With Heriot-Watt winning the bid for the National Performance Centre for Sport and this being the year of the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, this year's from Heriot-Watt Edinburgh Lecture has a sporting theme.
With a background in competitive cycling spanning 20 years, James McCallum has witnessed the sport's dramatic rise first hand; from a niche past time to one of the country's most loved and successful sports.
Impact on society
With a fourth Commonwealth games just around the corner this summer and retirement from international cycling looming - James takes a retrospective look at his pathway from growing up in Glasgow to competing internationally, the on-going shift in the Scottish mentality of being the underdog and how the legacy of London 2012 has had an impact on society and how Glasgow 2014 will help continue that legacy.
James McCallum is a leading Scottish racing cyclist with multiple British and Scottish titles across all disciplines on road and track racing. He has represented Great Britain and Scotland in both road and track cycling.
Bronze medal
2014 will be his fourth Commonwealth Games, which will make him Scotland's most capped Commonwealth cyclist.Melbourne 2006 saw him a winning a bronze medal in the Scratch race and with that his first professional contract.
Until 2006, between racing and training, James also worked night shifts as a nurse. He was previously the Scottish Cycling Coordinator, who promotes cycling in Scotland, combining the job with his racing. James dabbled in many sports before settling on cycling and at one point he was a gymnast.
He recently joined the Champions in Schools project that helps to inspire Scotland's youth to follow a pathway to good health and sport.
Tickets
Tickets are available now for this year's Edinburgh Lecture, which will be held on Tuesday 6 May 2014 at 6.30pm at the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Galleries of Scotland on the Mound.
More information on the other Edinburgh Lectures can be found on their website.
This year's lecture is presented in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University.