People can find out about ‘nature’s death ray guns’ at the next Bournemouth University Café Scientifique event, on Tuesday July 2.
The informal lecture series takes place in Café Boscanova, in Christchurch Road, on the first Tuesday of every month and aims to make academic research more accessible.
Dr Jen Gupta, from Portsmouth University, will be delivering a talk on nature’s death ray guns, otherwise known as black holes.
There will then be time for discussion and questions from the audience.
Café Scientifique is free and there is no need to book. Food and drink will be available for people to purchase before and during the event.
Doors open from 6:30pm and the talk will run between 7:30 and 9pm.
The Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts MP was at Bournemouth University (BU) today to help launch its Festival of Learning.
The week-long Festival of Learning features more than 150 free public events and activities – showcasing the work and research taking place at the university to the wider community.
“It’s so important to get members of the public into universities,” said David Willetts MP.
“Because there are lots of people who don’t quite know what happens on a university campus, it’s important to build good relations between the university and the wider community.
“Having thousands of people coming in to Bournemouth University this week, because of the range of activities available at the Festival, that’s a great idea.”
The Minister attended some of the sessions taking place at BU’s Talbot Campus on the first day of the Festival of Learning.
He joined schoolchildren taste-testing sweetcorn during the VeggiEAT – are you a supertaster? event, and visited the Are you a super-recogniser? Live Lab stand to find out more about the work being done into facial recognition at BU.
He also attended the Cuddly kittens, awesome lasers and free food graduate exhibition being run by BA (Hons) Interactive Media Production students, trying out some of the work they had created, such as mind-powered meditation lamps and a sound-wave bracelet.
David Willetts MP said: “It’s been great to visit Bournemouth University – there’s some really interesting and really exciting research work going on. It’s also great to meet the students and talk to them about the high quality of the teaching here.
“Bournemouth has a particular reputation when it comes to media and IT and I did have the opportunity of seeing some fascinating student work and projects, which really were excellent.”
BU’s Festival of Learning is a flagship regional event for Universities Week, which is run by Universities UK to demonstrate the relevance of university research and its impact on everyday lives.
While at BU, David Willetts MP gave a speech about the importance of higher education and university research to businesses, the economy and society as a whole.
He said: “This year’s Universities Week is a chance to celebrate what is a truly great time for higher education. Institutions across the country are doing excellent research that could have a huge impact on all our lives.”
Chief Executive of Universities UK Nicola Dandridge, who also attended the opening of BU’s Festival of Learning, said: “The aim of Universities Week is to highlight the world-leading research taking place in our universities.
“We hope BU’s Festival of Learning and other events being held during Universities Week will inspire members of the public and give them an opportunity to see how universities are helping to solve some of the UK’s and the world’s biggest challenges.”
BU’s Festival of Learning runs until Sunday 15 June with a wide-range of hands-on taster sessions, interactive workshops and seminars on offer – covering everything from the geology of Star Wars planets to why we’re obsessed with eating spicy foods.
The Festival of Learning is now in its second year, and BU’s Vice-Chancellor Professor John Vinney said he was delighted that the Minister attended the opening.
He added: “Universities play a vital role in our society and this is a great opportunity for our local community to find out more about our research and how it can impact their lives and the lives of those around the world.
“We want to share the knowledge and experience of our world-leading academics with the public through our Festival of Learning events.”
You can find out more about the Festival of Learning, and book onto events, at www.bournemouth.ac.uk/fol.
Find out more about Bournemouth University’s (BU’s) upcoming Festival of Learning in Bournemouth Square this Saturday.
Staff and students will be promoting the event with fun free activities in the Square from 11am to 6pm on Saturday 17 May.
This includes the chance to take part in hands-on soap making sessions and famous psychology experiments.
There will also be a bubble artist, who will be hosting interactive bubble-making classes.
Barry Squires, Public Engagement and Impact Manager at BU, said: “This event will be a great chance to find out more about our Festival of Learning – and have fun in the process.
“The hands-on activities led by students and staff are suitable for all ages, and you can hear about the fantastic range of free events that we’ll have on offer during the Festival of Learning.”
BU’s Festival of Learning runs from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 June, with more than 150 free events and activities open to the public – from workshops tackling children’s sleep problems to talks exploring why we’re obsessed with eating spicy foods and an archaeology walk looking at the history beneath Hengistbury Head.
Fancy going on a kitchen safari to see what bacteria lurk in your food? How about unleashing your inner monkey, uncovering the history that lies beneath Hengistbury Head, or finding out how best to market your business?
These are just some of the 150+ free events being held by Bournemouth University as part of its 2014 Festival of Learning.
It runs from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 June and is open to staff, students and members of the public – with events taking place at the university’s Talbot and Lansdowne campuses, and locations across Dorset.
Different events will run throughout the day and evening, and range from interactive workshops and hands-on taster sessions to presentations and seminars.
For the brave among you, there will even be a chance to try some unusual foodstuffs – including insects and super-hot chillis.
The Festival of Learning is now in its second year, and BU’s Vice-Chancellor Professor John Vinney hopes it will be even bigger and better than before.
“Last year we had over 4,000 local people joining us to find out more about our research and how it can impact their lives and the lives of those around the world,” he said.
“Whether you’re part of a business, interested in the latest technological developments, looking for something different to do with the family, or are simply inspired by learning new things, there’s something for everyone.”
The events focus around several exciting themes – including Food and Drink, Professional Development, and Secret Dorset – with activities looking at a range of diverse subjects, covering everything from health and nutrition to business accounting and finance, and the technology of tomorrow.
There are also live labs running on campus throughout the week, giving people the chance to experience first-hand the work and research taking place at the university – from testing to see if you are a super-recogniser to understanding the physical reactions people have playing video games.
With everything from children’s animation workshops to an introduction to the stock market on offer – there’s something for all ages and interests.
To book onto an event, or for more information, visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/fol or call 01202 962362.
You can also keep up with the Festival of Learning on Facebook and Twitter, and share your thoughts using #BUFest14.
Bournemouth University’s Festival of Learning was featured on the Katie Martin Show on BBC Radio Solent.
Rebecca Edwards, one of the Festival’s organisers, spoke on the programme telling listeners how to sign up and the sorts of events taking place during the Festival.
Dr Rebecca Edwards said, “The Festival of Learning is ten days where we are offering over 100 free to attend activities on all sorts of different topics. We have got everything from a workshop on social media for the terrified; we’ve also got a debate on how much intervention women should have in childbirth, we’ve got an interactive lecture on how to build the perfect sandcastle.”
Rebecca continued, “In terms of where the idea came from, they have been generated by colleagues from across Bournemouth University. We put a call out to all our academic colleagues and those working in professional services and said ‘we want to share all of the brilliant stuff you do with a much wider audience and people who are living locally, so what can you do as a part of the Festival of Learning?’ Our office was inundated with ideas for brilliant events, we have spent the last year or so pulling them all together into the programme that you can see now for the Festival of Learning.”
Talking to Katie Martin, Rebecca said, “Sometimes universities can feel quite imposing but I would say that everyone is welcome to these events. This is something I have talked to an awful lot of people about. We have been doing a lot of work across the area, in Poole High Street, handing out programmes and talking to people about the Festival and very much saying learning is for life and there is no barrier in coming to the institution. Within the Festival of Learning we have a number of events taking place outside of the university, for example the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole and also in Poole Park and a cinema in Wareham so not just staying in the University.
“If you want to bring the family along we’ve got events that are definitely events for that but also there are lots of things you can turn up to as an individual because you are interested in it. You will get a big friendly welcome from Bournemouth University when you sign up to one of our events.
“The Festival of Learning is a great opportunity to come along, to see what some of our facilities are like and, most importantly, learn more about what we are passionate about and meet some of the individuals that lecture on some of the various courses that we offer. As an institution we recognise that we need to be learning from the public around us all the time – it’s part of the reason we are throwing the doors open to people – we want them to say what we should be researching and get more knowledge on.”
You can listen to the programme again for the next seven days on the BBC Website.
Bournemouth University
