MSc Data and Artificial Intelligence Ethics: Information Session
2025-05-21 18:00 - 18:30 (Europe/London)
About The Session

Join this online information session to find out more about the MSc in Data and AI Ethics. Our MSc Programme Director will take you through the degree programme structure and what makes it so unique to study here at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. A Q&A will follow.

This session will take place on Microsoft Teams and you can enter the lobby 15 minutes before the session start time (indicated in BST). If you need help, please refer to the ‘How to take part’ web page.

MSc Cultural Heritage Futures: Information Session
2025-05-22 12:30 - 13:00
About The Session

Join this online information session to find out more about the MSc in Cultural Heritage. Our MSc Programme Director will take you through the degree programme structure and what makes it so unique to study here at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. A Q&A will follow.

This session will take place on Microsoft Teams and you can enter the lobby 15 minutes before the session start time (indicated in BST). If you need help, please refer to the ‘How to take part’ web page.

MSc Future Governance: Information Session
2025-05-22 13:00 - 13:30
About the session

Join this online information session to find out more about the MSc in Future Governance. Our MSc Programme Director will take you through the degree programme structure and what makes it so unique to study here at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. A Q&A will follow.

This session will take place on Microsoft Teams and you can enter the lobby 15 minutes before the session start time (indicated in BST). If you need help, please refer to the ‘How to take part’ web page.

The Power of Purpose: workshop series
2025-05-22 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-17 13:00 - 14:00 | Online, Edinburgh
Led by Take Note and produced in collaboration with The Binks Hub and The Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR), The Power of Purpose workshop series is based on the simple idea that the ability of charities and grassroots social change organisations to clearly articulate their “why”, their “what” and their “so what” is the bedrock for effective impact and long-term survival. In other words, in a time of deep financial challenge with the pressure on funds and fundraising at an all-time high, an organisation that can clearly articulate their “why”, their “what”, and their “so what” will have a greater chance of lasting and even flourishing in this climate.

Over a series of three 1-hour online sessions aimed at Scotland-based organisations, Take Note’s Lead Consultant, Marianna Hay MBE, will introduce attendees to the Power of Purpose approach. With over 15 years’ experience designing, building and delivering high impact, award winning arts and social change organisations and initiatives, Marianna has developed the Power of Purpose series on behalf of the Binks Hub to share and scale the strategies she has learnt and deployed along the way.

These sessions are for:

Scotland-based small-medium charities and grassroots social change organisations

All roles but ideal for trustees, senior staff or workers with responsibility for strategy development

Workers and leaders steering organisations through significant financial challenge and uncertainty

The initial three-hour sessions will cover:

“Telling Your Story”: An introduction to Impact Map Making and honing your message

“Understanding Your Impact”: What difference does your work make and how do you know

“Making it Happen”: Setting your strategy, building the infrastructure and raising the money

Attendance at all three sessions is strongly encouraged but the ability to attend all three is not required for registration.

There will be an opportunity for organisations that take part to apply for additional follow-on support from Take Note. Find out more about this here: Power of Purpose – The Binks Hub

If you have any queries at all, please contact binks@ed.ac.uk

MSc Narrative Futures: Art, Data, Society: Information Session
2025-05-22 14:00 - 14:30
About the session

Join this online information session to find out more about the MSc in Narrative Futures: Art, Data and Society. Our MSc Programme Director will take you through the degree programme structure and what makes it so unique to study here at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. A Q&A will follow.

This session will take place on Microsoft Teams and you can enter the lobby 15 minutes before the session start time (indicated in BST). If you need help, please refer to the ‘How to take part’ web page.

MSc Education Futures: Information Session
2025-05-22 14:30 - 15:00
About the session

Join this online information session to find out more about the MSc in Education Futures. Our MSc Programme Director will take you through the degree programme structure and what makes it so unique to study here at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. A Q&A will follow.

This session will take place on Microsoft Teams and you can enter the lobby 15 minutes before the session start time (indicated in BST). If you need help, please refer to the ‘How to take part’ web page.

Traveltech Meet up
2025-05-22 17:30 - 19:30 | Ward 3.40 – Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
​Join us for the first in-person Travel Tech meetup since the pandemic, hosted by the Edinburgh Futures Institute!

​Get ready for an informal evening of networking, reconnecting, and building the future of Travel Tech.

​Whether you’re a startup founder, developer, marketer, or simply working in travel and technology, this is a chance to connect with others in the sector.

​We’ll kick off with structured introductions to help everyone get acquainted. We also invite companies to share a quick 3 minute update on what they’re working on.

​Most importantly, this is an opportunity to shape the future of our meetups and hear about exciting opportunities emerging from the Travel Tech cluster.

​Come for the conversations, stay for the pizza, beer, and great company!

Speaking Towards One Another Opening Performance
2025-05-22 18:00 - 20:30 | Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9LE, United Kingdom
Speaking Towards One Another project is created and performed by Stephanie Lamprea (soprano), Yuki Neoh (performer), Megan McArthur (performer), Oana Stanciu (video art), Jen McGregor (dramaturg), Anne Kjær (video dramaturg and performer), and Tim Cooper & Alistair MacDonald (live electronics).

Speaking Towards One Another is a series of interdisciplinary staged performances for voice, live electronics, video, wearable performance technology, and British Sign Language. The first full performance will be premiered in Inspace in May 2025 as part of a video and sound installation.

This unique opening performance will use live electronics to transform and digitise the singing and speaking voice, and wearable digital technologies to transform British Sign Language into live sounds and visuals. The concert will be accessible to hearing and D/deaf audience members via visual interpretations of the music, a live BSL translator, and printed programmes with all texts spoken, sung, and signed in the performance.

Exhibition Details

Speaking Towards One Another installation is co-created by Oana Stanciu, Anne Kjær, Stephanie Lamprea, and Yuki Neoh. It features multi-screen projections of ‘moving portraits’ and a music composition by Wende Bartley, performed by Stephanie Lamprea. By exploring images of public identity, gender performativity, female presence, expression, and testimony, the moving images seek to subvert the male gaze and become figures of power in the public space.

Dates: 23-28 May 2025Times: 10:00-17:00 daily | Free/Drop-inLocation: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB

About the Project

This project will feature two newly commissioned musical works by composers Laura Bowler and Amble Skuse, and recent works by composers Rebecca Saunders, Stuart Macrae, and Tom W. Green, setting texts by writers and artists Alwynne Pritchard, Carol Ann Duffy, Gertrude Stein, Adah Isaacs Menken, and Hannah Siddiqui. These works create a theatrical narrative addressing topics of women’s testimony, language and the body, gender representation, and resilience within disability.

This unique opening performance will use live electronics to transform and digitise the singing and speaking voice, and wearable digital technologies to transform British Sign Language into live sounds and visuals. The concert will be accessible to hearing and D/deaf audience members via visual interpretations of the music, a live BSL translator, and printed programmes with all texts spoken, sung, and signed in the performance.

Meadows Festival: University of Edinburgh family activities
2025-06-07 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-06-08 11:00 - 16:00 | The Meadows, Melville Drive, Edinburgh, EH9 1JU
Join staff from the University of Edinburgh and take part in some exciting activities for families.

Meet a real-life scientist and get a (temporary) tattoo inspired by cutting-edge research! Play our Future Explorers game and build some imaginative inventions to solve future challenges. Discover how everyday food choices link to global challenges like carbon footprints and food justice with the Foodie Whack-a-Mole game!

Activities are free and available on a drop-in basis. Transfer tattoos suitable for all ages (henna tattoos suitable for age 14+ only).

Related links

https://local.ed.ac.uk

https://efi.ed.ac.uk

https://biology.ed.ac.uk/drp

https://usher.ed.ac.uk/

https://meadowsfestival.co.uk/

How Revolutionary is AI? International Digital Futures Network Summer Symposium
2025-06-12 09:30 - 15:30 | Edinburgh Futures Institute, Level 0 Event Space, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
Just how revolutionary is the AI revolution? And to what extent will it change the world around us? This year’s International Digital Futures Network Summer Symposium brings together experts in the field from across academia and industry to explore these questions and more over a day of talks, panels and open discussions.

Co-hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute and Bristol Digital Futures Institute, this year’s event will take place in the Futures Institute’s new home; a beautifully transformed, historic building which provides a dynamic futures-focused space for learning, research, and innovation at the University of Edinburgh.

Schedule

09:30Arrival, tea and coffee 10:00An introduction to the International Digital Futures Institute fromProfessor Marion Thain Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute and member of the IDFN Steering Group10:10 – 11.10Evolution vs Revolution: How did we get here with AI?Professor Jane Hillston with Steven Connor 11:15 -12:15The 8 Foundational Principles for Genuinely Intelligent (and Useful) AIDr Marcus Weldon with Sandra Woolley12:15 – 13:15Lunch 13:15 – 14.15Generative AI: Distinguishing Hype from HallelujahProfessor Peter Flach with Sanja Milivojevic14:15 – 15:15Panel discussion 15:15 -15:30 Closing remarks

Speaker Biographies

Professor Jane Hillston

Jane Hillston is a Professor of Quantitative Modelling, Dean of Research Culture and REF, Interim Co-Director of University of Edinburgh’s Generative AI Laboratory (GAIL), and former Head of the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. In March 2007 she was elected to the fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and in 2018, to the membership of the Academia Europaea. She is the recipient of the Suffrage Science Award for Computer Science and the RSE Lord Kelvin Medal. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.

Dr Marcus Weldon

Marcus Weldon is the Emeritus President of Bell Labs, the world-renowned innovation powerhouse that defined the current digital age. He has currently helping a wide variety of companies with their AI strategies, as well as acting as the Contributing Editor for AI for Newsweek magazine with the AI Impact series of interviews with the leading prognosticators, pioneers and practitioners of AI across the globe.

Professor Peter Flach

Peter Flach has been involved in AI research for four decades. He joined the Department (now School) of Computer Science at the University of Bristol in 1997 and has been Professor of Artificial Intelligence since 2003. An internationally leading scholar in the evaluation and improvement of machine learning models, he has also published on mining highly structured data, on knowledge-driven and explainable AI, and on the methodology of data science. His books include Simply Logical: Intelligent Reasoning by Example (John Wiley, 1994; interactive online edition, 2022) and Machine Learning: the Art and Science of Algorithms that Make Sense of Data (Cambridge University Press, 2012). From 2010 until 2020, Prof Flach was Editor-in-Chief of the Machine Learning journal. He is a founding board member, previous President and current Vice-President of the European Association for Data Science. He is a Fellow of the European Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems and of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence. He was the founding director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Interactive Artificial Intelligence, and currently directs the UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Practice-Oriented Artificial Intelligence.

This event is co-hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute and Bristol Digital Futures Institute.

CreativeTech Scotland Gathering 2025
2025-06-20 08:30 - 18:30
Join us on the 20th of June for CreativeTech Scotland Gathering for an exciting day of cutting edge creative tech keynotes, demos and panels with workshops and a closing reception with live improvised electronic music from Boardgame.

Our aim is to bring people together from across the creative and cultural sector in every discipline to meet, connect, share know-how, be inspired by new innovations and be amazed by how we each use creative technology to deliver our services, products and audience experiences.

View the outline programme to give you a flavour of the day, from our keynote with Tupac Martir, Satore Studios to a range of industry spotlights, hands-on workshops, and a showcase of creative tech demonstrations and lightening talks, with a closing reception and performance with networking, refreshments and snacks.

The event will be hosted on The University of Edinburgh campus across the Informatics Forum, Inspace Gallery and the Student Enterprise Hub.

Access – Please let us know if you have any access or dietary requirements that would help you to feel more comfortable and able to join this event. This could include things like seating close to the front for visibility, a information on parking or access to a quiet space. Please email engagement.efi@ed.ac.uk with any comments or questions.

We also have care vouchers available for those who would like this help to enable attendance please email engagement.efi@ed.ac.uk with your request or for more information

Dietary – We will provide catering for a range of dietary requirements. Please answer the questions at the booking stage to help us order appropriately and email engagement.efi@ed.ac.uk with any comments or questions.

Venues

Informatics Forum, The University of Edinburgh10 Crichton Street Edinburgh EH8 9AB

Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh47 PotterrowEdinburgh, EH8 9BT

Inspace, The University of Edinburgh1 Crichton Street Edinburgh EH8 9AB

Who Owns the Future? Reimagining Education from AI to Abundant Imagination
2025-06-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Room 2.55, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
This public lecture, hosted by the Centre for Research in Digital Education, is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment.

From automated decision systems in healthcare, policing, education and more, technologies have the potential to deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to harmful practices of a previous era. In this talk, Ruha Benjamin takes us into the world of biased bots, altruistic algorithms, and their many entanglements, and provides conceptual tools to decode tech predictions with historical and sociological insight.

When it comes to AI, Ruha shifts our focus from the dystopian and utopian narratives we are sold, to a sober reckoning with the way these tools are already a part of our lives. In so doing, she considers how higher education is ground zero for reimagining and retooling the default settings of technology and society.

Event Timings

Drinks Reception (EFI Room 2.55) – 5pm – 5.30pm

Presentation followed by Q&A – 5.30pm – 7pm

Speaker Biography

Ruha Benjamin is Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, founding director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab, and award-winning author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (2019), Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want (2022), and Imagination: A Manifesto (2024). Ruha is the recipient fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, National Science Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation Freedom Scholar Award, President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton, and most recently the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship. For more info, visit www.ruhabenjamin.com

Writing retreat sessions – The Binks Hub
2025-06-25 09:00 - 13:00
“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”— E.L. Doctorow

Come and join the Binks Hub for a writing retreat!

These will be relaxed sessions with writing prompts, a chance to share and discuss writing goals and regular creative activities to break up the session.

All are welcome and we hope to have a mix of practitioners, community members, academics and students. You are welcome to work on any kind of writing project you have. There will be opportunities to share your work but no obligation to do so.

More writing workshops will take place on 17 September 2025 and 19 November 2025 – booking for these workshops are available on the Eventbrite link.

Traveltech Meet up #3
2025-07-24 17:30 - 19:30 | Ward 3.40 – Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
Join us for the third in-person Traveltech meetup, hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute.

​Get ready for an informal evening of networking, reconnecting, and building the future of Travel Tech.

​Whether you’re a startup founder, developer, marketer, or simply working in travel and technology, this is a chance to connect with others in the sector.

​We’ll kick off with structured introductions to help everyone get acquainted. We also invite companies to share a quick 3 minute update on what they’re working on.

​Most importantly, this is an opportunity to shape the future of our meetups and hear about exciting opportunities emerging from the Travel Tech cluster.

​Come for the conversations, stay for the pizza, beer, and great company!

​Please note that this event will be in ward 3.40, which is a different location to the previous meet ups.

Words from the Wards: The Exhibition
2025-08-09 10:00 - 2025-08-17 21:00 | Anthea Bond Exhibition Room, Level 1, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
Last year, through our Words from the Wards project, we asked the people of Edinburgh to share stories about the former Royal Infirmary, to honour the experiences and memories that people connect with the building’s previous life. Following the success of the project, we worked with Edinburgh College of Art students to illustrate the collected stories. Join us to view the stories and illustrations side by side in our new festival gallery.

Future Library
2025-08-13 20:15 - 21:30 | Room 1.55, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
Norway’s Future Library is a powerful gesture of hope for a world beyond our lifetime. Every year, for 100 years, an author writes a new book to be placed inside its walls; every text remains unread until 2114. Join Future Library’s Anne Beate Hovind as she leads a conversation on personal and collective memory, on past lives and legacies, exploring how individual and cultural heritage makes for a stronger society. Plus, find out the sensational writer contributing to the Future Library in 2026.

Supported by Edinburgh Futures Institute.

Utopia Lab
2025-08-15 16:30 - 19:30 | Room 1.52, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
Presented by Edinburgh Futures Institute’s creative projects team. Poet Jennifer Williams, visual artist Jimmy Turner, and academic Jo Balfour-Oatts invite you to consider impractical repairs of material objects. Exploring how we can repair objects with creative writing and sculpture, we’ll investigate how artistic and embodied ideas and techniques can help us to imagine positive futures, affecting present change. Please bring along a broken object with personal significance that you’d like to repair in this way.

Repair Cafe Edinburgh
2025-08-16 14:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-23 14:00 - 17:00 | Edinburgh Futures Institute, Digital Maker Space and MS Teaching Studio, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
Got something that’s broken? Want to try fixing it but not sure how? Repair Cafes are free community events where you can bring your item and volunteer fixers will guide you through your repair.

Not everything’s fixable at our events – we’re limited by time, spare parts, safety, capacity.

If you’ve got something that you want to fix, email us at repaircafeedinburgh@gmail.com to confirm suitability and to reserve your place.

For more details, visit Repair Cafe.

Halle O’Neal: The Buddhist Approach to Healing
2025-08-17 10:30 - 11:30 | Spiegeltent, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
Healing practices – physical, emotional, or spiritual – are part of what make us human; they’re also key tenets of Buddhism. They come in a wide range of inventive options, including interacting with relics, repairing broken objects, even eating slips of scripture! Join Dr Halle O’Neal, co-director of the Edinburgh Centre for Buddhist Studies, for this special discussion on the myriad forms of repair and healing offered by Buddhism across history and cultures, including for everyday challenges like illness, childbirth, and life after death.

Supported by Edinburgh Futures Institute.

Spark Exhibition
2025-08-19 10:00 - 2025-08-24 21:00 | Anthea Bond Exhibition Room, Level 1, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
Young people from the Alternative School at Spartans Community Foundation are back at the festival for the third year, with their brand-new exhibition, Spark. Writer in residence Owen Sutcliffe has been working with the young people to spark their imaginations, ask big questions and get their creative juices flowing. Join us to see their funny, provocative and sparky creative work.

Repair Skills Workshop with EFI Makerspace
2025-08-19 18:00 - 21:00 | Edinburgh Futures Institute, Digital Maker Space and MS Teaching Studio, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
Sharpen your technical repair skills under the guidance of Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Makerspace team. Learn how to use 3D modelling (in Tinkercad) and 3D printing as a method to repair or replace broken parts more cheaply than expensive replacements. Then turn to textiles repair, using your hands and sewing machines to learn new skills!

Please note: If possible attendees should bring their own laptop devices for use in the workshop session, a limited amount of devices will be available for use if you cannot provide your own.

Richard Susskind: Navigating the AI Revolution
2025-08-24 15:15 - 16:15 | Edinburgh Futures Institute, Level 0 Event Space, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
For Richard Susskind, balancing the benefits and threats of artificial intelligence is the defining challenge of our age. Drawing on 40 years’ experience in the field, his multidisciplinary book How to Think about AI: A Guide for the Perplexed demystifies AI’s ethical, economic, and social implications. Hear Susskind today, cutting through the still-unfolding maze of uncertainty to show us how to think responsibly about our technological future. Chaired by Shannon Vallor.

Supported by Edinburgh Futures Institute.

The Future of Digital Place
2025-09-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Online, Edinburgh
Brought to you by Creative Edinburgh and in partnership with Edinburgh Futures Institute, FutureGaze has been designed for those eager to explore the future of our creative industries and practices.

Hosted by Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative for Edinburgh Futures Institute, each session features inspiring conversations with creative leaders who’ve driven innovation and transformation in their work—whether in business, the arts, academia, or beyond.

Together, we’ll explore what the future holds for the creative and cultural sector through their experiences and insights.

September’s Discussion: The Future of Digital Place

As artificial intelligence rapidly develops, it’s starting to shape how we design, plan and manage our cities and neighbourhoods. From using generative AI in the design process to applying data analytics to solve big challenges like climate change and urban growth — digital tools are playing an increasingly important role in shaping our built environment.

In this FutureGaze session, we’ll explore what the rise of AI means for the future of our streets, neighbourhoods and public spaces. We’ll ask:

How might AI change the role of the designer?

What could future ‘digital places’ look like?

How can we make sure AI-powered planning is fair, inclusive and reflects the needs of all communities?

Join us for a forward-thinking conversation about technology, cities and the people who shape them.

Speaking Biographies

Ian Gilzean

After graduating from The University of Edinburgh’s School of Architecture, he worked as an architect in public and private sector roles in Edinburgh, London and Glasgow with a focus on regeneration and community empowerment. In 1999, Ian joined the Scottish Government’s Architecture Policy Unit and was Chief Architect from 2006 until November 2023. During this period, he had a 6-month residency at WHALE Arts in 2019, supporting the development of the Wester Hailes Local Place Plan.

He then moved into the Scottish Government’s Digital Planning team to lead the Innovation and Digital place workstreams. He is currently on secondment from the Scottish Government as Head of Innovation and Digital Place at Architecture and Design Scotland. Ian has a long-standing involvement in architectural education and is currently an Honorary Professor in Architecture and Urban Planning at Dundee University.

Caroline Parkinson

Caroline is Director of Creative at Edinburgh Futures Institute, focusing on supporting innovation in data and creative technologies for the creative industries. Previously, she has led her own consultancy business, served as Director of Film, TV, Music, Creative Industries, Skills & Innovation in the early years of Creative Scotland, and before that, she was Director, Scotland & Northern Ireland for Creative & Cultural Skills.

Her early creative life included ballet and rhythmic gymnastics, fashion, singing in bands for over 30 years, and photography, becoming a professional photographer in 1999. She serves on the Board of Architecture & Design Scotland, and for 8 years has served in a voluntary capacity as Strategic Director and Presenter of the MOVE Summit, Scotland’s Animation and VFX Gathering.

About Creative Edinburgh

Creative Edinburgh is a registered Scottish Charity (SC052838) committed to helping creatives thrive. Through events, career support and advocacy, we bring together and help grow the city’s creative community, providing a space for creation, collaboration and connection at every stage of your career. Creative Edinburgh is supported by Creative Scotland as one of the Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs).

To become a member of Creative Edinburgh, click here.

Writing retreat sessions – The Binks Hub
2025-09-17 09:00 - 13:00 | Online, Edinburgh
“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”— E.L. Doctorow

Come and join the Binks Hub for a writing retreat!

These will be relaxed sessions with writing prompts, a chance to share and discuss writing goals and regular creative activities to break up the session.

All are welcome and we hope to have a mix of practitioners, community members, academics and students. You are welcome to work on any kind of writing project you have. There will be opportunities to share your work but no obligation to do so.

Another workshop will take place on 19 November 2025 – booking for this workshop is available on Eventbrite.

Doors Open Day 2025 at Edinburgh Futures Institute
2025-09-27 10:00 - 16:00 | Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
Edinburgh Futures Institute is home to a vibrant community of futures-focused students, researchers, organisations and businesses working together to tackle the world’s increasingly complex challenges.

Visit us in our new home in Edinburgh’s former Royal Infirmary to discover how the Institute creatively brings together people, disciplines and perspectives under one roof to develop innovative and data-driven solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Meet our staff, students and partners and discover how they are shaping better futures for all. Explore the building, delve into our history, browse displays and stalls and get hands on with drop-in activities for all ages.

Programme

Level 0

Marketplace stalls | open all day

Pop in and meet some of the organisations, staff and students who make up our vibrant community and find out more about what we do here with displays and hands-on activities.

Bilingualism Matters

Bilingualism Matters is a social enterprise and University of Edinburgh spin-out, leading an international network of over 30 BM branches worldwide. We connect research on bilingualism and language learning with the people and organisations who can put it into practice — from schools and community groups to policymakers and businesses. Our mission is to share reliable, research-based information on the cognitive, social, and cultural implications of using more than one language.

On the day, our team will offer a series of table-based displays showcasing key facts, research highlights, and real-world stories from our global network. Visitors can explore evidence on how bilingualism works in the brain, discover examples of successful multilingual initiatives, and take away practical resources for supporting language learning in different settings. Our friendly team will be available to answer questions, share insights, and connect you with opportunities to get involved locally and internationally.

www.bilingualism-matters.org

Black Goblin Audio: The Future of Sound Design

Ever wondered how the immersive soundscapes in your favourite films and games are created? Edinburgh-based [and EFI Resident] tech company Black Goblin is pulling back the curtain with Thol, our revolutionary AI assistant for creative professionals.

Thol is designed to eliminate one of the most time-consuming tasks in media production: sound spotting. Our smart technology watches video footage and creates a detailed list of sounds needed, freeing sound designers and editors from hours of tedious manual logging. This allows them to focus on what truly matters: crafting the perfect audio experience.

Visit our stall at the Doors Open EFI Day to see a demonstration of Thol in action! We’ll be showcasing how AI is shaping the future of creativity and offering exclusive promos to all attendees. Come say hello and discover the next generation of sound design, built right here in Edinburgh.

www.blackgoblinaudio.co.uk

Bookster

Bookster is a marketing software company specialising in tools for holiday rental professionals. We’ll be covering our journey from start-up to established software provider, sharing the key milestones, challenges, and successes that shaped our growth. You’ll get an inside look at how our platform helps property managers attract more guests, streamline their operations, and grow their businesses.

Our team will be on hand to talk about the technology behind Bookster, how we collaborate with clients, and what’s next for our software. Whether you’re interested in tech, tourism, or entrepreneurship, we look forward to welcoming you and giving you a glimpse into the world of holiday rental innovation.

https://www.booksterhq.com

Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society

The Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society explores social and ethical aspects of medicine and health. We examine many different issues, from AI, robotics and health, how data are used, what the future of medicine might be, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, medical history and so much more. We work across disciplines, sectors and communities and really enjoy engaging widely. Come and join us to hear more. You can learn how to make a zine and discuss how these are used in communities or come away with a ‘Tattoo My Research’ temporary henna tattoo and hear first-hand from some of our researchers during the process!

https://usher.ed.ac.uk/biomedicine-self-society

Centre for Investing Innovation

The Centre for Investing Innovation is a strategic partnership between the University of Edinburgh and abrdn, an Edinburgh-based global asset management company. Its mission is to transform the future of investing through pioneering research in sustainability, thematic investing, and technological innovation. By combining academic excellence with industry expertise, the Centre develops responsible, data-driven approaches that deliver long-term benefits for investors and society. Key initiatives include the creation of advanced AI tools to enhance investment decision-making. Members of the Centre’s research team will be available to discuss their work and its real-world impact.

Centre for Investing Innovation – Edinburgh Futures Institute

Centre for Technomoral Futures

The Centre for Technomoral Futures at Edinburgh Futures Institute will be hosting an ‘ask me anything about generative AI’ booth for Doors Open Days 2025. Come along to meet some of our researchers and ask them anything about generative AI! Could AI chatbots really take your job? How much trust should you place in ChatGPT? Should you worry about the environmental impact of the images you create with Midjourney or DALL-E? Will generative AI create a generation of people who can’t write essays or code? What about copyright? Come enjoy an engaging conversation on these questions and more. Learn about the Centre for Technomoral Futures and sign up to our mailing list at https://technomoralfutures.uk.

Data Civics Observatory

The Data Civics Observatory is about the representation of people and communities through mixed, experimental, digital methods using a range of media, platforms and data. We are a research collective dedicated to exploring and representing the character of places and the people, institutions and infrastructures that make them. Our approach prioritises the technological, material, historical, institutional, and sentimental qualities of places, how they are made and how they are experienced. Taking our lead from Edinburgh’s pioneering planner, landscape architect and sociologist, Patrick Geddes, we designed the Data Civics Observatory to use innovative data and platforms, methods and media to research space and place in new ways. Our aim is to work with people, communities and organisations to research and represent their diversity and expertise particularly in vibrant and challenged areas. We focus on how data-driven innovations can shape the way we see and govern cities, regions and nations.

Data Civics Observatory – Edinburgh Futures Institute

Data Education in Schools

Visit the Data Education in Schools stall and play interactive activities on data and AI! We are a UK and Scottish Government funded project within the Data-Driven Innovation initiative, which addresses criticalities in the Scottish education system, particularly challenges in ensuring that inclusive growth is at the basis of Scotland’s digital futures.

Our learning materials and activities are designed for primary and secondary learners in Scotland, but everyone can try them! Can you train AI to distinguish rubber ducks from dice? Can AI figure out whether you’re dancing the Macarena or the Locomotion? Try Duck or Die, Micro:bits Dance, and other interactive activities.

https://dataschools.education/

Designing Responsible NLP CDT

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an area of AI underpinning technologies we use every day, including personalisation systems, voice assistants, translation tools and generative AI, such as ChatGPT. But how do we make these systems work best for humans, and ensure they are fair, accountable and transparent?

At the Designing NLP Centre for Doctoral Training, we are training the next generation of researchers and innovators to design and build a more responsible future. Come along and meet some of our current PhD students, and get hands on with their work, including research into gender bias in Large Language Models (the technology behind ChatGPT), and research exploring children’s understanding of AI. You can also chat to members of the team and find out more about the wider training programme, upcoming PhD opportunities, how we are working with over 70 industry partners, and other ways to connect to our work.

https://www.responsiblenlp.org/

Education Team – Edinburgh Futures Institute

Meet the members of our Education team to find out more about studying with us. Learn about our programmes, challenge-led projects, fusion learning, and more!

Executive Education Team – Edinburgh Futures Institute

Meet our Executive Education team and learn more about the short courses and masterclasses we offer for professionals and sector leaders! Courses are developed and taught by leading experts from across the University of Edinburgh and delivered in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Business School.

Lothian Birth Cohorts

How do your brain and thinking skills change as you age? How much is down to your genes—and how much depends on how you live? Join the Lothian Birth Cohorts team to explore how brain and cognitive functions develop over the course of life, and why some brains appear to age better than others. Discover what science is revealing about lifelong brain health and take part in hands-on activities that demonstrate how we collect and analyse our data. Try interactive materials that show how the brain changes over time and learn about the methods we use in our research. Use Augmented Reality glasses to visualise brain ageing and compare 3D-printed models of healthy and less healthy brains—based on real participant data. Our team will be on hand to discuss how lifestyle may shape brain health, and what we can do to protect our thinking skills as we grow older.

https://lothian-birth-cohorts.ed.ac.uk/

The Market Mind Centre (MMC)

Our mission is to establish New Economic Enlightenment spearheaded by the Market Mind Hypothesis (MMH), a heterodox economic theory. New Economic Enlightenment is about correcting and revitalising economics by reigniting—via teaching, research, and practical applications—the intellectual curiosity and innovative spirit of the Scottish Enlightenment, personified by Adam Smith, that reshaped society’s economic thinking. It aligns with EFI’s ethos of pioneering research and education that is challenge-led, future-facing, and interdisciplinary. The challenges of our modern world are interconnected because they have a common cause, namely mainstream economics based on flawed mechanical worldview. By honouring the intellectual legacy of the Scottish Enlightenment while embracing MMH’s conceptual tools, MMC promises to usher in a new era of economic thought and practices to tackle those challenges. MMC is supported by the Market Mind Foundation, a Scottish educational charity.

https://www.marketmind.org/

Research Data Scotland (RDS) and Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (SCADR)

When we go to hospital, receive treatment, or take exams, data is collected. Researchers can access this data to help improve lives! You can never be identified… but how? Play with LEGO®, match data together, and talk to our team to learn more.

www.researchdata.scot

https://www.scadr.ac.uk

Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy

The SCPHRP was established to promote collaboration across all sectors of the public health community in Scotland, aiming to improve population health and reduce inequalities through evidence-informed action.

Our core objectives are:

To identify key opportunities for developing innovative interventions that address major health challenges in Scotland.

Foster collaboration among government, researchers, and public health professionals to support national programmes of intervention development, implementation, and evaluation.

Build capacity for high-quality, collaborative research that informs policy, programmes, and practice.

As part of our commitment to research and evidence-based practice, we want to actively engage with the wider public to disseminate key outputs from our core activities—whether research- or teaching-based. This outreach supports informed decision-making and helps build public awareness of the health benefits of Urban Green and Blue Spaces, and how these environments can be better used to improve the overall health of Scotland’s population.

https://health.ed.ac.uk/research/current-research/the-scottish-collaboration-for-public-health-research-and-policy

Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy

We work with public health and community organisations to tackle tricky health and wellbeing challenges – the kinds of problems that can’t be solved by quick fixes. Our approach looks beyond individual choices to understand the habits, surroundings, and systems that shape how we live. By working step-by-step, we can pinpoint what’s really going on, co-create practical ideas, test them, and make sure the changes last. This process is called 6SQuID, short for Six Steps in Quality Intervention Development. 6SQuID has been used to make progress on everything from healthier workplaces to climate action.

At our stall, you’ll explore the 6SQuID process in a fun, hands-on way. Our activities invite children, adults and families to help solve realistic dilemmas – learning to identify problems, understand causes, and choose solutions. It’s a playful introduction to problem-solving that reflects the same principles we use to deliver lasting, evidence-based change in public health.

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/scphrp/interventiondevelopmentraining

The Scottish Prevention Hub

A co-directed national partnership between Public Health Scotland, Police Scotland, and the Edinburgh Futures Institute at Edinburgh University, that takes a whole-system public health approach focused on primary prevention, to support the reduction of health and wellbeing inequalities in Scotland. We do this by bringing together research, policy, evidence and practice.

Together we aim to:

Utilise data, evidence and insights to promote and deliver a collective approach

Build a data collaboration

Build capability and capacity for complex collaboration

Transform learning experiences through sharing, inspiring and empowering

As well as being a hub of activity and ideas, we are also a physical hub, with our base at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. This connects policing and public health practice, public health science, and academia. This creates the conditions required for effective collaboration, challenging silo working across our organisations by efficiently galvanising our collective assets, skills, and resources.

Scottish Prevention Hub – Edinburgh Futures Institute

Level 1

East corridor | exhibition | open all day

Recycling a Hospital: ‘Borne by the Walls’ Portrait Series

Photographer Gintare Kulyte has worked with local residents and former members of staff to produce this series of photographic portraits, taken within the spaces of the former hospital. Presented alongside poems and prose written by the group, the series reflects on the mark that the hospital has left in the minds, bodies and life stories of the people of Edinburgh and beyond.

Kulyte’s portrait series is an outcome of a wider interdisciplinary community arts project of the same name which aims to honour memories of the former hospital building on Lauriston Place, now the new home of Edinburgh Futures Institute, part of the University of Edinburgh.

The personal connections, stories and memories documented by the series are diverse – from those who trained and worked as medical staff, to those who drew first breath in the city’s maternity hospital, to those descended from individuals impacted by the hospital’s activities in the 19th century.

Reflecting the scale of the former hospital site and its connections to the wider city, the locations chosen for the portraits are symbolic and extend beyond the walls of the building into the wider Quartermile area and the Old Town.

As the building looks to the future, these marks of the past should not be forgotten.

About Gintare Kulyte

Gintarė Kulytė is an emerging visual artist from Vilnius, Lithuania. Having gained much of her inspiration from documentary photography and film, in her creative practice she is now particularly interested in exploring the boundaries between documentary and fiction. Gintarė also holds a Sociology and Psychology degree from the University of Edinburgh and is currently pursuing her Masters in Psychological Research here. This photography series was produced as part of her internship at Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Culture and Communities team. This is her first solo exhibition.

Anthea Bond Exhibition Room | exhibition | open all day

Words from the Wards

In 2024 the Edinburgh International Book Festival asked the people of Edinburgh to share stories about the former Royal Infirmary, to honour the experiences and memories that people connect with the building’s previous life. Following the success of the Words from the Wards project, festival staff worked with Edinburgh College of Art students to illustrate the collected stories.

Level 2

Room 2.20 | drop-in activity | open all day

Lothian Health Services Archive

Join us for a delve into the past of the Edinburgh Futures Institute and explore life as a patient or member of staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh through a display of material from our archive and collection of digital photographs.

What did the building used to look like? What was it like to be a patient or train as a nurse at the hospital? What was the food like?

Image credit: Lothian Health Services Archive, University of Edinburgh

Lothian Health Services Archive holds the historically important local (Edinburgh and the Lothians) records of NHS hospitals and other health-related material. We collect, preserve and catalogue these records and promote them to increase understanding of the history of health and for the benefit of all. For more information contact lhsa@ed.ac.uk and visit our website https://www.lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk/

Room 2.35 | film screening | drop-in | open all day

Closes and Opens / Opens and Closes: a History of Edinburgh’s Futures

See a fascinating pair of documentary films exploring questions about city development, our past and possible futures created by Liz McFall with artist filmmaker Sapphire Goss and the team at the Data Civics Observatory.

Closes and Opens: a History of Edinburgh’s Futures explores the history and connections between the Edinburgh Futures Institute’s new building and its former life as the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh; two buildings formed to address problems facing the city. Both were designed to be open to everyone but while the building itself was designed to isolate one kind of contagion, its restoration as the home of EFI is meant to promote another, a contagion of ideas to help us live with the future. But how do you see the future or, for that matter, the past?

These questions were followed up in the film’s sequel Opens and Closes: the Future of Edinburgh’s Histories that premiered at EFI earlier this year. The new film centres around seldom seen Edinburgh – think gasholders, shale bings and quarries – and pans out, all the way to New York and beyond. It closes on the technodystopias we could all end up with without the new, radically interdisciplinary methods and the pragmatic, collective and organised action of concerned actors being developed at futures institutes all over the world.

Please note this is an informal film screening and visitors are welcome to drop-in and watch for as long as you wish. Total running time 75 minutes. Most suitable for visitors 12+ (does not contain any content likely to offend or unsuitable for children). With audio soundtrack and subtitles.

Data Civics Observatory – Edinburgh Futures Institute

Room 2.55 | film screening | drop-in | open all day Room 2.55 | Screening and discussion sessions with Media Education directors Kate Deacon and Iain Shaw  | 11am and 2pm (1 hour)

Media Education

Drop in and see a beautiful selection of films created by individuals and communities from across Scotland about the issues they face in their daily lives.

Media Education is an award winning, socially engaged filmmaking organisation with a permanent team of skilled artists and creative facilitators working across Scotland and the UK. Our main purpose is to use creativity and non-hierarchical approaches to build trust and collaboration so that people furthest from power can have the supportive space and the time to form their own arguments and apply their lived experiences for the changes they want to see for themselves and others. The films we create together help to set the agenda and are great conversation starters. Pop in to view the films, come along to a Q&A session to meet the directors or stop by their stand in the marketplace for a chat.

Please note this is an informal film screening and visitors are welcome to drop-in and watch for as long as you wish. Total running time 40 minutes in length. Most suitable for visitors 12+ (does not contain any content likely to offend or unsuitable for children). With audio soundtrack and subtitles.

https://www.mediaeducation.co.uk

Guided tours | departing from outside the main door overlooking Lauriston Place | 10:30am, 12pm, 1:30pm, 3pm (45 minutes)

Please note places are limited and must be pre-booked via Eventbrite.

Guided tours of Edinburgh Futures Institute

Join staff for an expert tour of Edinburgh Futures Institute. Discover how the transformation project to create Edinburgh Futures Institute breathed new life into the former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Tours will last 45 minutes – suitable for all ages. Places are limited and must be booked in advance.

Book now

Level 3

Room 3.55 | drop-in activity | 10:30am, 11:45am, 1:30pm and 2.45pm (1 hour)

Please note places are limited and must be pre-booked via Eventbrite.

Futures Explorers family workshop

Step into tomorrow at Edinburgh Futures Institute! Our new Futures and Design team is pioneering innovative approaches to tackle real-world challenges through the powerful combination of futures thinking and design methodologies. Join us for this exciting family workshop where imagination meets innovation!

Parents, carers and children are invited to embark on a creative journey exploring how emerging technologies might transform our world. This hands-on experience offers:

A fun introduction to futures thinking for all ages

Creative exploration through play

Insight into EFI’s Innovation Services

No prior experience needed – bring your curiosity and creativity! Discover how futures thinking helps us navigate uncertainty and shape the world we want to live in.

Places are limited and must be booked in advance.

Please note children must be accompanied by an adult. Most suitable for children aged 6+.

Book now

https://efi.ed.ac.uk/ecosystem/data-design-lab

seating area opposite 3.55 | drop-in activity | open all day

Family Playzone

Take a break in our family area and enjoy some games, books and colouring activities.

ALL LEVELS

Exhibition on screens throughout the building | open all day

Building Near Futures: Human AI Ensembles, EFI Master’s Student Showcase

View this inspiring showcase of bold ideas and visionary thinking! Students from the Building Near Futures course at Edinburgh Futures Institute present their future prototypes in a digital exhibition, exploring how humans and AI can collaborate to tackle pressing societal and environmental challenges.

Short form videos guide audiences through near-future scenarios and inspire conversation on AI co-creation. Will these ideas spark real-world change? Come see for yourself and be part of the discussion.

Planetary Health is Public Health: Reimagining the Future Together
2025-10-01 10:00 - 14:30 | Room 4.35, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF
Join us for an inspiring seminar on green prescribing and planetary health.

The Binks Hub and REALITIES are excited to welcome attendees to a half-day event exploring alternative approaches to health and wellbeing. Focusing on green prescribing and planetary health, the first half of the seminar will open the floor to project teams to share their real-world insights into what’s working, where the gaps are, and how we can collectively move forward through community research and engagement.

In the second half, we will hear from invited organisations who are paving the way in integrating green prescribing in their communities; offering their valuable perspectives on how planetary health and local initiatives are linked.

Open to researchers, health practitioners, and community members, everyone is welcome to connect and learn.

Image credit: Milena Trifonova
