IoP academics feature at major UK summer festivals
Academics from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's will feature at the Cheltenham, Hay and Latitute festivals this summer, giving talks and joining debates on a variety of topics including the genetics of intelligence, autism and World War One.
Cheltenham Science Festival
On 6th June, Professor Robert Plomin will discuss the genetics of intelligence, debating whether education should be tailored to an individual’s ability and needs and asking whether the pressure to achieve at every level of the education system is too much for children to cope with. The following day (7th June), he will be joined by Robert Winston to discuss the nature vs. nurture debate and his research on whether intelligence is heritable.
On 3rd June, Professor Ilina Singh, from the IoP and the Department of Social Science Health & Medicine, will discuss brain stimulation, something which is already being used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease but has potential for use in helping with depression, pain and brain injury due to recent advances. She will ask whether we should be interfering with the brain and discuss what this technology has to offer and whether we should be wary of what it could lead to.
This is the fifth year that King’s has partnered with the event which brings together some of the world’s greatest scientists and thinkers to help answer some big questions at one of the UK’s leading science festivals.
Chris Coe, Director of Public Engagement at King's, said: 'Cheltenham Science Festival goes from strength to strength attracting tens of thousands of visitors and massive media coverage; it's great to see so many academics from King's taking part and sharing their research with a wider public.'
Latitude Festival
Dr Sandrine Thuret joins philosopher Julian Baggini to talk about how our diet affects our mood, memory and concentration in a Salon event at the festival - 17th to 20th July.
Hay Festival of Literature
At the King’s Rosalind Franklin Lecture on 30th May, Professor Francesca Happe will explore the representation of autistic talent in the media, and what current research can tell us about the nature and origins of special abilities and assets in autism.
Also on 30th May, Professor Sir Simon Wessely will talk about the case of Harry Farr and the Judicial Review about whether to issue a blanket pardon to all those (300) executed for military offences during WW1.
The HowTheLightGetsInFestival also takes place at Hay in May and featured academics from the IoP including Dr Rosalind Arden who joined a panel discussing the ‘Science of Sex’; and Professor Dinesh Bhugra who took part in two debates – the first on the future of psychiatry, following by a second event on the role of classification in psychiatry.
Find out more about academics across King’s taking part in the Cheltenham and Hay Festivals.