Skip to content Accessibility statement

Open lectures: Semester 1 - 2025-26

Every semester, the University organises free open lectures on a wide variety of topics and aimed at a general audience.

Most require tickets (available on individual event pages) but some do not. Look for the 'Book tickets' button on the web page. 

Upcoming events

Event

Monday 8 December 2025 5.30pm

Delve into the concept of Just Earth and how we all play a part in shaping our environment for future generations.

Event

Tuesday 9 December 2025 12pm

This webinar shares findings from a research project comparing Domestic Abuse (DA) responses in Victoria, Australia and Greater Manchester, UK, focusing on system change.

Event

Tuesday 9 December 2025 4pm

Adam Hanieh's IGDC lecture examines the Middle East's role in the fossil fuel economy, linking global capital to regional crises, inequality, and violence.

Event

Wednesday 10 December 2025 5pm

Palladio's Four Books of Architecture is an artfully composed treatise that manipulated sources and misrepresented his work to secure his fame and an architectural agenda.

Event

Wednesday 10 December 2025 6pm

Joint book launch: Two York historians explore 19th-century labour politics, transnational radicalism, and indentured migration following the abolition of slavery.

Event

Thursday 11 December 2025 5.30pm

Explore how professionals working alongside architecture help bring projects to life; at times offering challenge, at times providing support but always shaping the final vision.

Event

Thursday 8 January 2026 7.30pm

Find out about the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC), which supports biobased and chemical innovations by providing funding, facilities, and expertise to overcome scale-up challenges for commercial viability.

Event

Tuesday 27 January 2026 6.30pm

Join us to explore the uses of robotics in medical applications.

Past events

Thursday 4 December 2025 7.30pm

The talk addresses the radical disruption of AI/ML in engineered systems, focusing on safety, security, and ethical challenges, and presenting assurance solutions.

Thursday 4 December 2025 6.30pm

This lecture discusses successes and challenges of the digital revolution for disabled and older people, focusing on accessibility and future improvements.

Wednesday 26 November 2025 6.30pm

Find out how new modular, robotic technologies will help with the problem of space debris around our planet, and will enable future space missions.

Wednesday 26 November 2025 5pm

This talk views holes in recent sculpture (Palmer, Noland, Heinemann) as conduits revealing history's ideological and material construction.

Tuesday 25 November 2025 7pm

Learn more about the fascinating Baroness Roos of Helmsley and how her patronage impacts the way we view women in the later medieval period.

Wednesday 19 November 2025 5pm

The first in a series of three lectures this year by Visiting Professor Adam Phillips, Writer and Psychoanalyst.

Tuesday 18 November 2025 6.30pm

Yorkshire's fashion history, from 18th-century dye pollution to modern recycling, reveals that textile sustainability issues and solutions are not new.

Tuesday 18 November 2025 1pm

Campos Gerais, Brazil, needs a shift from the US Park model to a UK National Park partnership approach for sustainable conservation and land management.

Monday 17 November 2025 6pm

We are delighted to welcome Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, Director of the British Museum, for this special edition of the Cantor Lectures, focusing on curating modern and contemporary art.

Friday 14 November 2025 6pm

Dom Henry Wansbrough explores the dangerous history of biblical translation, where theological disagreements sparked violence and death for translators.

Thursday 13 November 2025 6pm

Our talk will explore how architecture engages with York’s historic fabric while looking ahead to the city’s evolving needs.

Wednesday 12 November 2025 7pm

Bernard O’Donoghue discusses The Poems of Seamus Heaney, a landmark collection of Heaney’s works, with Hugh Haughton.

Wednesday 12 November 2025 5.30pm

Dr. Glaire Anderson discusses her work bridging academia, video games, and heritage sectors, including consulting on Assassin's Creed Mirage.

Tuesday 11 November 2025 6.30pm

Join Greg Jenner and Professor Nicky Milner for a Stone Age talk, covering Star Carr and Greg's book, Totally Chaotic History: The Stone Age Runs Wild.

Monday 10 November 2025 6.30pm

Specialists will discuss war crimes and accountability for IHL violations in Ukraine and other conflicts, considering new warfare methods.

Monday 10 November 2025 5pm

Caroline Fowler, Starr Director of the Research and Academic Program at the Clark Art Institute, hosts a research seminar on 'Drawing as Discipline'.

Friday 7 November 2025 6.30pm

Join us to celebrate International Day of Medical Physics and the birthdays of trailblazing nuclear physicists, Marie Curie and Lise Meitner, with a talk on pioneering research into nuclear medicine.

Thursday 6 November 2025 7.30pm

VPI, a major UK/Ireland/Germany power company, is developing Humber Zero, a large-scale carbon capture project to decarbonise industrial power.

Monday 3 November 2025 5pm

Des Fitzgerald will discuss his book, The City of Today is a Dying Thing, critiquing the 'green is good' urban health rhetoric.

Saturday 1 November 2025 11am

This exhibition uses posters, maps, and audiovisual stories to showcase the experiences of minoritised academics and influence minds.

Sunday 26 October 2025 2.30pm

Catherine Tackley will explore post-WWI jazz in Britain, its impact on music, dance, and morality, and the lifting of restrictions with WWII.

Saturday 25 October 2025 10am

Are you a parent or carer of a child aged 5 or under? What do you know about parental leave in the UK and how can it be improved?

Friday 24 October 2025 11am

Alison Pilnick will argue that patient-centred care's focus on autonomy inadvertently sidelines medical expertise, hindering improved health outcomes.

Thursday 23 October 2025 6.15pm

Join us for the launch of Sunny Singh’s Refuge, featuring a reading and conversation with poet Anthony Capildeo.

Tuesday 21 October 2025 7pm

Edna Annie Crichton was York's first lady Lord Mayor 1941-42, only five and a half centuries after the office was created in 1389! 

Tuesday 21 October 2025 6.30pm

From planets to stars to nebulae, space is full of fascinating objects. Find out how we're exploring astrophysical phenomena in the lab.

Friday 17 October 2025 6.30pm

Could the heat beneath our feet help power a low-carbon future? Join us for an evening exploring the science, opportunities and impact of deep geothermal energy.

Thursday 16 October 2025 10am

Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive of Skills for Care, will explore the future of adult social care, exploring the opportunities and risks shaping the sector and how policy can help meet the increasing care needs of the population.

Monday 13 October 2025 6pm

Graduate Jack Mackay returns to York to discuss his acclaimed Gothic debut Gloam, share writing insights, and inspire aspiring authors.

Friday 10 October 2025 7pm

Join us this World Mental Health Day for this fun and informative session!

Wednesday 8 October 2025 6pm

A conversation and reading with the writer Rozie Kelly

Thursday 2 October 2025 7.30pm

Daniel Burrell discusses Yorkshire GREEN’s role in reinforcing Yorkshire’s electricity network, enabling clean energy transfer, collaboration, and supporting UK net zero.

Thursday 2 October 2025 6pm

A discussion explores Britain’s radical politics through global, anti-colonial, and transnational networks, launching two books rethinking history’s local myths.

Thursday 2 October 2025 2pm

A discussion on tackling health inequalities by exploring equity-weighted GP funding to better support disadvantaged patients and improve outcomes.

Wednesday 1 October 2025 1pm

Tom’s lecture explores fear of crime, its political exploitation, and strategies for fostering constructive, progressive public debates on justice.

Tuesday 30 September 2025 7pm

Join the York Sustainability Network for a discussion around AI and how whether it's possible to use it sustainably.

Tuesday 30 September 2025 5.30pm

Explore new research on Viking silver, coinage, and power in Northern England (850–950), highlighting York’s regional influence.

Monday 29 September 2025 4pm

A presentation and discussion of Billy Holzberg’s prize-winning Affective Bordering, exploring emotions, race, and deservingness in migration and border politics.

Tuesday 23 September 2025 1pm

Join YESI for a seminar on Purulia’s Indigenous wall paintings, exploring eco-friendly traditions, festivals, and community-driven art’s role in sustainability and environment.

Thursday 4 September 2025 6pm

A free event of local ghost stories from York residents. Accessible, captioned, and family-friendly. Delivered by Skald Theatre Group in collaboration with Hephaestus Theatre.

Thursday 4 September 2025 2pm

CoSTAR are excited to welcome John Mateer for an inspiring public talk as part of their CoSTAR Live Lab Presents series on “AI from a Filmmaker's Perspective”.

Tuesday 2 September 2025 8pm

A free event of local ghost stories from York residents. Accessible, captioned, and family-friendly. Delivered by Skald Theatre Group in collaboration with Hephaestus Theatre.