Orkney International Science Festival

Orkney cliffs

Run in September every year, the vibrant and exhilarating Orkney International Science Festival brings visitors from near and far to its exhibitions, talks and workshops. 

The first Orkney Science Festival (OISF) took place in 1991, opened by Professor Heinz Wolff. It was the world's second science festival, after Edinburgh. Over the years since then, the programme has included speakers such as primatologist Jane Goodall, astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, physicist Prof. Peter Higgs, American astronaut John Young, cognitive psychologist Prof. Richard Gregory, educator Bunker Roy, Nobel laureate Brian Josephson, mathematician John Barrow, and television presenters Heather Couper, Tim Hunkin and Kathy Sykes.

Each year, researchers from both our International Centre for Island Technology in Orkney, and our Edinburgh campus get involved in the festival, sharing their marine and environmental research. Further information can be found on the OISF website.