It was a pleasure to welcome Belgian scientist and comic, Lieven Scheire, as our keynote speaker for this year’s Festival of Ideas.

In a fascinating light-touch presentation, Lieven eruditely explained how A.I. works, what it can already do and what it will be capable of in the future. Lieven’s academic curiosity on the subject was both engaging and enlightening as he sought to dispel some of the myths surrounding Artificial Intelligence.

A.I. is undoubtedly the most significant technological and societal development of the 21st century, for many its dizzying pace of development, and the accompanying real-world implications pose a considerable concern. Lieven’s levity and clarity of expression thoughtfully explained a technology that individuals and institutions will increasingly need to engage with.

In a triumph over the sweltering heat, Bake Your Doctorate returned. Each year, doctoral students create mouth-watering bakes based on their research. This year, in homage to the University of Bath's 60th anniversary, bakers were tasked with imagining what their research might look like in 60 years-time for an extra special "Bake to the Future" edition of Bake Your Doctorate.

Two awards were presented: the Judges’ Award, based on taste, visual appeal, and effectiveness in communicating research, and the People’s Choice Award, voted for by attendees.

Judge’s Award – Angèle Macé with ‘Back to the re-source!’ People’s Choice Award – Sylvia Charles with ‘Envisioning the future of bioprocessing’

A big well done to all participants, your bakes were sumptuous!

Thanks too to Fang-Yu and Kane from Sugarcane Studio for supporting the event and for judging the bakes.