Preview: Research Without Borders Festival

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Fly a drone, experience night time at a refugee camp and watch a robot race — just some of the exciting activities that members of the public can experience during Research without Borders, the University of Bristol’s free public festival of postgraduate research, which includes a day-long showcase at Colston Hall on May 9.

The interactive exhibition will feature 100 of the University of Bristol’s best research students, selected competitively from a 2,100-strong postgraduate research community, presenting their cutting-edge research to academics, employers and the public at this year’s Research without Borders Festival.

Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, said: “Our postgraduate research students play a vital role in developing key advancements which tackle issues around health, the environment, data and mental health. It’s fantastic to see their work brought to life, so that the public can experience first-hand how this work may affect them and their concerns about the world.”

In addition to the showcase exhibition, the festival programme also includes a series of stimulating evening discussions, organised in partnership with the University Research Institutes. Held from Monday, April 30 to Thursday, May 3 (6pm – 8pm), the discussion series will allow Bristolians to get their teeth into topics such as healthcare challenges, antibiotic discovery and learning from the past.

Festival-goers will discover how research is used to tackle the challenges of the 21st Century and how it can impact on their lives. Each evening talk will be followed by a debate, giving the audience the opportunity to challenge and question the presenters, and will finish with a drinks reception.

Research without Borders discussion with Brigstow: Living well with the past

Book your free ticket and drop in between 6.00pm and 7.30pm at the Watershed and join the lively discussion on how communities can come to terms with difficult pasts to create a better future. As the debate continues over how Bristol can confront its role in the slave trade, researchers from the University of Bristol will discuss examples of dark periods of history from around the world including the Holocaust, Taiwan’s democratic struggles and LGBT+ histories in ancient Greece. What can Bristol learn? Book now on Eventbrite

The showcase

Sign up for free tickets and drop in between 10:30am and 4:30pm to view the interactive exhibits or register for an organised school visit.

There will also be a lunchtime networking event for academics and external organisations to explore collaboration opportunities.

Visitors who stay until the end of the day will be able to witness speed and academic clout collide in live finals of the Three Minute Thesis competition from 4.30pm to 5pm. The tournament will see eight finalists whittle their thesis down to a short and snappy presentation, as they compete to be crowned the University of Bristol’s 2018 champion.

For more information and to register for free tickets visit:

The discussion series pages
The exhibition pages (including school visits)