Here are some examples of the kinds of activity our Ambassadors do, but this is not an exhaustive list. If there is a different audience or type of activity that you would like to explore as an Ambassador, we would love to hear about it. This will also help to grow our existing collection of resources and give ideas for other Ambassadors to develop.
Engaging the Society’s membership and the wider pharmacology community
All ambassadors are expected to be local contact points for the pharmacology community and the Society at their institution. This could include:
- Being the voice of the Society within their community - for example by:
- Keeping up to date with Society activities and initiatives
- Sharing membership opportunities and benefits, by circulating Society resources and messages
- Promoting pharmacology and the Society online through social media and blogs
- Representing pharmacology and the Society at institutional open days and conferences (where appropriate)
- Providing feedback to the Society on:
- What their local pharmacology community needs
- Their Ambassador activities, including promoting these activities through Society channels, like the online BPS Community, at Society meetings, through the Society’s blog and Pharmacology Matters
- Organising events or activities to bring together the pharmacology community locally and further afield, for example:
- Supporting local student society activity
- Providing mentorship and support for early career pharmacologists
- Offering cross-institutional events to broaden networks and encourage collaborative activity
- Supporting international engagement of the pharmacology community, for example:
- Organising sessions at Society meetings, or externally, to bring together the pharmacology community
- Acting as links with international pharmacology groups
Engaging the public with pharmacology
Lots of Ambassadors focus on engaging public audiences with different aspects of pharmacology. This might be talking with school and family groups about the importance of medicines and where they come from, demonstrating the impact of pharmacology research to policy makers or speaking to patients about taking medicines correctly and safely. Ways to do this might include:
- Promoting pharmacology to public audiences at community and local events:
- Using and sharing Society activities and resources
- Developing new pharmacology-based activities, games and resources (both physical and digital)
- Giving talks to local public and patient groups to raise awareness of key messages around the importance of pharmacology
- Using social media to engage new audiences with pharmacology and share science in innovative ways
- Inspiring the next generation of pharmacologists by:
- Hosting summer schools and work experience opportunities for school students
- Representing pharmacology at local careers fairs and school events
- Advertising career and opportunity information to relevant audiences
- Providing support and training for others in the pharmacology community about how to share, engage and learn from different audiences
- Supporting public engagement around Society meetings
- Supporting the Society’s staff team to make sure accurate, accessible and engaging information is given in response to public queries and, occasionally, through media activity.
- Representing the pharmacology community in conversations with policy makers and key stakeholders, to ensure accurate information is used to make decisions that affect the research landscape in the UK and abroad.
Check out some recent activity from our team of Ambassadors and watch the video below to hear an update from Ambassador Coordinator Steve Tucker: