The TechFest festival of STEM has gone global.
The festival, which has moved online for the first time, has attracted an international audience in just a week since launch.
Among the events popular with overseas participants was Deep Sea Research, a trio of linked talks on various aspects of deep sea, which brought in attendees from Argentina and Canada and several US states - Arizona, Michigan, Texas and California – including a school class joining in from Arizona, and Seeing Through Fossils which had participants from Canada.
“We’re absolutely thrilled with our reach across the globe,” said Sarah Chew, managing director of TechFest. “We knew that moving to the digital format this year had the advantage of opening up our events to a much wider audience that wasn’t restricted by location or distance, so bringing in attendees from anywhere in the world was always a possibility. The international response so far though has been absolutely fantastic.
“It’s not just international audiences who can benefit from our online format. Each event can host larger groups of participants than is sometimes possible at live events. Our festival launch for example, the Live Dive at Macduff Aquarium, was attended by several school and nursery groups which were able to watch together from their classrooms.
“We’re very excited to see who will join us over the next two weeks.”
The annual TechFest festival of STEM is aiming to be the biggest and most ambitious digital science festival in Scotland this year.
With an eclectic mix of more than 30 events taking place over a three-week period, the festival has two main strands - the traditional public programme and a programme for schools.
Supported by joint principal sponsors bp and Shell and also sponsored by Equinor, Ithaca Energy, SBRC, The Data Lab and supported by RockRose Energy, the celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) usually runs for three weeks in September, with events taking place in venues across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
This year, rather than cancel the festival due to current events, organisers not only decided to go ahead with a 2020 event but to make it wider ranging than ever before.
The mix will include both live and pre-recorded events delivered via Zoom, Facebook, LinkedIn and through interactive activities.
Upcoming events include the TechFest Activity Weekend which runs across Saturday and Sunday.
A schools’ programme will bring science-based activities directly into the classroom with a variety of activities, video conferences, talks, and virtual events with partners including Edinburgh Zoo and the Red Cross in collaboration with Skills Development Scotland TechFest’s new programme collaborator.
The highly popular family days will also return in digital format, jam packed with fun and STEM-inspired activities which the whole family can enjoy.
Admission to all events is free. For more information and to book, visit the TechFest website at www.techfestsetpoint.org.uk/