Excitement builds for the British Science Festival
Our preparations to host the British Science Festival (BSF), both at the University’s Highfield Campus and across the city of Southampton from Wednesday 16 to Sunday 20 September, are gathering pace.
There will be five days of free events open to the public, staff and students. These events will showcase research and innovation in Southampton and the wider country. This will likely include cutting-edge work across AI, climate futures, health, ocean science and creative art–science collaborations. Visitors will be able to explore the intersection between AI and society and sustainability, climate justice, gut microbiomes, deep‑sea ecosystems and maritime innovation, alongside immersive installations that recreate the sensory world of fish or reimagine the city using generative AI. Hands‑on activities include AI-based challenges, music made through eye‑tracking, and robot meet and greets. The programme will also likely feature science‑infused comedy, art commissions ranging from skateboarding to theatrical performances on AI, as well as urban foraging and a Southern Ocean inspired cocktail workshop, offering a vibrant snapshot of the interdisciplinary creativity embedded in UK research.
In this special edition of Staff Matters, we focus on the progress made to date, what you can expect from the event and how you can get involved.
Dr Ben Littlefield is Head of Public Engagement, Research & Innovation Services:
“Over the past three years colleagues across the institution have been building momentum and working on our hosting of this internationally significant festival. With under six months to go until delivery the final preparations are coming together and I am delighted at the strength of the University of Southampton contribution. Most hosting institutions secure 20 – 25% of the Festival programme, through the Closed Call, Award Lectures, Open Call and the Arts Commissions, nearly 40% of the stories or activities presented will be showcasing our research and innovation. Something that wouldn’t be possible without the deep support and commitment of our colleagues. Building on our substantial expertise in Public Engagement, this Festival will highlight the relevance of our work to build our reputation as an internationally leading centre for research and innovation, and demonstrate the significant positive impacts of our research, partnerships and people.”
In Partnership with our Community
“One of the key principles of our hosting is a commitment to being led by the interests and needs of our wider community. As an engaged University committed to egalitarianism we have spent substantial time listening to our partners in the build up to the Festival, from consulting with members of our Community Hubs to meeting with key Civic and Cultural partners to understand what will best resonate with and support our city.
In a first for the BSF a Youth Panel has been formed and taken a leading role in the curation and shape of the programme. Delivered by LifeLab in collaboration with the Public Engagement with Research unit, this group of young people from Southampton have informed the selection of activities and the places where the Festival will take place.
To further support the Festival’s key aim of being a leader in ‘inclusive science engagement’ the British Science Association (BSA) is offering £1,000 grants to local community groups who work with audiences who are traditionally underrepresented and currently not engaged in science activity. The scheme aims to empower and support community groups to run their own science activities as part of the British Science Festival, enabling new local audiences to engage with science.”
“The festival will transform both our Highfield Campus and the city with events taking place in and around Building 100 and the Turner Sims and in various public spaces and arts and cultural venues across Southampton city centre such as Westquay Shopping Centre, Bitterne Precinct and the Guildhall Square.
September is going to be a busy time with both the Festival and Welcome Week taking place at the same time. There’s a dedicated planning group to manage traffic and logistics, ensuring a welcoming and exciting experience for students, staff, and visitors alike.”
“We are also delighted to share that two of our colleagues were successfully selected to deliver Award Lectures, a prestigious opportunity for early career researchers to explore the social impacts of their work – only seven lectures are selected each year from across the UK and previous lecturers have included household names including Brian Cox and Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Although we cannot share specifics until the official announcement, expect to see themes around social sciences and physical sciences and mathematics.”
To find out more about the preparations that have taken place, and what to expect, please join our BSF Briefing on Tuesday 21 April (15:30 – 16:30). Mark Spearing, (Vice-President for Research & Enterprise), Kara Goodland (Operations and Relationship Manager, Research & Innovation Services), James Brown from the British Science Association and I, will share the latest updates on the Festival, any final opportunities and answer your questions. You can join by using this Teams link. To add the link to your calendar go to the Events page and click on add to my calendar.
We’ve also launched a new monthly podcast to build momentum towards the Festival. Each episode will explore different aspects of the intersection of AI and society that will be showcased at the Festival, the first looks at the work of Chi Ying Lam and Tuyen Nguyen at the intersection of AI, robotics and storytelling for climate action.”
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