Five minute profile: interview with Katie Oldfield

What’s your background and how does it give you additional insight to your work at RDS? 

Before RDS I worked in several public engagement roles at Edinburgh Science Festival, Dynamic Earth and National Museums Scotland. Working in public engagement means you often cover different subject areas in each job: my roles have ranged from running robot workshops to giving talks in a fake rainforest to organising a maths festival. That experience of talking about topics with different audiences has helped me think creatively about how to communicate the work of RDS. Working with kids especially makes you think about how to distil information and make things fun, which has been important in my role here.

Before I worked in public engagement, my first job was as at Network Rail, and whilst the need to signal trains hasn’t yet been required at RDS, I learnt a lot about problem solving and working under pressure which has been useful throughout my career since!

What’s a highlight and a challenge of your role? 

A highlight has been forming the Scotland Talks Data panel including recruiting new public members, developing new training and ways of working with them. We aim to create an environment in which people are comfortable to share their opinions and it’s really rewarding to get to know them and receive feedback from them about how much they’ve enjoyed being part of the panel. They constantly surprise us with the questions they ask and insights they give – I always look forward to the panel meetings.

The biggest challenge is understanding some of the more technical information in the work that RDS is doing. I’ve learnt a lot of new acronyms and data language since starting this role! It’s a challenge I love though since making that information accessible for everyone is key and everyone at RDS has been very happy to explain their specialisms.

What difference do you hope RDS will make? 

It’s been exciting to see RDS start the journey of simplifying access for researchers and the potential for how that can improve public policy and the lives of people in Scotland. Perhaps biasedly being in the Partnerships and Communications team, I’m hoping RDS can also play a role in communicating with people about what happens to their data, how it is kept safe and how it can help others. Being transparent about what happens is important and I think RDS has a role in that.

What would be your "Mastermind" specialist subject? 

Restaurants of Edinburgh – I’m the sort of person who will be googling the menu days in advance of going for a meal.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

‘Stop and boil the kettle.’

This advice was less about the tea and more about stepping away from a problem or stressful situation, clearing your head for a couple of minutes and returning with fresh eyes. But a cup of tea always helps too.

The RDS Public Engagement Fund opens for applications on Monday 2 September, and eligible organisations can apply for £1,000 to £10,000 to help improve public understanding of the use of data in research. Find out more about the fund.