Edinburgh Science Festival

Edinburgh Science Festival is the world's first science festival and one of Europe's largest celebrations of science and technology. Throughout its history, Heriot-Watt researchers have been involved in talks, debates, discussions exhibitions and workshops to share their research and inspire the next generation. Check out the Edinburgh Science Festival website to see what is coming up in the next festival. 

Talks and debates

Every year, our researchers take to the stage to discuss and debate ground-breaking research, from the fate of our oceans, to new technologies that are changing the world. For example, in 2021, Professor Verena Reiser and her team took part in a debate. 'Gendering AI - the case of Conversational Assistants', which discussed issues surrounding gender and conversational assistants, and what can be done to combat them. 

Key themes addressed over the past few years include how we achieve net-zero emissions, how we protect our oceans from the threats they face, how robotics and AI will impact our future, and much more. 

Family Fun Day

In 2018 and 2019, we were delighted to welcome Edinburgh Science Festival on to our Edinburgh campus, as we transformed Oriam, Scotland's Sports Performance Centre, into an Olympics of discovery!  Visitors could get hands on with cutting-edge research spanning robots and virtual reality to bacteria and body parts. The days were packed with workshops and interactive activities exploring healthy homes, bodies and minds.

For information about upcoming events and activities featuring Heriot-Watt research, check out the HW Engage Facebook page.