From Lab to Lectern: Professor Saiful Islam’s Journey in Public Engagement

At A Glance

• Prof. Saiful Islam found that engaging with public audiences improved his research presentations by teaching him to focus on key messages and using clear visuals.
• Saiful’s journey began with short talks at local events and grew to high-profile opportunities, demonstrating that even small steps can lead to impactful engagement.
• Saiful’s use of 3D glasses and a world record-breaking lemon battery demo shows how interactive, creative approaches can make complex concepts more accessible and memorable.

Professor Saiful Islam, Professor of Materials Modelling at the University of Oxford, is a leading researcher in the field of energy materials. His focus includes the development of new materials for sustainable technologies such as lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. His work also encompasses cutting-edge research on perovskites, a particularly exciting area in materials science due to their potential in next-generation solar cell applications.

Public engagement with research is a valuable and integral part of research practice, offering opportunities to communicate complex ideas, inspire diverse audiences, and foster collaboration beyond academic circles. For Saiful, it became an impactful part of his career, enriching not only his outreach work to promote diversity and inclusion, but also his scientific conference talks. His journey showcases how thoughtful public engagement can enhance a researcher’s profile and effectiveness. These activities have been recognised by STEM outreach awards (from the Faraday Institution and the Institute of Materials IOM3), and by membership of the Royal Society Public Engagement Committee.

Igniting a Passion for Public Engagement

Saiful’s first foray into public engagement was through Ignite Talks and local science events, including Café Science and Pint of Science. These initial experiences, where he gave short, dynamic presentations in informal settings like pubs and cafes, sparked a desire to share his research with a broader audience. He found that audiences appreciated clarity and accessibility, and this feedback motivated him to refine his talks further.

A pivotal moment in Saiful’s engagement journey was his involvement with the “Education in Action” series in London. Speaking to an audience of 900 A-level students at UCL’s Logan Hall, he used 3D glasses for the audience to make 3D crystal structures of energy materials more engaging and interactive. This experience solidified his belief in the value of creative approaches to science communication.

Enhancing Communication Skills Through Engagement

Saiful realised that the principles of effective communication—clear visuals, minimal text, and a focus on key takeaways—applied equally to research conferences and university department seminars . He began incorporating these elements into his research talks, making them more engaging and impactful. "It’s about leaving your audience with memorable nuggets rather than overwhelming them," he explains.

Saiful says: "I tell my students to avoid using slides like a poster presentation. Less is more. Big images, minimal text, and clear messages—that’s what works in public engagement and academic talks alike."

Overcoming Challenges

Despite the rewards, public engagement comes with challenges. Saiful’s experience with his 2016 BBC Royal Institution Christmas Lectures exemplifies this. Reflecting on his experience, Saiful says: "It was one of the most stressful but rewarding things I've done. Unlike academic talks, I didn’t have full control. I had to work with a team to develop the script and rely on live demos. It’s a different level of pressure when you’re on live TV."

"There was this moment during the lemon battery demo where we were trying to break a world record," he recalls. "We weren’t sure if it would work until the very last minute." He acknowledged the immense pressure to meet the high expectations of the BBC, the audience, and the Royal Institution, feeling a deep sense of responsibility to deliver a memorable and impactful experience. Yet, he reflects on these challenges as valuable learning experiences, teaching him resilience and adaptability.

Saiful has since gone on to beat this fruit-powered battery record-breaking achievement. You can read more about the Guinness World Record here.

Practical Advice for Aspiring Engagers

For researchers interested in public engagement, Saiful offers practical advice:

• Start Small: Initiatives like Pint of Science and Cafe Scientifique require less preparation and offer a supportive environment to practice public communication skills.
• Focus on Key Messages: Simplify your presentations to highlight a few key takeaways. This approach is more effective for both public and academic audiences.
• Balance Engagement with Research: Recognise the time commitment involved and be selective about opportunities. It’s important to manage your workload to avoid burnout. Saiful emphasised that for him, reaching larger audiences was a key motivator, but others may find different aspects of engagement more aligned with their own priorities. Understanding what matters most to you can help shape a more rewarding engagement strategy.

Creating a Culture of Engagement

Saiful’s story highlights the importance of institutional support and mentorship in fostering a culture of public engagement. He notes that when senior researchers and group leaders encourage public engagement, it has a ripple effect, inspiring more junior researchers to participate.

Although Saiful primarily learned through hands-on experience, he reflected that a bit of formal training would have been beneficial. While the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures were a collaborative effort, he noted that having structured guidance could have made the process of designing a lecture with numerous demonstrations more manageable.

At the University of Oxford, where Saiful now works, there is a growing recognition of the value of public engagement. He points to efforts like departmental initiatives as examples of how institutions can create structured opportunities for researchers to engage with the public in meaningful ways.

Conclusion: The Mutual Benefit of Public Engagement

Professor Saiful Islam’s journey illustrates that public engagement is not just about disseminating research to the public including school students; it’s also about enhancing the researcher’s own communication skills and broadening their impact. His experiences demonstrate that public engagement can be a mutually beneficial process, where researchers learn as much from the public as the public learns from them.

For researchers considering public engagement, Saiful’s story serves as an inspiring example of how creative, thoughtful outreach can enrich both research practice and personal growth. His advice? Start small, be selective, and always focus on the key takeaways. And have fun! With the right mindset and support, public engagement can become a valuable and enjoyable part of any researcher’s career journey.

Looking to Develop Your Presentation Skills?

Public engagement offers a valuable opportunity to enhance your communication skills and improve your research presentations. Here are some practical steps to get started:

• Get Inspired: Attend talks or watch online presentations to observe effective communication styles. Ask yourself: What holds your attention? How do speakers simplify complex ideas? What can you adapt for your own talks?
• Access Training: Click here to find presentation skills training available to you.
• Practice Means Progress: Get involved with departmental events to hone your skills in a supportive environment. Alternatively, click here to keep an eye on upcoming opportunities like Pint of Science that Saiful highlighted as valuable.
• Get Tailored Feedback: Speak to an experienced peer, ask your departmental outreach/engagement officer for advice, or click here to book a one-to-one helpdesk session with Michaela Livingstone-Banks.

Public engagement doesn’t just benefit your audience—it helps you grow as a researcher. By developing your presentation skills, you can communicate your work more effectively, inspire others, and open new doors in your career.

This case study was drafted with the assistance of AI: the interview transcript was generated with AI. ChatGPT was used to generate text according to human directed key points. The final text was edited for content and clarity by Michaela Livingstone-Banks and Saiful Islam.