Enlightenment Lecture

Please join us for the next lecture in our Enlightenment series, which will be delivered by Professor Sir John Beddington.

Sir John will discuss legacies of the 20th century and challenges for the 21st at the McEwan Hall on Wednesday 19 November, at 6.30pm.

The free public lecture also forms part of this year's Our Changing World series.

Professor Sir John Beddington

Former Government Chief Scientific Adviser, and Edinburgh alumnus, Sir John is a world-leading expert on global challenges and their impact on society.

He is Convenor of the Global Academies Advisory Board and is renowned for coining the infamous phrase “the perfect storm”.

Esteemed speakers

The University’s Enlightenment Lectures highlight aspects of the Enlightenment's legacy in the context of today's society, encompassing talks from global leaders in politics, philosophy, science and economics.

Previous speakers include Joseph Stiglitz, Irene Khan, Mary Robinson, Aubrey Manning, Amartya Sen, Jon Snow and Robert Winston.

Our Changing World

The Our Changing World lectures examine global challenges facing society, and the role of academia in addressing them.

Topics addressed in this year’s programme include antibiotic resistance, impact and adaptation to climate change, society’s relationship with the internet and Scotland after the referendum.

This is the fifth anniversary of the Our Changing World series, which has produced more than 35 lectures discussing wide-ranging issues of global interest.

Interdisciplinary course

These lectures also form the basis of an interdisciplinary course for undergraduate students at Edinburgh.

This optional course aims to engage our students to:

• think critically about global challenges across traditional subject boundaries
• understand the relevance and impact of their own subject discipline in an interdisciplinary context

Social responsibility and sustainability

The University ensures that social, ethical and environmental concerns influence its decision making and the way it operates day to day.

We were recently ranked as third best in the UK's higher education sector for environmental and social responsibility.

Contact details

For more information on these events, please contact Professor Mayank Dutia.

Notes

These events will be photographed and recorded for promotional and recruitment materials for the University and University approved third parties.