With six weeks to go until Explorathon – Scotland’s European Researchers’ Night (30 September), we are highlighting researchers and what they have planned for the day. This post details the traditional Coffee House Lecture “Winning the War on Talent” by Paddy Sherrard (5.30pm, Tinderbox on Ingram Street) and “Forge Future Minds”, our takeover of The Forge Shopping Centre in Gallowgate (10am – 5pm).
Winning the War on Talent
Grab a coffee and a cake at Tinderbox on Ingram Street, for a Coffee House Lecture exploring the battles faced by today’s workforce to recruit and retain ‘talent’.
Paddy Sherrard said, “I have been captivated watching what has been a fantastic Olympic Games, there have been some amazing performances from some outstandingly talented athletes. But how have they got to Rio? Does their talent come from nature? Or was it nurtured? I am really looking forward to having an interactive discussion on the subject of talent whether that be talent at the Olympics, at your school, or your work!”
The ‘War for Talent’ describes the challenges of recruiting and then retaining today’s talented workforce. This ‘war’ is as important for the British Army as any other employer and Paddy was chosen to undertake a PhD in Human Resource Management at the University of Strathclyde to come up with some battle winning strategies. Paddy has spent the majority of his career in Human Resources and is also a rugby coach, so is interested in talent from both a sporting and industrial perspective. The talk will discuss Paddy’s initial findings regarding talent and get your views on this interesting topic.
Forge Future Minds
Pop over to The Forge Shopping Centre and try out our “eco-playground” a compendium of giant family favourite board games then stop to talk to researchers from the Glasgow Science Festival team to learn how Scottish scientists have changed the world!
Strathclyde researchers Beth Robertson and Milana Plecas from the Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department host the eco-playground, which offers fun for all the family with a chance to learn some things that may help the environment and save you a few pennies too! Try out our version of snakes and ladders before you hit the shops and when you land on a positive eco-action like walking to work or school, then you climb the ladder! But if you land on a negative eco-action by leaving electrical items overnight, then you slide down the snake back to where you started! Other games to expect include twister, play your cards right and table top bingo.
Take a break from shopping and playing games, to discover more about the discoveries and innovations made by some of the great Scottish scientists’ with the Glasgow Science Festival team. Some better known than others – find out who they were and what makes them great today! Explore their stories by creating cuddly microbes, taking the fruit-scan quiz and playing with the colours of light.
Visit the Explorathon website for more information about how you can get involved in events in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and St. Andrews visit our or follow us on social media (@ernscot #explorathon16). Booking for events may be required.
Look-out for more Glasgow City of Science blog posts as we count down to Explorathon 2016.
*EXPLORATHON (European Researchers’ Night Scotland) is funded by the European Commission under the Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Actions programme. Grant agreement No 722967