The organisers of the Infinity Science and Technology Festival today confirmed that Professor Danielle George MBE has been secured as a headline speaker for the ground-breaking programme being held in Cumbria in September.
Professor Danielle George is Vice Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and a Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering at the University of Manchester.
In 2016, Danielle, in partnership with The European City of Science and supported by the EPSRC, Siemens, The Granada Foundation and The University of Manchester Science and Engineering Research and Innovation Hub, created the Manchester Robot Orchestra. The Robots have performed at the Euroscience Open Forum, the Manchester Science Festival, and have been on tour with the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Institution in 2017 as well as being guests of honour at the Infinity Festival. The Robot Orchestra was recently invited to the BBC’s Maida Vale studios in London to record a BBC iPlayer documentary ‘Can a robot replace Ed Sheeran?’.
Danielle said: “I’m really looking forward to joining in the fun at the Infinity Festival. The Robot Orchestra encourages young people to do engineering. People as young as seven years old learn computer coding and recycle things to make a robot instrument. Coding and making is engineering! It shows young people how engineering is creative and fun and that they can do it!
Young people have also written music for the Robot Orchestra to play. Some musicians have written pieces too, including Family Ranks, hip hop singer LayFullStop and the Halle Orchestra.”
Danielle now joins Professor Brian Cox on the Infinity line-up.
The news of a further world-class headline act comes as a group of 11 students from West Lakes Academy head to London to take part in the London Science Summer School, the partner event to Infinity Festival, where they will experience a sneak preview of what Infinity Festival will have to offer the students of Cumbria. The pupils attending the event from 24 July, have all been selected as Student Ambassadors for Infinity Festival. They will spend a week in London to experience the Science Summer School and to experience the sights of the capital city.
The Science Summer School is an annual event held at St Paul’s Way Trust School in London. Co-founder, Lord Andrew Mawson OBE, said: “This is the second time we have been able to host a group of young people from Cumbria at the Science Summer School and we are delighted to have them on board.”
“The event in London has been running successfully for five years and our research has shown that the event has not only built confidence but has enabled 50% of pupils, many on free school meals, to gain places at Russell Group Universities. In addition, around 50% have gone on to study STEM subjects.”
Infinity is set to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers through motivating talks and exciting hands-on experiments and workshops. It will feature a stellar line up of international superstars in the world of science, technology and engineering including experts in robots, insects, crime mapping, aircraft design, nuclear reactors, and a host of other exciting fields. The full speaker line-up will be announced in the coming weeks.
The festival programme will also feature employment opportunities, training options and career paths. The evening reception will include interviews with scientists and exhibitions to engage with parents to ‘get them on board’ supporting pupils to aspire to a future with no limits.