Last year brought a brand-new addition to our festival programme. ‘The Lighter Side of Research: PhD research through humour’ was a comedy showcase hosted at Burdall’s Yard to a sold-out audience.

10 doctoral students across the University of Bath and the University of Bristol, performed original 7-minute comedy sketches inspired by their research. Under the guidance of a comedy writer, who also compèred the show, participants took part in a series of workshops, helping them craft and perform their sketches.

Building on last year’s successful debut, this year we’ll be returning to Burdall’s Yard for more funnies. We’ve continued our collaboration with the University of Bristol and are delighted to also be welcoming students from neighbouring Bath Spa University.

This year, a number of interdisciplinary workshops will take place across the two days with an onus on inspiring creativity and real-world impact in the doctoral research community. For an idea of what to expect while we finalise this year’s programme, please see below a rundown of last year’s workshops:

In 2025, we hosted three workshops to provide opportunities for further professional development. The Public Engagement workshop introduced creative approaches and core principles to effectively communicate research. The Entrepreneurship workshop explored how research can become a viable business idea and explained the process from initial idea to start-up, finishing with a pitching competition. Finally, the Impact workshop was an interactive exploration of how to inspire real-world impact through research.