Founded by a group of passionate postgraduate students at the University of Edinburgh, InterSci aims to encourage conversations about science and technology.
We believe the best scientific innovations come from interdisciplinary work, and that progress and positive change come from education and everyone’s integration in society. Our goal is to encourage conversation and collaboration between scientists of different disciplines, the public, and make science and research accessible to everyone. We provide a platform for experts to share their work and an opportunity to learn from others through our varied events. We are a university society but our events are open to everyone.
MEMBERSHIP
All of our events are completely free for our members – and membership lasts for one year.
Students – £3/year
Non-Students – £5/year
You can easily purchase your membership online on the EUSA website, or in person if you are a student at the UoE at any of our events.
EVENTS
ChatSci
ChatSci costs only £2 for non-members and takes place fortnightly in the Cellar Monkey (downstairs of the Argyle bar), Edinburgh University Central Campus. Visit the ‘Meet the Scientist‘ page for the exact location each week.
Our main event features two experts who discuss their work or something they find interesting in science. (All in accessible terms thanks to our “No Jargon” rule.)
If you missed the last series of ChatSci (previously known as “Ask A Scientist”), you can check out the photos and meet speakers who featured in our events.
Notable Ig Nobel
The Ig Nobel Prizes are legitimate scientific paper that are awarded to research that ‘first makes people laugh, then makes them think’. Previous winners include:
‘Assessment of the Perceived Personality of Rocks (from a sales and marketing perspective)’ and ‘The Discovery that When Dogs Urinate, they Prefer to Align their Bodies with Earth’s Magnetic Field’.
In these events, two speakers will give 10-15 minute presentations describing the findings of a chosen Ig Nobel Prize winner, followed by a chance for everyone to chat about the “important” issues raised.
Curious? Full list of Ig Nobel Prize winners can be found here: https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/winners/
Notable Ig Nobel costs only £2 for non members and takes takes place in the Cellar Monkey (downstairs of the Argyle bar), Edinburgh University Central Campus.
Art & Science on a Postcard
Art & Science on a Postcard, is a networking and hands-on workshop for artists and scientists to exchange knowledge and ideas and to get creative with science.
How does it work?
First we have a pre- workshop mixer event the week before the main event where you will have the opportunity to meet your partner and chat over a cup of tea or coffee. It is important you are available for both the mixer and workshop so you can start the conversation.
Then we have the workshop where artists will be encouraged to act as a creative mentor to the scientist they are paired with, sharing their practice and experience and scientists will be encouraged to communicate their research in ways that are accessible and to think outside the box in terms of how their science could be represented. The challenge is to ‘distill` you creative reaction from the conversation onto an A6 postcard.
Who is it for?
We encourage artists interested in exploring the challenge of image-making in the response to current scientific research, and scientists interested in embracing creative approaches to image-making as a visual aid in explaining their research to take part.
Other Events
We run workshops, for scientists to develop their public engagement skills, and discussion events where attendees have the opportunity to discuss contentious or controversial areas of science, as well as diverse events in science and family festivals. We have had discussions on human genome editing, nuclear power, climate change, and what we would do if we were contacted by extraterrestrial life.
Upcoming Events
Subscribe to our Google calendar for event notifications:
InterSci 