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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260324T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260324T150000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260212T103046Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260212T103049Z
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SUMMARY:Traveltech Meet Up
DESCRIPTION:​Building Agentic AI Workflows – An Interactive Session. \n\n\n\n​Curious about agentic AI and what all the fuss is about? This session is a relaxed\, practical introduction to what agentic AI is\, how it differs from the AI tools many of us already use and how it can help automate and support real\, day-to-day work. No hype\, no heavy theory\, just a clear look at how it works and why it’s useful. \n\n\n\n​Sam Weston\, Siobhan McMorran and Huw Morgan from 80 DAYS will kick things off with a quick overview before diving into a hands-on workshop using n8n\, a powerful workflow automation platform. Together\, we’ll build an agentic workflow step-by-step (what could possibly go wrong!) and show how AI agents can be connected and guided to tackle practical business challenges. \n\n\n\n​By the end of the session\, you’ll have built your first agentic workflow and leave with a better sense of how agentic AI might fit into your own role or organisation. \n\n\n\n​To get the most from the session\, we suggest bringing your laptop and signing up for a free n8n trial a few days beforehand (it’s a 14-day free trial)\, so you can follow along and join in on the day.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/traveltech-meet-up-4/
LOCATION:Room 2.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Mixer
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Traveltech-Meet-up-9_Maddy-Burgoyne.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260325T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260325T180000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260312T122857Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260312T122859Z
UID:10000346-1774454400-1774461600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Preserving Digital Cultural Heritage
DESCRIPTION:Overview\n\n\n\nOn the internet\, even the recent past can become inaccessible\, as anyone who has ever clicked on a broken hyperlink will know. Preserving recent digital heritage comes with its own complications. In addition to the official and national institutions that are charged with preserving our cultural history (i.e. galleries\, libraries\, archives and museums)\, grassroots efforts are also being made. These “rogue archives” (De Kosnik) are built by different people for different purposes. Examples include the Internet Archive\, Project Gutenberg and the fanfiction site Archive of Our Own. \n\n\n\nThese archives have different priorities\, which can be seen by how their structures and affordances determine what they house and how it is accessed. As a result\, they make visible and invisible certain types of cultural heritage for certain audiences. Taking fanfiction and Archive of Our Own (AO3) as an example\, this talk discusses what is at stake in preserving digital cultural heritage from the recent past\, and how AO3’s metadata structure works to prioritise some content and user groups and not others. While it was built with the feminist principle of inclusivity in mind\, not all communities have felt included in the way the archive operates. \n\n\n\nWe will end with a discussion of how the structural limitations of digital archives\, as well as the contemporary information landscape\, offer specific challenges when interacting with and recovering recent digital heritage. \n\n\n\nDr Suzanne R Black received her PhD from the University of Edinburgh for doctoral work examining the interconnections of a range of literatures in the twenty-first century digital literary sphere. With a background in English Literature\, she combines humanities approaches with digital methods\, and has worked across a range of projects involving data and the creative industries. For more information\, please see www.suzannerblack.com. \n\n\n\nThis event will take place in room 2.55\, floor 2\, Edinburgh Futures Institute. Please inform us of any access requirements by emailing cdcs@ed.ac.uk. Further details about how CDCS uses your information obtained from booking onto our events can be found in our Events Privacy Statement. \n\n\n\nAs of March 2022\, the government formally removed all Covid restrictions in the UK. We ask that you continue to be considerate of others’ personal space\, and please do not attend if you feel unwell or have any Covid symptoms.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/preserving-digital-cultural-heritage/
LOCATION:Room 2.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Suzanne-Black-1_Olivia-Jenkins.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260326T091500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260326T101500
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260304T133130Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260304T133132Z
UID:10000338-1774516500-1774520100@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Creative Research Methods Reading Group
DESCRIPTION:Our popular reading group\, hosted by The Binks Hub and led by Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh\, is back for the new semester. \n\n\n\nWe are pleased to share the return of our creative research methods reading group!  \n\n\n\nDue to popular demand\, after running throughout the 2024-25 academic year\, the reading group will return this semester. \n\n\n\nIf you are new to the reading group\, it is open to all and will focus on creative and artistically engaged methods for research.  The emphasis will be on practice and the application of methods.  We may invite participants to experiment between reading group meetings\, but this is not required.  You do not have to be an academic or a student to join this reading group\, but you should have an interest in creative methods. \n\n\n\nReading\n\n\n\nThurs 26th March\, 9.15-10.15Pybus\, Katie; McEwan\, Jean; Garthwaite\, Kayleigh; Power\, Maddy; Patrick\, Ruth; Corley\, Sydnie (2022) ‘It’s Our Story: Parents and Carers’ Experiences during the Pandemic’ in Sociological research online 27(3): 604 – 674Access the article here
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/creative-research-methods-reading-group-10/
CATEGORIES:Reading Group
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Creative-Reading-Group-e1724754972220.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260327T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260327T110000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260203T114951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260218T151804Z
UID:10000328-1774605600-1774609200@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Epistemic Injustice and Mental Health System Survivor Knowledge
DESCRIPTION:A seminar on epistemic injustice and mental health\, led by Tamsin Oudney Walker and Sarah Golightley \n\n\n\nThis session will draw on theories of epistemic injustice and Tamsin’s PhD research to outline some of the difficulties survivors of the mental health system can face when trying to articulate their experiences and/or to share this with others. \n\n\n\nTamsin will then cover some of the ways survivors have responded to these challenges\, identifying the resources survivors use to make sense of and communicate experience and how those can vary in relation to neurological or psychological differences. \n\n\n\nThe session will conclude by thinking about what can build or diminish survivors’ confidence in their ability to make sense of experience and how we can create supportive contexts for the sharing of survivor knowledge and experience. \n\n\n\nTamsin and Sarah will then be available for questions and discussion. \n\n\n\n\n\nTamsin Oudney Walker\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTamsin Oudney Walker recently completed her PhD about survivors of the mental health system\, epistemic injustice and zines\, at the University of Lancashire. This work was part of a wider project exploring mental health related zines: madzines.org funded by Wellcome Trust.Prior to this she worked in voluntary sector mental health services for over twenty years\, providing direct support\, developing and managing services and doing a lot of work around involvement and survivor voice. She also has experience of using services and of working as a freelance illustrator and author (Not My Shame\, Singing Dragon; Otis Doesn’t scratch\, PCCS books; Not ready Yet\, Only Women Press). \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSarah Golightley\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSarah Golightley’s research\, teaching\, and social work practice have focused on supporting marginalised people who have experienced violence. She is passionate about uplifting the perspectives of service users/survivors/lived experience experts and challenging the power inequalities in who is listened to in social research and social work practice. Her present research focus is on institutional violence and the pathologisation of youth in the USA ‘troubled teen industry’. \n\n\n\nPrior to moving into academia\, Sarah worked with LGBTQ+ victims/survivors of domestic abuse and LGBTQ+ homeless youth. She is currently conducting the Canadian Therapeutic Boarding School Research Study.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/epistemic-injustice-and-mental-health-system-survivor-knowledge/
LOCATION:Room 2.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pexels-tara-winstead-8378723_Kirstin-Lamb-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260327T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260327T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260309T154823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T154825Z
UID:10000343-1774623600-1774630800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:CDS Seminar Series: Jonathan Gray
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a book talk on Public Data Cultures by Jonathan Gray.  \n\n\n\n​The book nurtures critical and creative engagements with public data as cultural material\, medium of participation and as site of transnational politics. It explores how activists\, journalists\, artists and others work with public data as well as looking at how critical perspectives can make a difference in practice. \n\n\n\n​After a short book talk\, there will be a collective discussion moment and time to catch up with others with overlapping curiosities. \n\n\n\n​”In an era when ‘data’ seems so often a tool of oppression and control\, this book provides a marvellous\, salutary exploration of its deployment for social change. This is a core optimistic message for our times; Gray is the ideal guide.” – Geoffrey C. Bowker\, UC Irvine \n\n\n\n​”This is an enchanting guide to a defining phenomenon of digital culture\, which shows how different worlds may come about through practising data otherwise.” – Noortje Marres\, author of Digital Sociology \n\n\n\n​From the book blurb: \n\n\n\n\n​Public data shapes what we know and how we live together. It is often digital\, freely available and related to matters of shared concern\, from global warming graphs to collaborative spreadsheets documenting mass layoffs. It circulates via maps and apps which enable us to discover\, report and rate what is around us. \n\n\n\n​Public Data Cultures explores the practices and cultures of how data is made public in the age of the Internet. Looking beyond familiar narratives of data as a resource to be liberated or protected\, this book offers new perspectives on public data as networked cultural material\, as medium of participation and as site of transnational politics. To better account for how data makes a difference\, the book argues for a more expansive conception of what is involved in making data public. In doing so\, it focuses not just on removing restrictions but also on caring for arrangements involved in making data public in ways that grow shared understanding and solidarity in responding to the many intersecting troubles of our times. \n\n\n\n\n\n​Nurturing critical and creative engagements with data\, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of media\, communications\, Internet studies\, science and technology studies and digital humanities\, as well as artists\, designers\, engineers\, reporters\, public sector workers\, community organisers and activists working with data. \n\n\n\n\n​About the author: \n\n\n\n​Jonathan W. Y. Gray (@jwyg) explores the roles digital data\, methods and infrastructures in shaping how we know and live together. He is the author of Public Data Cultures (Polity\, 2025). At King’s College London\, he is Reader in Critical Infrastructure Studies at the Department of Digital Humanities and co-director of the Centre for Digital Culture. He is also co-founder of the Public Data Lab; research associate at the Digital Methods Initiative (University of Amsterdam) and the médialab (Sciences Po\, Paris); and has taught with the School for Poetic Computation in NYC. More about his work can be found at jonathangray.org.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/cds-seminar-series-jonathan-gray/
LOCATION:Room 1.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/publicdatacultures_16x9.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260401T153000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260401T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260309T155243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T155245Z
UID:10000344-1775057400-1775062800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Amelia Acker - Book Talk: "Archiving Machines: A Material History of Data Storage"
DESCRIPTION:Imagine a punch card you can hold in your hand. A reel of magnetic tape spinning in a basement. A Palm Pilot collecting dust in a drawer. Your smartphone pinging a cell tower every few seconds. These data storage formats are evidence of how archiving became something machines do for us\, rather than something we do for ourselves. This interactive book talk uses early mobile computing artifacts to tell the hidden history of how we lost control of our data. Each object marks a shift in who structures\, stores\, and can access the digital archives we generate with every click\, swipe\, and search. \n\n\n\nArchiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms examines how ‘archive’ became a verb in computing cultures\, and how this shift enabled a political one. Today\, corporations\, not individuals or institutions\, largely control access to our data archives. By tracing moments of technological transition through material objects\, this work offers both a critical genealogy of asymmetric access and grounds for imagining alternative futures for digital cultural memory. \n\n\n\nBio: \n\n\n\nAmelia Acker is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers\, The State University of New Jersey. Her research on data management and digital preservation has been supported with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services\, the National Science Foundation\, the Sloan Foundation\, the Ford Foundation\, and the ACM History and Archiving Fellowship. Acker’s projects address the representation and loss of digital traces\, the history of data management\, and the transmission of information through time. She investigates how infrastructure and organizational practices shape the preservation\, accessibility\, and governance of data\, with a particular focus on the impact of platforms\, software\, and AI on archives and digital memory. Acker is the author of Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms (MIT\, 2025).
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/amelia-acker-book-talk-archiving-machines-a-material-history-of-data-storage/
LOCATION:Room 1.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Talk/Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Amelia-Acker-book-talk_Heather-McCartney.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T130000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260309T120254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T120256Z
UID:10000340-1775127600-1775134800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Looking back\, Looking Forth – Climate Anxiety and the Archives
DESCRIPTION:Overview \n\n\n\nJoin Rhiannon Bull to write about your experiences of climate change\, prompted by materials from the School of Scottish Studies Archives. \n\n\n\nThis is part of a co-creation day\, celebrating participatory and creative forms of research practices hosted by The Binks Hub and Outwith. To explore and sign up for other events\, view the collection here. \n\n\n\nJoin us to explore materials from the School of Scottish Studies Archives as prompts to help us (re-)think about how we process emotions or wellbeing impacts that may be associated with a changing climate. \n\n\n\nThe workshop will be hands on\, with opportunities to create your own fictions\, guided throughout by Rhiannon Bull – a writer and co-creative researcher currently conducting PhD research looking at climate emotion in Scotland. \n\n\n\nWe’ll be drawing on collections from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Scottish Studies Archives as writing prompts\, to help get us started. This vast archive is publicly accessible\, and spans a fascinating array of materials including audio recordings (storytelling\, music\, song\, and oral histories amongst other great materials)\, photographs\, and handwritten manuscripts. \n\n\n\nWe would love to welcome you to this workshop\, to learn about writing as a research method\, to discover Scotlands heritage through the archives\, and to reflect on climate change through a creative lens. \n\n\n\nThe event will take place in the Centre for Research Collections\, 6th floor of the Main Library. You do not need an access card to join us.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/looking-back-looking-forth-climate-anxiety-and-the-archives/
LOCATION:Research Suite – 6th Floor\, University of Edinburgh Main Library\, 30 George Square\, Edinburgh\, EH8 9LJ
CATEGORIES:Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Workshop-One-Climate_Kirstin-Lamb-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="The Binks Hub":MAILTO:binks@ed.ac.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T180000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260305T112626Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T122601Z
UID:10000339-1775127600-1775152800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Day of Co-Creation
DESCRIPTION:The Binks Hub invites you to celebrate creative and participatory research practices. Join for one event\, or for the whole day!  \n\n\n\nThe Day of Co-Creation is co-badged with The School of Scottish Studies Archives\, Poverty Truth Community\, Outwith at the University of Edinburgh Library\, and the Binks Hub.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/day-of-co-creation/
LOCATION:Research Suite – 6th Floor\, University of Edinburgh Main Library\, 30 George Square\, Edinburgh\, EH8 9LJ
CATEGORIES:Book launch,Community Event,Talk/Discussion,Workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Day-of-Co-Creation-screens_Kirstin-Lamb-1-scaled.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="The Binks Hub":MAILTO:binks@ed.ac.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T160000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260309T120657Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T120659Z
UID:10000341-1775138400-1775145600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Making Knowledge Together: Exploring community archives through zine-making
DESCRIPTION:Overview \n\n\n\nAn interactive zine workshop with the Poverty Truth Community and Dr Emma Davidson of the Binks Hub. \n\n\n\nThis is part of a co-creation day\, celebrating participatory and creative forms of research practices hosted by The Binks Hub and Outwith. To explore and sign up for other events\, view the collection here. \n\n\n\nRun by visual artist Jean McEwan\, Dr Emma Davidson and Helen Berry\, this session invites participants to explore how community archives create and share knowledge about lived experience. Though guided engagement with the Poverty Truth Community (PTC) archive\, participants will explore how community archives can be navigated\, understood and used\, and on the kinds of knowledge they make visible. The session will include a hands-on zine-making activity\, offering space to creatively reflect on archiving as a research method and to consider how we might archive our own research materials and experiences. In preparation for the session\, participants are asked that they spend time familiarising themselves with the PTC archive. The link the archive\, and a preparatory video\, will be shared in advance. \n\n\n\nYou are welcome to join us for the lunch prior to the workshop (13:00-14:00) or to just attend the workshop. \n\n\n\nThe event will take place in room 1.07 on the 1st floor of the Main Library. You do not need an access card to join us. \n\n\n\nThe session will be led by the research team who have co-created the Poverty Truth Community archive: \n\n\n\nEmma Davidson – co-director at the Binks Hub\, https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/emma-davidson \n\n\n\nJean McEwan – visual artist and creative facilitator\, http://jeanmcewan.com/ \n\n\n\nHelen Berry – researcher and doctoral candidate\, https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/helen-berry \n\n\n\nAccessibility Information \n\n\n\nThe session is designed to be relaxed\, informal and inclusive. Please let us know if you require adjustments that would make the session more accessible by emailing the Binks Hub at binks@ed.ac.uk.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/making-knowledge-together-exploring-community-archives-through-zine-making/
LOCATION:Research Suite – 6th Floor\, University of Edinburgh Main Library\, 30 George Square\, Edinburgh\, EH8 9LJ
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Workshop-Two-PTC_Kirstin-Lamb.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="The Binks Hub":MAILTO:binks@ed.ac.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260402T180000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260309T121034Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T121036Z
UID:10000342-1775147400-1775152800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:A Field Guide to Artist-Researcher Collaborations: Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:Overview \n\n\n\nA creative launch of a creative book about creative collaborations: celebrate the publication from the Binks Hub and Outwith at the Library. \n\n\n\nThis is part of a co-creation day\, celebrating participatory and creative forms of research practices hosted by The Binks Hub and Outwith. To explore and sign up for other events\, view the collection here. \n\n\n\nJoin us for the launch of A Field Guide to Artist-Researcher Collaborations\, an exciting new resource for people who would like to collaborate ethically with artists but aren’t sure where to start. Compered by Susan Morrison\, stand-up comedian\, broadcaster and one of the co-authors of the book\, this launch will be much more creative and fun than the average academic event (Susan is really very funny!). \n\n\n\nAttendees will receive a free hard copy of the book and invited by Susan and her co-authors Rhiannon Bull\, Jean McEwan and Jimmy Turner to engage with some of the creative exercises using drawing\, poetry\, sculpture and games that they have developed in the Field Guide to help people conceptualise\, design and ethically carry out collaborative work with artists. The team will share stories about the genesis\, philosophy\, and process of making the Field Guide\, and attendees will be invited to share their own plans\, experiences and wisdom about the role of creative collaborations in research. The event will also be the launch of the brand new Outwith Field Guides series\, of which A Field Guide to Artist-Researcher Collaborations is the first example\, and we will be joined by Nel Coleman from the University Library. Nel will introduce the series\, and offer tantalising details of the other Field Guides which are currently in development. \n\n\n\nJoin us for an interactive\, informative and fun look at working with creatives. \n\n\n\nThe event will take place in room 2.55 in Edinburgh Futures Institute. You do not need an access card to join us. \n\n\n\nGetting Involved \n\n\n\nThe team will be inviting attendees to have a go at some of the creative activities in the Field Guide. These have been designed to be as accessible as possible\, regardless of artistic experience and confidence. We will invite attendees to share their work with others\, but there will be no pressure at all to do so. All we ask is that you come with a sense of playfulness\, curiosity\, and willingness to have a go. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout our Partners \n\n\n\nNel Coleman is based at the University of Edinburgh Library\, and runs Outwith: Participatory Research at the Library. Their role is to support any research that opens the doors to wider involvement in the process; from citizen science to co-creation. Find out more about Outwith and what they do: outwith.ed.ac.uk \n\n\n\nRhiannon Bull is a writer of fiction and narrative non-fiction\, an illustrator\, and a painter based in Edinburgh. Rhiannon is currently undertaking PhD research at the University of Glasgow using creative writing to explore climate emotions in Scotland – www.rhiannonbull.com \n\n\n\nJean McEwan is a visual and participatory artist who has worked with communities and research projects for 20+ years. Based near Bradford but also working nationally\, she facilitates collage\, zine-making and creative journaling as means to explore meaning\, stories and messages with people – www.jeanmcewan.com \n\n\n\nSusan Morrison has been an MC at The Stand Comedy club since the day it opened\, and she has taken to the stage in clubs from Bournemouth to Inverness. She is a writer\, broadcaster and comedian with two grown-up children and a very patient husband. She is passionate about creating new ways for researchers and academics to bring their work to the public through her work with the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas\, the Bright Club and The Provocateurs. In 2025\, Napier University celebrated her achievements in public engagement by granting her an honorary doctorate. \n\n\n\nJimmy Turner is a woodworker\, sculptor\, curator and anthropologist who works as a researcher for the Binks Hub at the University of Edinburgh. They concentrate on designing and developing research and arts projects with community organisations\, through which community members can explore their curiosities and priorities through art and creativity.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/a-field-guide-to-artist-researcher-collaborations-book-launch/
LOCATION:Research Suite – 6th Floor\, University of Edinburgh Main Library\, 30 George Square\, Edinburgh\, EH8 9LJ
CATEGORIES:Book launch
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Book-Launch_Kirstin-Lamb.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="The Binks Hub":MAILTO:binks@ed.ac.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260410T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260410T160000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260326T084812Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T084930Z
UID:10000351-1775815200-1775836800@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:AI for All: Designing Responsibly 2026
DESCRIPTION:Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an area of AI that underpins technologies we use every day\, including personalisation systems\, voice assistants\, translation tools\, and generative AI\, such as ChatGPT. These technologies have huge potential – but how do we ensure they are fair\, accountable\, and transparent? \n\n\n\nJoin us for our annual drop-in festival of exhibits\, hands-on activities and opportunities to meet the next generation of researchers sharing their work and ideas of how we design and build a more responsible future.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/ai-for-all-designing-responsibly-2026/
LOCATION:Canopy\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Edinburgh Science Festival
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260416T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260416T173000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260121T115248Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260402T101233Z
UID:10000325-1776330000-1776360600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Conference 2026
DESCRIPTION:This year’s Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Conference will be hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute\, at the University of Edinburgh. \n\n\n\nThe conference theme is Interdisciplinary Pathways: Engaging Learners and Creating Opportunities. The conference is open to everyone involved with interdisciplinary learning and teaching\, within and outside university contexts. We especially want to emphasise that students and early-career researchers\, staff from education sectors outside higher education\, and community partners\, are warmly welcome to attend. \n\n\n\nThis year will focus on how interdisciplinarity can be supported\, structured and created in different educational contexts\, including those before and beyond higher education. \n\n\n\nRegistration will be £85\, with some bursaries available for students and non-HE delegates. \n\n\n\nProgramme\n\n\n\nView the programme here. \n\n\n\n*subject to change. \n\n\n\nAccommodation\n\n\n\nConference delegates can enjoy a discount at the University’s accommodation by using the code ‘EVENT’ at www.uoecollection.com. This offers a reduction of 10-15% off the flexible rate\, varying by property and subject to availability. Nearby\, there are alternative hotel options: 3-star hotels like IBIS Edinburgh Centre South Bridge\, and Motel One Edinburgh Royal\, and 4-star hotels such as 10 Hill Place Hotel\, Apex Grassmarket Hotel\, Hotel Du Vin & Bistro\, Hilton Carlton Edinburgh\, and Marriott Residence Inn.  \n\n\n\nThe conference venue is located at Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh. For more details on campus location and visitor information\, please see the University’s maps and visiting pages.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/interdisciplinary-learning-and-teaching-conference-2026/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Conference
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260417T093000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260417T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260318T105138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T105248Z
UID:10000348-1776418200-1776445200@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Future Voices: An interdisciplinary student symposium
DESCRIPTION:A one-day showcase of interdisciplinary student projects\, featuring talks\, exhibitions & networking at Edinburgh Futures Institute. \n\n\n\nIncludes\, breakfast (available from 9.30am for a 10am start) and lunch. Breaks throughout the day and a social gathering in the evening. See the full programme below. \n\n\n\nJoin us for the first annual Interdisciplinary Symposium\, a one-day event celebrating the creativity\, innovation and impact of EFI undergraduate and postgraduate students. Discover presentations\, films\, installations and digital projects from the Interdisciplinary Futures programme and related electives\, as well as the postgraduate programmes at EFI\, and connect with students\, staff and conference delegates in a vibrant\, collaborative setting. \n\n\n\nProgrammes\n\n\n\n\n\n9:30am – 10amBreakfast / arrival10amWelcome10:05 – 10:45amKeynote: Ida Kemp10:45am – 11:45amSession 1: Making Futures: Education\, sustainability\, belonging11:45am – 12pmBreak12pm – 1pmSession 2: Making Exhibition: Art\, performance\, video1pm – 2pmLunch2pm – 3pmSession 3: Making Information: Data\, AI\, systems3pm – 3:15pm3pm – 3.15pm: Break3:15pm – 4:15pmSession 4: Making Value: Narrative\, mobility\, identity4:15pm – 4:45pmClosing plenary
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/future-voices-an-interdisciplinary-student-symposium/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Conference
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260420T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260420T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260407T093517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260407T093520Z
UID:10000352-1776693600-1776704400@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:The National Security and Defence Documents Dataset
DESCRIPTION:The National Security and Defence Documents Dataset: A Hands-On Introduction for Researchers and Practitioners \n\n\n\nHow do states talk about security — and has that changed? This half-day workshop offers researchers and practitioners a first hands-on encounter with the National Security and Defence Documents Dataset (NSDDD): a unique resource spanning 118 countries and four decades of national security strategies\, defence reviews\, and strategic documents. \n\n\n\nParticipants will explore the dataset using purpose-built semantic search and text analysis tools\, discovering what computational approaches can reveal about patterns in strategic language\, threat framing\, and geopolitical alignment — including the wave of new documents published in 2025. No prior technical experience is required: the session is designed to open up the dataset’s possibilities for scholars and policy professionals with substantive expertise in security and strategic studies. \n\n\n\nBy the end of the session\, participants will understand what the dataset contains and how it was built\, have direct experience using the search interface to pursue their own research questions\, and be positioned to contribute to a collaborative discussion about the most promising directions for future research. \n\n\n\nAgenda\n\n\n\n14:00-15:00Introduction to the dataset by Prof. Andrew Neal15:00-16:00 Hands-on learning with the dataset tools\, with in-person support16:00-17:00Participant findings from the hands-on session\, Q&A\, discussion\, future directions
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/the-national-security-and-defence-documents-dataset/
LOCATION:Room 1.52\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF
CATEGORIES:Workshop
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260429T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260429T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260309T155728Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T155731Z
UID:10000345-1777474800-1777482000@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:CDS Seminar Series: Sophie Bishop
DESCRIPTION:Overview \n\n\n\n‘Influencer Creep: How Optimization\, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture’ \n\n\n\nSophie Bishop’s book ‘Influencer Creep: How Optimization\, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture’ (University of California Press) draws from in-depth ethnography and interviews with influencers and professional artists. Bishop argues that looking to the shifts within influencer culture can help us understand contemporary changes to labour conditions\, compensation and representation within creative industries. Taking seriously the motivations that drive more and more people into the contest for online visibility\, Influencer Creep documents a creative workforce nervously conforming to the monopoly power of social media platforms—and occasionally resisting it. Early praise for the book includes “those in the art world will find plenty to chew on” (Publishers Weekly) and “both a page turner and thorough academic study” (Professor Thomas Poell\, UVA). \n\n\n\nBio \n\n\n\nSophie Bishop is an expert in influencer culture and an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds in Media and Communications who has been researching the social and cultural implications of the influencer industry for a decade. Sophie\, has advised policy makers in UK Parliament and the European Union on influencer culture and has written for academic journals New Media & Society\, Social Media + Society and Media\, Culture & Society and has been interviewed in Paper\, Real Life\, Financial Times\, BBC and The Atlantic. Sophie lives in Manchester\, England with her husband\, daughter\, and two cats. Influencer Creep is her first book.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/cds-seminar-series-sophie-bishop/
LOCATION:Room 1.55\, Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Talk/Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T140000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260323T121204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260323T121206Z
UID:10000349-1777986000-1777989600@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:The Digital Backlash in Education: Panic\, Politics\, or Pedagogy?
DESCRIPTION:In recent years\, debates about digital technologies in education have shifted from what could be described as a digital hype to a digital backlash. Digital tools are increasingly framed as threats to learning\, cognition\, and the well-being of children and young people\, and nations worldwide have started to implement more restrictive digitalization policies\, such as banning smartphones from the classroom. This presentation explores recurring patterns in the arguments underpinning this shift\, across time and national settings\, and how similar narratives of harm and calls for scientific ‘evidence’ have resulted in different national policy responses. It discusses how this backlash emerged\, what forms of knowledge and expertise have shaped it\, and whether it can be used as a provocation to inform a more sustainable and pedagogically grounded relation to digital technologies in education. \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biography\n\n\n\n\n\nIngrid Forsler\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIngrid Forsler is an Associate Professor in Media and Communication Studies at Södertörn University\, Sweden. Her research concerns imaginaries and future visions of digital technologies in education\, in recent years focused mainly on the growing resistance against digital devices in schools. She is also interested in the postdigital\, material\, and infrastructural dimensions of contemporary learning environments.
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/the-digital-backlash-in-education-panic-politics-or-pedagogy/
LOCATION:Online\, Edinburgh
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260514T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260514T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T222526
CREATED:20260324T115814Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T115816Z
UID:10000350-1778749200-1778778000@efi.ed.ac.uk
SUMMARY:CreativeTech Scotland Gathering 2026
DESCRIPTION:Join us on the 14th of May at CreativeTech Scotland Gathering 2026 for an exciting day of cutting edge creative tech talks and workshop. \n\n\n\nOur 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. \n\n\n\nThe Programme will be added shortly but to give you a flavour of the day\, there will be a range of industry spotlights\, hands-on workshop\, and a showcase of creative tech demonstrations and lightning talks\, with a closing reception in partnership with Venture Café 5pm to 8pm. \n\n\n\nSpeaker Biographies\n\n\n\n\n\nOpening Keynote: Jane Harris\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDirector of the University of the Arts London\, Fashion\, Textiles and Technology Institute (UAL\, FTTI) with over £25m investment to date\, Professor Harris was Director / PI of the Business of Fashion\, Textiles and Technology (BFTT\, £6m) one of nine Creative R&D Partnerships funded by the AHRC Creative Industries Clusters Programme (£80m\, CICP\, 2018-24) – and is Co-I on an EPSRC Digital Economy Network+ (2022-27) establishing a UK wide Virtual Production Network led by the University of York\, and led DREEm: Digital\, Regeneration and Experience Economy modelling (www.dreem.org.uk)\, funded by AHRC. \n\n\n\nProfessor Harris will talk about the UAL XR Research Lab in Textiles and Dress\, a specialist research facility\, which aims to advance research in the digital rendition of textiles and dress for integration into screen and real-time environments spanning wide ranging performance\, gaming\, cultural heritage\, and live experiences. This specialist research facility is part of the UAL Fashion\, Textiles and Technology Institute (UAL FTTI). Creating capacity for innovative\, transdisciplinary practice-led research in VP/XR textiles and dress\, partners include the Victoria and Albert Museum\, Royal Shakespeare Company\, Numerion Software and SONY. \n\n\n\nTo find out more visit arts.ac.uk \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nClosing Keynote: Trevor Jones\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTrevor Jones is a Scottish-based artist and creative technologist whose work examines how blockchain and artificial intelligence are reshaping authorship and creative agency. He holds a Master of Fine Art from Edinburgh College of Art. \n\n\n\nHe first gained international recognition for his pioneering augmented reality interventions in national institutions and later became an early leader in blockchain-based art\, with landmark works such as Bitcoin Angel. His practice spans traditional painting\, digitally native systems\, and immersive\, interactive installations. \n\n\n\nJones’ work explores faith\, technology and the changing role of the artist as digital tools alter how art is made\, owned and experienced. Through hybrid physical and digital participatory projects\, he examines how authorship shifts when creative control is shared between artist\, audience and machine. \n\n\n\nTo find out more visit trevorjonesart.com
URL:https://efi.ed.ac.uk/event/creativetech-scotland-gathering-2026/
LOCATION:Edinburgh Futures Institute\, 1 Lauriston Place\, Edinburgh\, EH3 9EF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Conference,Creative Industries
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END:VCALENDAR