2018

Back in November 2018, the University of Edinburgh Festivals Team were lucky enough to be involved in a very festive filming project in the grand McEwan Hall.

The Festivals Office Team, despite the name of their office , do not have any downtime when the summer festival season is finished. In fact they work year round on creative and cultural events based in and around the University campus.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city but it can be a tricky one to get around. Hills, cobbles, steps and alleyways can be challenging to most people, but add issues around mobility and Edinburgh becomes very daunting indeed. Though some historic buildings will always remain inaccessible, we’re all trying to improve access for everyone.

Nathaniel Brimmer -Beller is about to enter his 4th year as a student of International Relations at the University of Edinburgh. He founded Black Bat Productions in 2016 when he put on Mack The Knife at Bedlam Theatre and since then some fabulous people with unique talents and insights have come aboard to create a well-oiled team who are producing great works.

Dominic Lewis is a busy man. He works at the University of Edinburgh as Assistant Manager of Reception Services and Hotels and is also a warden managing a team who provide welfare support and event programming to students. So I was amazed when he told me last September that he was going to launch Bare Productions - an Edinburgh-based theatre company committed to providing opportunities for amateur performers, through professional standard shows.

Last month, a member of university staff was surprised that the Festivals Office was only comprised of four people. I responded by explaining that although the official Festivals Office is just 4 people (Lorna Brain, Anastasia Bishop, Kate Lindey, Gwen Orr), there are a LOT of people that we liaise with throughout the university and beyond that help us make these festivals run smoothly on the university campus.

The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival is well underway and, as usual, it is bringing a certain swagger to the city. And this year, for the first time, that swagger has entered Teviot Row House offering concert venues as well as new catering venues.

Dr Niki Vermeulen, a Lecturer in the History and Sociology of Science, is the winner of the University’s 2018 Tam Dalyell Prize. The public engagement award is made for Curious Edinburgh, a series of virtual tours that explore the rich scientific heritage of the city. Dr Vermeulen will deliver the Tam Dalyell Prize Lecture as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Dr Amy Pedersen in the School of Biological Sciences studies the complexities of parasite-borne infections in the real world, in which organisms are usually infected by multiple parasites at once, and where parasites can cause infection in several different species.

Dr Sian Henley, a Research Fellow in the School of GeoSciences, studies some of the most hostile environments on Earth - the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. Dr Henley and a team of volunteers from the UK polar science community will share their experiences at Meet the Polar Scientists, a drop-in event for families.

Dr Isabel Fletcher is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Law, whose expertise focuses on the interactions between nutrition research and public health policy. Dr Fletcher is introducing two speakers, and chairing discussions with the audience, examining the environmental impacts of the food system and ways in which we can start to eat more sustainably.

Alex Murphy is Professor of Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics in the School of Physics and Astronomy. He will join a discussion about the search for elusive dark matter and dark energy, which will touch on the latest evidence and experiments.

Professor Bill Earnshaw is Wellcome Principal Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences’ Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology. Professor Earnshaw will be hosting an interactive science and art workshop inspired by his team’s research into the complexities of cell division.

Friday 9th February is Day 1 of Latin America Week at the University of Edinburgh and it’s also Day 1 of Rio De Janeiro’s world famous street carnival. So, what better way to kick things off than with an Edinburgh Carnival!