Festival of Research 2025

The mini-Festival of Research 2025 will take place on Monday 27 October and Wednesday 29 October 2025. This year’s Festival events aim to foster community engagement around our interdisciplinary research and celebrate staff contributions over the year in our annual Research Culture Awards. The programme is now open for registration. It includes:

Interdisciplinary Engagement event - Monday 27 October, 10:00-16:00

Plenary, Panel and World Café sessions will bring together researchers participating in or interested in interdisciplinary research. They offer a space for meaningful discussions on building and sustaining successful interdisciplinary teams and research portfolios, shaping our collective missions, and fostering valuable networking opportunities.

Our missions are:

• SPACES: Adapting to a changing world
• PLACES: Building resilient and sustainable communities
• LIVES: Enhancing health and wellbeing for all

We are excited to welcome Professor Andrew King as our Plenary Speaker at this year’s Festival of Research.

Professor King is Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey, where he is also Associate Dean (Doctoral College) and Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender. His internationally recognised research explores ageing, gender and sexualities across the life course, with a particular focus on older LGBTQ+ lives.

He has published widely in leading journals and will share insights from his interdisciplinary work bridging social science, health and policy, highlighting the role of collaboration in creating impact. 

This year’s panel session, comprising University of Stirling researchers,  will discuss the power of interdisciplinary collaboration. Panel members have a range of disciplinary backgrounds and, through their research, embody the University missions: Spaces, Places and Lives.

Chaired by Professor Iain Docherty, Dean of Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), this panel session will be a thought-provoking discussion on how to build and sustain successful interdisciplinary teams and research portfolios:

• Professor Vikki McCall, Professor of Social Policy – Through her research on housing, ageing, stigma, and co-production, Vikki explores how inclusive and reflective practices can make policy and services more responsive to the people they serve.
• Dr Brad Duthie, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Modelling – Brad’s research primarily uses mathematical and individual-based models to understand complex interactions in populations, communities, and social-ecological systems.
• Dr Sofya Jana Mary Shahab, Senior Lecturer in Global Politics & Heritage – Sofya employs anti-colonial, feminist approaches and specialises in participatory and creative methods to explore how heritage is conceived, experienced and utilised by communities in the midst of violence.
• Jessica Noel-Smith, Postgraduate Researcher at Dementia Services Development Centre – Jessica is a chartered Architect with 18 years’ experience of interdisciplinary work between the disability sector, creative industries and architecture. Jessica’s PhD, funded through one of our IAS Studentship Awards, is on “Architectural design ethics and accessibility: exploring human rights-based approaches to accessible design and ethics in contemporary architectural design practice.

Register for the Interdisciplinary Engagement Event.

Research Culture Awards Ceremony - Wednesday 29 October, 10:00-12:00

Now in its 6th year, the Research Culture Awards are a way to recognise and encourage collaborative behaviour and celebrate colleagues who demonstrate good role modelling across the career spectrum to create a shared understanding of what we value at Stirling.  The Awards initiative recognises contributions across eight categories:

• Outstanding Research Leadership 
• Outstanding Collaborator
• Outstanding Partnership with Professional Services 
• Outstanding Mentor 
• Outstanding Early Career Researcher 
• Outstanding Activity Dedicated to Enhancing Research Culture 
• Outstanding Activity to Support Research Impact
• Outstanding Activity to Support Innovation and Knowledge Exchange

The Awards Ceremony will be co-hosted by Professor Rachel Norman (former Dean for Research Engagement and Performance) and Professor Anna Whittaker (Chair of the Research Environment Group). 

Register for the Awards Ceremony.