Warwick is delighted to be a principal partner of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival in our 50th anniversary year, to celebrate we have a host of exciting events between 2-7 June.

Warwick What If? zone

Warwick will be programming its own interactive space at the Cheltenham Science Festival. We’ll be hosting workshops, informal drop ins, and Ideas Café events at the Warwick What If? Zone. And, with four Ideas Café evening events taking on subjects in-depth, you can expect to leave enlightened!

Free drop in sessions

Pop along to one of our free drop-in sessions each day in the University of Warwick What If? Zone. Join us to discover a different theme every day, from big data to robotics, psychology to hacking.

Feature Events

Tuesday 2 June:

How to freeze a human – With lots of cool demonstrations, chemist Matthew Gibson shows that while we probably won’t all be frozen heads in jars for a while, this technology can help save lives today.

Wednesday 3 June:
Siblings and peers: making your life a misery? – Dieter Wolke, Psychology and Division of Mental Health & Wellbeing, looks at how your childhood peers affect your mental and physical well-being, even as an adult.

Ideas Café event: What if cyberbullying is an overrated phenomenon?

Thursday 4 June:
Ebola - Experts David Evans, Adrian Hill and Peter Horby reveal the history and biology of Ebola and discuss how close we are to ending the crisis.

Big data or big brother? – Are you concerned about how your information will be used? Do we care that we have lost our anonymity? Warwick statistician Mark Girolami, software engineer Martyn Thomas and lawyer Marion Oswald discuss the issues.

Ideas Café event: What If…data science can solve our future? 

Friday 5 June:
Can we build a quantum computer? – A machine using atoms to store information could, in theory, solve problems that would take a modern PC the age of the universe to complete – but can it be done? Quantum physicists Gavin Morley, Winfried Hensinger and Elham Kashefi discuss how the theory of quantum computing will ever become reality.

Why take the risk? – Neuroscientist Vince Walsh and Warwick Behavioural Scientist Nick Chater explore risk-riddled professions, from the psychology of convincing yourself to face danger, to crucial decision-making under pressure. Joining them are professional risk-takers.

Ideas Café event: What if…the future were as clear as crystallography?

Saturday 6 June:
Ideas Café event: What if…robots are our future?

The full Science programme is available on the Cheltenham webpages.

Warwick 50th Anniversary and Cheltenham Festivals

Warwick is the first university to lend its support to all four of the Cheltenham Festivals.

Keep updated on all upcoming events for our exciting 50th anniversary.

Over the course of six days, we hope to inspire, challenge, surprise and entertain you in equal measure. Join us as we showcase ground-breaking
research, debate the big questions and introduce you to some of the world’s greatest thinkers." Festival Team