festival team continued evaluating the Festival through a series of focus groups and interviews which has generated excellent feedback and brilliant ideas of activities to include in 2014. We have also received great feedback from many local key stakeholders stating just how much the Festival is valued.

If you want to re-live the Festival for a few moments, then watch this fantastic video as a reminder of just some of the Festival highlights.

Looking forward – save the date: 9^th-15^th June, 2014

The Festival dates have now been set for 9-15^th June. This year, we are keen to build on our successes and create much more of a Festival atmosphere! So do get these dates in your diary now and your thinking cap on about how you can make a contribution.

How to get involved

We have received lots of feedback on the types of activities that people really enjoyed in 2013, so as a result the Festival team will be inviting people to include events in 2014. However, we are also keen to ensure that everyone within BU that has a brilliant idea has the opportunity to put this forward to the Festival steering group.

If you already have an idea in mind as to what you would like to include as part of the Festival in 2014, please contact me directly by emailing redwards@bournemouth.ac.uk or by completing the FoL 2014 event proposal form and returning it to Rebecca Edwards.

Although June my seem like a long way away as the nights draw in and the temperatures falls, because of the sheer size of the Festival, we need have details of all proposed events by Friday 6th December.

If you don’t have any ideas, but are really keen to get involved in the Festival, do give me a call on 01202 961206 or email me on redwards@bournemouth.ac.uk.