The Royal Society of Edinburgh

This joint event will bring together Fellows and networks of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Medical Sciences for a day of conversation and collaboration on health challenges in Scotland. The Royal Society of Edinburgh, together with the Academy of Medical Sciences will be co-hosting a day of sessions surrounding health challenges in the Scottish context. The programme will span from transdisciplinary approaches to research and networking around public health themes to supporting evidence-based decisions in the…

The RSE Gifford Seminar in association with Professor John Dupré’s Gifford Lectureship Series 2023 This year, Professor Dupré’s RSE Gifford Seminar is on ‘a process perspective on human life.’  Human life is constantly dynamic and active. It is not, as it is often thought, composed of things made of smaller things that are arranged into mechanisms. The RSE Gifford Seminar allows audience members to explore some of the bigger questions asked across the Gifford Lecture Series and provides the opportunity to…

A 75 year journey forward on SCRR’s 75th birthday – RSE/SCRR Peter Wilson Lecture In 2023, the Scottish Consortium for Rural Research (SCRR) will reach its 75th birthday. Two years after the Agriculture Act came into being in May 1948, urging all farmers to “make two blades of grass grow where one grew before”, food security and sovereignty were foremost in minds and policies, and the SCRR was born. Skip forward seven decades and now land has to serve multiple…

Sir Paul Nurse delivers an RSE signature event, considering the question ‘What is life?’ by discussing five great ideas of biology. Nobel prize-winner, Sir Paul Nurse has spent his scientific career revealing the inner workings of living cells. In his recent bestselling book, he takes on the challenge of engaging with potentially the most important question in science: ‘What is life?’ Exploring five great ideas that underpin biology – the cell, the gene, evolution by natural selection, life as chemistry, and life as information – Sir…

Speaker: Dr Elaine Baxter Organisation: Boutique Innovation How can we reconcile sustainable living with our modern lifestyle? How can we reconcile sustainable living with our modern lifestyle? What changes could we make to achieve Net Zero here in Scotland? Meeting Net Zero by 2045 requires the consideration of new approaches, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovative thinking. This hands-on workshop will take on the challenge of designing a sustainable commuter town in Edinburgh. Get involved with designing and building a prototype and…

Speaker: Professor Susan McVie, Dr Michelle Jamieson, Jan Savinc Organisation: Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research Data is all around us. So, what is really being done with it? Who can use it and why? And how can it help people? Data is all around us. How our data is used, by whom and for whose benefit is a major topic of discussion. So, what is really being done with it? Who can use it and why? And how can…

The story of the University of Dundee’s Botanic Garden is one of transformation across time and function. It is the story of not just a garden in isolation but of a site for learning and teaching, and now the wider urban ecosystem that it exists in. This talk will look back over the garden’s 50-year journey to reflect on its evolution as a site with agency and a role to play in addressing anthropogenic change, locally and globally. Explore the…

Join us at the Royal Society of Edinburgh to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Samuel Johnson and James Boswell’s iconic tour of Scotland in this evening of performance and discussion. Experience the Edinburgh Makars Dramatic Society‘s reading of Noble Prospects, a new play recounting Johnson and Boswell’s journey, encounters and experiences of Scotland in 1773, largely based on their own words. Then hear from a panel of experts in Scottish history and literature who will reflect on the context, consequences…

The healthcare system in Scotland, as in all parts of the UK, is facing major challenges, including waiting lists for operations, an ageing population, and shortages of staff. This is a long term problem with no easy or single solution. Increased funding and additional training of healthcare professionals are part of the answer. Another part – and the subject of this event – is the greater use of data and technology in Scottish healthcare. What are these new technologies? How…

Scotland’s unique migration stance explored: fresh insights from surveys, comparative studies, and post-Brexit analysis. It is generally accepted that Scotland is an outlier in the UK in terms of attitudes to migration. All the main political parties have embraced the case for increasing migration to Scotland for economic and demographic reasons. Migration is not a salient and contentious issue in the Scottish media or political debate in the way it is at the UK level. Moreover, surveys have suggested that…