Researchers from all backgrounds, disciplines and levels of experience from PhD onwards are invited to take part in Futures 2022 and 2023.
We’re looking for ideas for interactive engagement – it could be a talk, activity, demonstration, walk or workshop. We are open to new suggestions and can help develop an idea if you need help.
To express an interest please fill out a very short form here.
Futures2022
Futures 2022
FUTURES2022 is a festival of discovery that celebrates the research and innovation across the South West with an exciting programme of events and activities.
The event is a collaboration between Bath Spa University, University of Bath, University of Bristol, University of Exeter and University of Plymouth.
Across Devon, there will be a Pop-Up shop (with talks, demonstrations, and activities), walks with researchers, and a school engagement programme.
What's on across Devon this year?
Pop-Up Curiosity Shop of Science and Culture
Make Tank Exeter
30 Sep & 1 Oct 2022
29 & 30 Sept 2023
Calling all imagineers, engineers, and balladeers! A celebration of bonkers discovery and intriguing culture, Agile Rabbit is bringing a shop full of science, mayhem, music and more to the centre of Exeter. It’s just for one day and it’s all free entry.
Music, theatre, guided walks, demonstrations, talks, workshops, and even robots bring to life the brilliant work that happens at the University of Exeter.
It will be a celebration of bonkers discovery and intriguing culture filled with science, mayhem, research and more in the centre of Exeter. Theatre, demos, talks, workshops, and even robots will bring to life the brilliant work that happens at UoE. Curious minds can meet scientists, historians, medics, and mathematicians, and more. Musicians and artists will work with researchers to bring their work to life for all ages and backgrounds.
Walkie Talkies Across the South West
Various locations across the Southwest
30 Sept & 1 Oct 2022
29 & 30 Sept 2023
Academics from the University of Exeter and beyond, at varied career stages, will guide walks and reveal varied research in an exciting array of locations.
Walks will include:
- Exploring a moorland restoration project on Dartmoor National Park
- Investigating links between environment, health and oceans through a tour of the fishing town Falmouth
- Discovering the ancient worlds and biodiversity of our planet through an tour of Reed Hall gardens in Exeter.
This engaging format is the ultimate ‘show and tell’, powerfully bringing research to life, demonstrating findings, and taking the public right into the inspiring places where vital work happens.
The Psychedelic Renaissance
Dartington Great Hall, Totnes
20 Oct 2022, 7.30pm
Psychedelic drugs are gaining popularity in the pharmaceutical industry because of their benefits for people suffering with psychiatric disorders.
Groundbreaking work at Imperial College suggests that psilocybin in Magic Mushrooms ‘resets’ brain activity in people with depression, while MDMA may help those with PTSD.
What are the potential benefits and drawbacks?
The Philosophy and Psychedelics Exeter Research Group aims to advance philosophical scholarship and debate on psychedelic experiences, substances, and their wider societal setting. The group’s founders will speak.
Join a trip with world experts David Nutt, Dr David Erritzoe, Professor Christine Hauskeller, Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, and BBC host Ritula Shah to look at the medical, societal, and historical implications of these recent discoveries.
Come along to make questions and comments and join the conversation - or just sit and listen!
View the full programme here >>
Another Point of View: Exeter's Multi-coloured History
Make Tank, Paris Street, Exeter
11am, Friday 30th September 2022
Uncover hidden aspects of Exeter’s 2000-year history on this intriguing walk and talk: meet the Romans, Saxons, Normans, Jews, ‘Aliens’, Africans, visitors and migrants who have enriched the city. The tour sprang from the community-led Heritage Lottery funded project “Telling our Stories, Finding our Roots: Exeter’s Multi-Coloured History”.
The walk starts at the Cathedral and finishes at the Mosque, and takes 2 hours. Your guide is historian Dr Ghee Bowman from the University of Exeter.
Free but booking essential.
Peep Show Walking Tour
Teignmouth Lighthouse, Teignmouth
11am, Saturday 1 October 2022
Enjoy a gentle walking tour along Teignmouth seafront and hear about the fascinating history of traditional seaside entertainment. Your guide will be Dr Tony Lidington of the University of Exeter, an expert in theatre history and celebrated performer.
Peepshows were a hugely popular form of entertainment before moving images were invented.
On the walk, you will have the chance to see two renovated peep shows sentry boxes.
The new peepbox shows different views of Teignmouth at the press of a button, with peepholes at heights for adults and children. The six pictures inside – which will be illuminated at the press of a button – are inspired by Dr Lidington’s research and collaborations with Teignmouth Museum and the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum into pre-cinematic storytelling devices such as peepshows and raree men. They include a picture of a Bank Holiday in Teignmouth in the 1950s, a poster for a concert in the town by local band Muse and views of the seafront. The pictures can be changed in the future, and the peepbox also has a noticeboard for events in Teignmouth.
The Value of Play: Walk and Talk
Maketank Gallery, 3-5 Paris Street, Exeter
11.30am, Saturday 1 October 2022
Join us for a gentle walk and conversation about the value of play in innovation and creativity.
Many of us might think play is left behind in childhood, but increasingly research shows that it is valuable throughout life and sometimes in unexpected ways.
Play can be used for creativity, as well as compassion and wellbeing. On the walk, expect to do something playful too.
INNOPLAY is a University of Exeter initiative run by Maarten Koeners (Medical School) and Adam Lusby (Business School), aiming to find solutions to enable innovation through play. We research, develop and teach how to combine play with design mindset to unlock creativity, wellbeing, belonging and joy.