Design Informatics at the 2025 Edinburgh Science Festival

We are delighted to announce that for the 2025 Edinburgh Science Festival the Institute for Design Informatics will present a series of exhibitions and events at Inspace, the National Museum of Scotland, the Scottish Poetry Library, and Edinburgh Futures Institute activating different venues across the City of Edinburgh.  

‘This year’s Edinburgh Science Festival theme of Spaceship Earth draws on inspiration from science fiction and science fact, questioning how we might better live on Earth. As scientists begin to ponder the wonders of long-term space travel, the Festival invites visitors to enter the mind of an astronaut as a poignant reminder that resources on earth are finite and that we have the tools to utilise to create a sustainable future for us all’. – Edinburgh Science Foundation  

Programme highlights

Design, Data and Beyond featuring the work of Design Informatics MSc/MA students will kick of this year’s Inspace Edinburgh Science Festival programme, presenting a series of creative prototypes which explore their intergalactic connections of data, technology and matter and that reflect on human (and beyond human) experiences of the future. This will be followed by Operation Biodegradable an exhibition and event programme presenting artwork, artefacts and prototypes by staff, students and graduates at the University of Edinburgh inviting you to engage with and understand the challenges and potential solutions in designing an operating theatre that better supports surgeons and the environment. 

During the two-week festival Design Informatics students and researchers will also be popping up around the City of Edinburgh inviting festival audiences to explore, interact and play. ORAgen Fables will present a pop-up at the University of Edinburgh drop-in at the National Museum of Scotland. Join them to explore collective story writing and to delve into how emerging technologies could transform how we understand and value digital authorship and ownership. Machine Whispers at the Scottish Poetry Library, invites you to explore the futuristic world of AI reading and writing and to uncover the glitches behind AI’s glamour. AI for All: Designing Responsibly a one day pop up at the Edinburgh Futures Institue asks how we can ensure Natural Language Processing (NLP), a machine learning technology that enables computers to understand, manipulate, and interpret human language, is a system that is fair, accountable and transparent? 

We look forward to seeing you there!