A host of high profile speakers will be making their way to Lincoln over the next academic year for the University’s new Great Minds Lecture series.
The announcement made yesterday shows that top of the lineup is wildlife expert and Visiting Professor, Chris Packham. He will be taking to the podium on 30 September to deliver his latest lecture on the wide range of living organisms and their environments along with that all-important subject of natural selection.
His most recent visit was to open the University’s new Joseph Banks Laboratories a few months ago.
Tech guru Jason Bradbury, presenter of Channel 5’s Gadget Show and another visiting academic at the University’s School of Computer Science, arrives on October 7 with a talk, entitled ‘Back to Your Future’, to explore technology’s leaps and bounds over the past 30 years.
And students who are intrigued by the UK’s democracy can also be enticed by Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow MP, who will give his unique insight into Parliament on 27 November.
Other speakers announced for the Great Minds series include poet laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy, archaeologist Carenza Lewis, crime writer Ann Cleeves, and art historian Andrew Graham Dixon.
Concluding the lineup are ExoMars Rover mission engineer Abbie Hutty, former Director-General of the National Trust, Dame Fiona Reynolds and BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory presenter Dallas Campbell.
According to Elly Sample, Director of Communications, Development & Marketing at the University of Lincoln, the aim behind the Great Minds lecture series is to give younger people an opportunity to hear the extraordinary tales of successful people.
“The aim of these free public events is not simply to entertain, but also to educate and inspire – particularly for our younger audience members. Inspiration can come in many forms and it is the variety of different voices we bring to our Great Minds series that has made it such a success to date,” she added.
Previous speakers have ranged from award-winning actor Sir John Hurt, broadcaster Lord Robert Winston, and human rights activist Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.