Pint of Science 2017 in Munich

Off

From May 15th to 17th, we organised once again the Pint of Science festival in Munich, an event dedicated to providing a forum where the public can reach out to researchers in a cozy environment, i.e. pubs. That is, people with no prior knowledge of a specific subject or science in general can get an overview of various disciplines and current research results and can ask any question that comes to their mind — and all this in an environment far more enjoyable than the lecture hall (also for the researchers by the way).

This year featured three nights each having one overall theme:

  1. Rise of the Machines
  2. Body and Brain
  3. Earth and Beyond

The beauty of organising such an event is that, as a researcher, you get also to engage with colleagues from completely different disciplines and fields. Have you ever spoken with a astrophysicist about further habitable planets and the probabilities to encounter life? Maybe. Have you ever spoken with a psychologist investigating sleep patterns? Ok, also maybe. But have you ever spoken with a volcano researcher investigating volcanic lightnings? Ha! Probably not (at least I haven’t). This, but also the fact to help disseminating actual research to the public, and to collaborate with different colleagues from other fields, is what fascinates me most. The downside is that such events tend to come with a lot of organisational stuff including the organisation of merchandise articles and proper venues, building an accurate and interesting programme, finding good speakers, and finding sponsors.

I consider myself lucky to have gotten the chance of doing it the second time in a row for Munich once again with great colleagues, and I sincerely hope to being able to continue organising this event (or anything similar should Pint of Science for whatever reason decide turn it into a for-profit thing).

Long story short: Interested in being part in the future? Follow us on Twitter or check our Facebook page! Interested in joining our organising team or giving a talk in the next years? Approach us!