Articles about 'Public Engagement'

Cambridge turned curious, noisy and gloriously hands on this spring as the Cambridge Festival wrapped its 2026 edition with a surge of public energy, big ideas and record numbers.

Over 1,200 KS2 and KS3 pupils from across the region and beyond flocked to the Cambridge West site to experience studying at the University of Cambridge with a selection of lectures and workshops held as part of the Cambridge Festival.

On Saturday 28 March (1pm-3pm), join Theo and his colleagues Bisi Akintoye, Kojo Koram and Shayla Schlossenberg, a series of hands-on interactive activities we will imagine what futures beyond drug prohibition could look like here in Cambridge.

What does it really mean for a machine to be conscious – and are we closer than we think? Dr Tom McClelland reflects on the ideas, influences, and ethical questions behind his upcoming talk, Conscious machines? on 23 March.

To mark International Women’s Day (Sunday 8 March), the Cambridge Festival (16 March–2 April) is spotlighting the outstanding achievements of women across a wide range of disciplines.

Ahead of Grandparenting: Perspectives from Across the Globe on 29 March 2026, our speaker spotlight with Dr Terri Apter, family expert and author, dives into grandparents’ underestimated role, the evolving meaning of grandparenting, multi-generational family dynamics, and the hidden ways they support modern family life.

In this speaker spotlight, we chat with Professor Ljiljana Fruk ahead of her Cambridge Festival talk, The Future of Nanomedicine, on 21 March.

As global conflict intensifies, what would it really take to move from endless war to lasting peace? Ahead of An end to war: Creating peace in a turbulent world on 28 March, we spoke to Jenifer Varzaly, Assistant Professor of Law at Durham University and Research Associate at Cambridge.

How did the UK economy shift from 1990s confidence to stagnation and crisis? In our Speaker Spotlight with Professor Jagjit S. Chadha, former Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, ahead of Boom, Bust and Blunders: The UK’s Economic Journey and Policy Pitfalls, 1990–2024 on 19 March 2026, we explore the policy choices, missed warnings and short-term politics that shaped three turbulent decades, and what lessons the UK can no longer afford to ignore.

What if sunlight could turn waste into the fuels and chemicals we rely on every day? In our next Speaker Spotlight with Professor Erwin Reisner, ahead of Beyond photovoltaics: Unlocking the photon economy with solar chemical technologies on 21 March 2026, we explore bold new solar-powered approaches to transforming carbon dioxide, biomass and plastic waste into valuable resources, and how these breakthrough technologies could help drive a circular, net-zero future.