The inaugural event, opened by Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell and the Centre’s Director, Professor Donald Forrester, discussed the future of social work and the evidence available to defend the profession.

The main speaker on Wednesday evening (4 March) was Peter Beresford OBE, Professor of Social Policy at Brunel University and a long-term user of mental health services who is actively involved with social care.

Prof Beresford’s lecture focused on the importance of improving the industry’s evidence base by listening to the voices of people who have received social care.

In particular, he mentioned how the negative perception of social work is unjust, considering the evidence provided by the likes of the Centre.

Prof Forrester said: “The Goldberg Centre aims to make a positive contribution to social work and social care research and practice. Like social work itself, our research covers a wide range of issues - from problem drinking in older people to child protection.

“We always try to combine the best of current research and theory with a focus on core social work values. Peter's lecture was a brilliant reminder of the challenges in doing so.”

Prof Beresford’s speech would have struck a chord with the late Tilda Goldberg, a pioneer in the world of social work research whose bequest of £1.2m was used to found the Centre in her name. Tilda was an adviser to Peter’s first research project, helping him earn the necessary funding.

Each year the lecture will feature a topic of similar interest and connection to Tilda and her work, which included research into schizophrenia and the care of the elderly.

The events will involve respondents from within the University, who will demonstrate the work carried out by the Centre and how this builds on Tilda’s vision.

In this case, Prof Beresford’s lecture was followed by talks from Dr Camille Warrington and Dr Sarah Wadd, who, respectively, outlined the University’s research into child sexual exploitation and the work of the Substance Misuse and Ageing Research Team (SMART). The latter recently earned involvement with the Big Lottery’s £25m ‘Drink Wise Age Well’ programme.