Public Engagement at Utrecht University – Interview with Ozan Alakavuklar

Check out the recent interview with Anders Utrecht initiator Ozan Alakavuklar in which he shares his motivation to start Anders Utrecht and his vision for what engaged fieldwork looks like. Hint: It requires getting your hands dirty, because engaged research “is no remote consultancy: it is truly seeing how societal impact is organized in day-to-day practice”.

As a researcher in New Zealand, Ozan noticed that there is a gap between academica and community work. He wondered how research has to be done differently to bridge this gap. How can the university become an anchor institution in the city that is a long-term partner for societal transformation? With this vision he started Anders Utrecht together with a group of Utrecht University researchers in 2020.

Read the full article here or check out the UU magazine Close-Up #3 which features many inspiring examples of Utrecht Universities’ public engagement projects.