The move is part of the University’s annual research celebration and also part of the biggest ever programme of events to celebrate Glasgow Science Festival. The combined event will demonstrate how we can work together to address the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all countries in 2015.
GCU’s research seeks to achieve global impact by addressing the Sustainable Development Goals, recommended by the United Nations in order to “end poverty, ensure prosperity for all and protect the planet”.
Up to 50,000 people are expected to take part in public engagement and community-led projects as part of the Glasgow Science Festival, which runs from June 7-17, and GCU Research Week, which runs from June 13-19.
The science behind memory, superbugs, water pollution, food, construction, poverty reduction, gender equality and health and wellbeing will be explored during a series of fun and interactive activities at a host of venues.
Scientists from GCU will lead a range of events at venues in the Gorbals, the city centre, Possilpark, and the west end of Glasgow.
Future Memories; Glasgow re-imagines Dementia, kicks off the programme on June 7, at Glasgow Women’s Library in Bridgeton, and will bring together experts, carers and families to network and share ideas on how we can strive for a future free of dementia.
Researchers will demonstrate how cutting-edge technologies can help us to understand why the brain is vulnerable to dementia, including growing brain cells in a dish, testing memory in fruit flies and using light to build brain maps.
More than a dozen events will explore subjects such as the science behind what we eat, how women shaped the scientific and political life of Glasgow, the physics behind bowling cricket balls, how mobile apps can influence health, and how 3D Virtual Worlds can enhance wellbeing.
Meanwhile, GCU Labs on Campus will bring the activity to the Glasgow campus with interactive workshops around the themes of chemistry, vision science, the human body and renewable energy. The University’s Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health, meanwhile, will explore music as an intervention for young people who may be at risk of developing mental health problems and look at common health partnerships in research.
One of the highlights of the festival will be GCU’s Community Science Day at the Barn Youth and Community Centre, in the Gorbals, on Saturday 16 June, from 12pm to 3pm. Open to young people and families, the free event includes a barbecue and is packed with fun science activities and games.
GCU’s Research Week will round off with a keynote speech from Louise Scott, the COO for Pricewaterhousecooper’s Global Sustainability Network. She will discuss business, higher education and the Sustainable Development Goals. Her speech will be followed by the traditional Three Minute Thesis competition.
Professor Cam Donaldson, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, said: “It is a privilege for us to work with our local communities to address the Sustainable Development Goals, showing how we can contribute through our own research at GCU, which addresses the challenges of inclusive societies, healthy lives and sustainable environments.”
A full programme of events for Research Week will be released soon.
For more information about the GCU events at the Science Festival, details of how to book, and the full programme of activities, visit Glasgow Science Festival 2018.
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