Engagement, and related concepts such as immersion, presence, and motivation, are much sought after in the public discourse of policy, theatre and education. This conference brings together an interdisciplinary spectrum of academics from science and media, performance art and game design practitioners to facilitate discussion and collaboration around the subject of engagement:
• The relationship between physical, emotional, and intellectual engagement
• Results from assessment and quantification of engagement in different fields
• Methodologies and modalities for measuring engagement in different fields

We are also organising a funding workshop with representatives from the main research councils.

The title Inputs/Outputs concerns the interaction between ‘sender’ and ‘receiver’. Inputs can be computer games, immersive theatre productions, novels, music, and classroom lessons; examples of outputs are emotions, memories, neural activities, physiological changes, and motivated behaviours. The conference will offer opportunities to discuss how engagement is engendered, assessed and measured in different fields.

Listen to Radio 4′s Digital Human, where they discuss the science behind the amazing experiences created by horror film makers and immersive theatre to engage their audiences: