Leicester Law School hosts the Festival of Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange for Research at the University of Leicester
Leicester Law School is delighted to host the Festival of Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange for Research offering a public platform for academics, students, community organisations, industry leaders, policy makers and civic partners to connect, share and discover the power of research in action.
This three-day festival from Wednesday, 3 December to Friday, 5 December 2025, is designed to foster dialogue and community around how research can transcend beyond academia through meaningful public engagement and well-founded knowledge exchange. The festival will feature a series of events including a public lecture, keynote workshops, a panel discussion and networking sessions.
The festival will open the doors of the Law School’s impactful interdisciplinary research to the wider public and offer the opportunity to discover how cutting-edge legal research and education shapes public policy and contributes towards delivering justice and legal analysis.
The festival will provide new opportunities for existing partners to strengthen ongoing collaborations and for potential partners to build new links with researchers at Leicester Law School.
We gratefully acknowledge funding support from the Economic Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (ESRC IAA), College of Social Sciences Arts and Humanities (CSSAH) and the Leicester Law School.
Events taking place as part of the festival include:
Wednesday, 3 December 2025, 6PM-8PM
Public Lecture on ‘Legal Research, Public Engagement and Civic Partnership: How is the Leicester Law School Shaping Futures and Transforming Society?’ | Sir Bob Burgess Building, Lecture Theatre 2, University of Leicester, LE2 6BF
Speaker: Professor Carlo Panara, Head of Leicester Law School
Thursday, 4 December 2025, 5PM-7PM
Keynote Workshops on ‘Utilising Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange to Develop Regional Partnerships | Haldane Room, Fielding Johnson Building, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH
Speaker: Zoe Williamson, Head of Services, National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE)
&
‘A Case Study of Research Impact from the Institute for Government: Parliamentary Oversight of Regulators | Haldane Room, Fielding Johnson Building, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH
Speaker: Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director, Institute for Government
Friday, 5 December 2025, 3PM-5PM
Panel Discussion on ‘Justice in the Digital Age: Law, Technology, and Society’ | Council Rooms, Fielding Johnson, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH
Panellists: Franziska Hasford, AI Fellow, Justice AI Unit, Ministry of Justice | Professor Pablo Cortes, Chair in Civil Justice, Leicester Law School
Festival organiser, Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Lead for Research, Associate Professor in Law at Leicester Law School, Dr Constantina Sampani said: “Given the university’s strong commitment to research excellence and civic engagement, we look forward to showcasing existing and enabling new innovative collaborations, and to actively promote research that makes a difference. This festival is part of our continuing effort to strengthen connections between academia, society and public discourse.”
Professor Paul Almond, Director of Research, Leicester Law School said: “These exciting and thought-provoking events, which we are staging with support from the Economic and Social Research Council, underline our ambition to be an outward-facing, socially engaged Law School which can push boundaries, challenge established ideas, and change the wider world. Building connections between researchers, policy actors and decision-makers, and business and civil society partners, is central to maximising the impact that our work can have on other people, the discipline, and society as a whole.”