Applications are open for Trellis Symposium student writing commission

The Trellis Symposium is a free, full-day symposium that will explore the potential of transdisciplinary collaborations to generate new ways of knowing, doing and being. It forms part of a series of activities we’re running to celebrate the achievements and reflect on the learnings to date of Trellis, a knowledge exchange programme run by the team for the past eight years.

Trellis brings together UCL researchers, artists and east London-based communities to share experiences and perspectives, co-create artworks and work towards positive change. Over five iterations it has brought together more than 180 researchers, 170 artists and a wide variety of community groups to explore topics ranging from housing insecurity and gentrification, to disability design and navigating end of life healthcare. 

The symposium will be attended by around 100 people, including those who have participated in Trellis, and others working locally in the fields of community engagement with research, socially engaged arts practice and coproduction. Featuring talks, workshops and participatory activities, it will raise the ambition for what's possible when artists, researchers and communities come together to exchange knowledge, ideas and practice, probing the role creative collaborations can play in tackling urgent environmental, health and social challenges. At the same time, we'll be interrogating our current practices, and asking how can we work in more equitable, sustainable and impactful ways. The full programme can be found here.

Apply now

Writing brief

We are keen to commission up to three UCL students with an interest in community engagement, socially-engaged art practice and/or coproduction to each write an article for the Cultural and Community Engagement team blog. This will help people who were not present at the event, and are interested in understanding, participating in and/or supporting transdisciplinary collaborations, to gain an insight into the discussions that were had.

The article should:

• Focus on a particular theme or question explored during one or more of the talks, workshops, discussions or activities at the event, for example sharing power, working equitably, representing people’s stories with care… but we’re open to ideas based on what particularly resonates with you or you find interesting at the event.
• Include insights and learnings you gained from the day, plus your own further reflections.
• Quotes from contributors and/or other attendees can be included (if they agree to them being published).
• The blog should be accessible for a general public reader. It should be written in clear, concise language, with little jargon.
• The piece should be no longer than 800 words.

Fee

We are able to offer each student writer a fee of £200.

Additional budget is available to cover access costs.

Key commitments

• You will need to be available to attend all of the Trellis Symposium, which is running from 9.30am – 5pm on Wednesday 6 May at Rich Mix in Shoreditch.
• We will ask you to pitch your idea for the theme you would like to focus on to the Cultural and Community Engagement team by Wed 13 May.
• The deadline for submitting your final piece is Fri 29 May.

How to apply?

Please complete this short form by 9am, Thurs 30 April 2026.

Undergraduate and postgraduate UCL students from any discipline are welcome to apply.

We are particularly keen to support people who are underrepresented in higher education. This includes, but isn't limited to, disabled, D/deaf, and neurodiverse people, LGBTQ+ people, people from Black, Asian and global majority backgrounds, people from working class backgrounds and others living with health conditions who face barriers to participation.

Feel free to reach out to Mel Davies (Community Engagement Manager, UCL East) if you have any questions or if you would like to apply in a different format.

We will aim to get back to you by Friday 1 May.