Features

Dr Jay Harrison is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology. From building self-playing musical instruments to shaping national policy, he champions the role of the ‘technical-creative’ and works to bridge the evidence gap between art and industry.

Presented as part of the 2026 York Festival of Ideas' overarching theme of 'Place and Space', our eleven finalists will have just three minutes to outline the power of their research and how it will improve society and our lives.

Composer, performer, and sound artist Federico Reuben, and CoSTAR Live Lab Co-Director Gavin Kearney, tell us how they think AI could cross the legal badlands and emerge from the shadows, to become the next chapter in creativity; and how institutions like the University of York could play its part in creating a new perception of technology’s latest bogeyman.

Gill Francis is Assistant Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of York. A developmental-cognitive psychologist, her research focuses on the role of play in child development for neurodivergent and neurotypical children.

We've seen significant progress in embedding EDI across our systems, culture and community. This has been driven by establishing key institutional frameworks, targeted interventions for both staff and students, and proactive measures to foster belonging and ensure compliance.

In this extract from her new book, The Good Society: And How We Make it, Professor Kate Pickett argues that we already hold the blueprint for how to create fairer, healthier, and more prosperous societies and that it is time to make this vision a reality.