1. British Science Festival Birmingham 14-19th September 2010 Better Lives Through Science

2. British Science Festival Europe’s largest, longest established and most media- worthy science event Thousands of participants attend events (average 88,000 attendances per year 2006-2008) Millions of people see extensive media coverage in UK & internationally Two strands to the programme: Schools and Adult/family Aston University to be the main hub but events to be held at Thinktank, the other universities and throughout the City and Region

3. Journalists attending the Festival The Guardian The Times Daily Telegraph The Independent Daily Mail Daily Express Daily Mirror Financial Times The Scotsman Times Higher Education Reuters Press Association New Scientist Nature Chemistry World Sunday Times Observer Sky BBC News 24 BBC News Online BBC Radio 4 and Five Live … and more than 50 others…

4. Press coverage 2008 MediaNumber of stories Column Inches National newspapers2252297 International newspapers1591587 Regional newspapers2882841 National/International Radio65n/a Local Radio60n/a National TV37n/a Regional TV11n/a Web1150n/a

5. Key Partners for the Festival include: Birmingham City University The University of Birmingham Birmingham City Council Advantage West Midlands Marketing Birmingham Birmingham Science City ThinkTank, Birmingham Science Museum Aston Science Park STEMNET CBI, Chamber of Commerce Companies including Saudi Aramco and QinetiQ In discussions with potential media partners

6. Progress so far A draft timetable of events has been produced – a full printed programme will be available in the Summer. Events and presentations featuring major figures in the scientific community from the UK and overseas. Open consultations are to take place in diverse neighbourhoods over the coming weeks. Local businesses, charities and organisations such as Birmingham Children’s Hospital, are being approached. City centre events planned in venues such as Victoria and Centenary squares.

7. Aston involvement in Planning Groups Festival Steering Group Prof Julia King (Chair) Dr Phil Extance Stewart Comfort Peter Shearer Adult/Families Programme Group Prof Helen Griffiths Dr Phil Extance Young People’s Programme group James Seymour Marketing and Communications Group Stewart Comfort (Chair) Chris Harrison Business Engagement and Sponsorship group Peter Shearer (Chair) Paul Burkwood

8. Aston’s Contribution to the Programme Aston academic staff have made a fantastic effort to engage with the Festival. There are 44 events in the main programme featuring Aston academics, with each of the 4 schools represented. 6 further events have been submitted for the Schools Programme. Aston are developing displays and hands-on activities to take place on campus and in the city.

9. Key Aston Successes 3 Aston academics have been appointed as president of their relevant scientific section of the British Science Association and will deliver prestigious presidential sessions at the Festival: Professor James Wolffsohn for Medical Sciences, Dr Reiner Grundmann for Sociology and Public Policy and Professor Andreas Hornung for Chemistry. Professor Nick Lee of ABS has been nominated for the Joseph Lister Award lecture for the Social Sciences.

10. A Lasting Legacy Huge benefits for Aston already in terms of raised profile and PR A fantastic opportunity for the City and the region Close alignment with the Birmingham Science City agenda Birmingham to become the first semi-permanent home for the Festival, returning every four years Unique partnership between the Universities in Birmingham

11. How to get involved Opportunities still exist to sponsor elements of the Festival, ranging from sponsoring a single lecture to a whole series of events. Businesses using new or innovative technology can use the Festival as a platform to engage with the public. We can arrange weekly passes for members of Council wishing to attend the Festival

12. Contacts If you have any questions or wish to explore opportunities to engage with the Festival please contact: Stewart Comfort, Director of Marketing s.a.comfort@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 4771 s.a.comfort@aston.ac.uk Claire Hopkins, Events Officer c.l.hopkins@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 4542 c.l.hopkins@aston.ac.uk