Joy Zhang

You may find it odd, but one of my favourite annual conferences in the UK is the Engage series hosted by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). Although the conference seems to be mainly for public engagement professionals, I always find it extremely informative and insightful for anyone who is interested in Science and Technology Studies to get a real sense of how knowledge is produced, reproduced, and co-produced. And the range of topics they cover – from practice to policy, from education to media, from local to global – has always been amazing.

I first came across Sophie Duncan and Paul Manner, NCCPE’s two Directors’ amazing work in late 2016. Thus was the beginning of a long dialogue between us through a couple of projects. It was always really helpful and refreshing. In 2019, I was delighted to have the chance to share my thoughts at the Engage conference.

And it was really nice to receive a warm letter from Sophie and Paul Manners before Christmas.

I hope our conversation continues!