Join in
We have groups in our Faculty who carry out regular engagement activity every year, working with our local community to benefit their health.
Cell Detectives
The Cell Detectives began in 2018 with a vision to transfer their enthusiasm to the public. They hope to share a passion for science, technology and experimentation.
They use a combination of fun activities, workshops, and games. This gives the public a chance to use cutting-edge scientific equipment. It allows the public to better understand the microscopic world through exploring everyday objects from a whole new perspective.
By bringing along their team of scientists, they examine tissues and cells with the public. This in turn engages the public with their research.
If you are a staff member or postgraduate student, contact the team to get involved. You can also contact the team if you would like them to visit your school, club organisation or museum.
The group also contributes to wider University initiatives. These include Apprentice Students on Campus. This helps introduce schoolchildren to the University and its courses.
For more information on Brush Up or outreach events, please contact Brush Up.
First Responders
Newcastle University First Responders (NUFR) is a student-led volunteer organisation. They help provide emergency medical assistance within the local community.
NUFR are trained in first aid and pre-hospital care. They work in collaboration with the North East Ambulance Service. This helps to offer rapid response to medical emergencies.
Their aim is to arrive prior to the ambulance crew. This is so they can help stabilise patients and carry out initial assessments. They not only provide advice using medical knowledge, but also to help triage patients by priority of needs.
They're mainly involved with Category 1 and Category 2 emergency calls. These may involve:
- handling falls patients
- seizures
- chest pains
- breathing difficulties
- cardiac arrests
To find out more visit NUFR on:
Instagram: @nclfirstresponders
Facebook: NCL First Responders
Health check-ins
Hosted by the School of Pharmacy and in collaboration with Newcastle GP Services. Health Check-ins are available to the public. Our Pharmacy students deliver them in community venues and a mobile unit across the city. If you would like to know more about this venture, please contact:
We also deliver Health Check-ins for our staff.
Science Adventures
Students and staff of the School of Psychology offer primary school children (5-11 years) a variety of engaging and free science-facing activities. These are available during the school holidays. Children also have an opportunity to be involved in research studies.
At Science Adventures there are a variety of fun, interactive activities and demonstrations. Here, families learn about psychology and science. Children are given a map of different activities, they can visit. At the different stations, staff and students interact with children and parents. Examples of previous fun activities are:
- making brain hats to learn how does the brain work
- watching videos of animals in the wild, and completing tasks to understand about how animals think about the world
- using virtual reality to learn about how we see
At the same event, families experience science first hand. They do this by participating in a range of psychology studies. These short, fun studies give families the experience of what research is. They also help families learn how they can take part. It also gives the children and parents the opportunity to talk to researchers about different projects. This helps them to understand the role of research in our everyday life. Projects that are currently running at Science Adventures are studying the development of:
- learning and memory
- creativity
- empathy
- social learning
- moral decision making
- language acquisition
- vision