Gearing up for the European City of Science

THE GAZE of the science world will fall on Manchester as it gears up for celebrations as the European City of Science 2016 – and Manchester Met is as the forefront of the city-wide showcase.

As part of the accolade of European City of Science, the city hosts the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) July 23 to 27, which is timed perfectly to kick-start the summer break.

A free week-long festival, Science in the City, will celebrate the wonders of science from 22 to 29 July, to coincide with the ESOF conference, which will be taking place in Manchester Central.

ESOF is one of the best opportunities for leading thinkers, innovators, policy makers, journalists and educators from more than 90 countries, to discuss current and future breakthroughs in contemporary science, as well as propose a vision for the future of European science.

Science community

Now in its seventh iteration, ESOF attracts around 4,500 delegates to the host city during the week of the conference, held between 24 and 27 July in Manchester.

The Science in the City festival base will be located at Manchester Met’s Number 70 at Oxford Street, where there will be free informal talks, discussions, debates and workshops with scientists and technologists from different disciplines. The University is making a significant contribution to the ECOS events, with the Faculty of Science and Engineering leading the involvement.

Professor Joanna Verran, Head of the School of Research, Enterprise and Innovation within the Faculty is enthusiastic about the events highlighting some of the amazing work being carried out at the University.

She said: “The Science in the City festival has given us a great opportunity to showcase the research and engagement activities that we are so good at. It has been really exciting working with all faculties across the University to bring together a programme which highlights our collaborative culture and innovative ideas. The week is going to be great fun.”

Fascinating

Cross-faculty collaborations are taking place across the city, such as the Manchester School of Art working with the Faculty of Science and Engineering on the Peppered Moth Project. This project was set up to create teacher resources that use artistic methods to explore and understand the science behind the story of the peppered moth at different key stages of its evolution. The story of the moth is about climate change, and the project aims to find ways to talk and think about positive futures for both people and nature in Manchester and the wider world.

Research in microbiology is highlighted through a series of events linking the subject with art, literature, gaming – and food. Manchester Met also brings together key researchers in the human body as part of the ‘Science of Me’ programme, taking place in the Arndale Centre.

Dr Sam Illingworth, Senior Lecture in Science Communication, will be hosting the Science Meets Poetry event, which sees five local poets paired with scientists from across the ESOF programme to create a series of collaborative performance pieces that will be showcased at the John Rylands Library.

Find out more

With many more events due to take place, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for some amazing science this month and beyond.

ECOS is a year-long programme designed to engage and inspire everyone from the next generation of scientists, to anyone of any age with an interest in the world we live in.

See here for more information on ESOF or see here for more information on Science in the City festival and full event listings.