Northern Ireland Science Festival

Astronomy and Poetry with Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

In 1967 Nothern Irish astrophyscist Jocelyn Bell Burnell  DBE FRS discovered pulsars and revolutionised our understanding of the Universe.  She taught at The Open University for 29 years and was a founding member of the Athena Swan programme, advancing the representation of women in STEM.

In this talk Burnell explores the connection between poetry and astronomy, sharing works from some of her most beloved poets.  Following the talk, local science commentator Emer Maguire hosts an informal Q&A session where we find out more about the life of the Armagh born astrophysicist, discuss some of the challenges she faced and how we can work together to break the biases affecting women in science.

Dare to Dream: A New Learning Reality

What will the future of learning look like?

Explore how we can use virtual reality (VR) to transform teaching and learning in this talk with The Open University’s Oli Howson. Discover how VR is depicted in the media, the dangers of adopting this new way of learning and what a future which normalises VR in teaching could look like.

Experience various virtual realities first hand. Prepare to go rock climbing, navigate through unfamiliar streets, and get up close and personal with a friendly robot, plus many more.

Tackling BAME Disparities in STEM Education

The BAME community is drastically unrepresented in the STEM industry within Northern Ireland. Higher education institutions have a responsibility to encourage more BAME students into STEM subjects and shift this industry wide disparity.

Representatives from The Open University, Queen’s University and Ulster University discussed the stories behind some of Northern Ireland’s STEM academics, who represent the BAME community and are committed to instigating change. They shared their work and opinion on why this exists and what can be done to encourage more students from BAME groups to take up STEM subjects.

Panel members: Clem Herman, Prof. of Gender Technology at The Open University; Moira Dean, Prof. in Consumer Psychology and Food Security at Queen’s University, James Uhomoibhi, Lecturer in Engineering and Head of the Mixed Augment and Virtual Reality Research Laboratory at Ulster University and Osas Omoigiade, Associate Lecturer at The Open University and CEO and founder of Deep. Meta.

The Power of Plants

Plants are crucial to the existence of life on earth. From influencing the weather to creating the building blocks to life itself, the vast powers of plants mean that we are utterly dependent on them.

This Open University virtual event, shot in the immersive atmosphere of Belfast’s Tropical Ravine, brought together the University’s Ecology experts behind the BBC/ Open University Co-Production ‘Green Planet’ as they dived into the wonderful world of plants and shared their favourite behind the scenes moments.