Surrey reaches for the stars

The 5^th of September will see the start of the British Science Festival, which is a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to engage with the latest in science, technology and engineering. Each year the festival takes place in a different location in the UK and I am excited to say this year the festival is being hosted just around the corner from us at the University of Surrey.

As a digital PR agency we’ve been enjoying hearing about the latest event news on Twitter (@TheGreatLookUp). If the enthusiastic support that this year’s festival has already received from Surrey based businesses, members of the community and local organisations is anything to go by, this year’s festival is destined to be a wonderful event. There are over 230 events scheduled, making it the largest festival for at least 10 years and nearly 50% of these events are being run by local organisations.

Reaching for the stars….

As a prelude to the British Science Festival, the University of Surrey and Guildford Astronomical Society have teamed up to host what I think is a really innovative event that literally will get the people of Surrey and the surrounding areas reaching for the stars!

The Great Look Up (taking place on the 28^th of August 2009) is celebrating the 2009 International Year of Astronomy and is an opportunity for people of all levels of interest in astronomy to come along and enjoy the beauty of the night skies.

You can bring your own binoculars or use some of the equipment provided by local astronomers. And for those of you who have a telescope and just haven’t quite mastered how to use it, the organisers are encouraging you to bring it along and get some hands on advice to make the most of it.

The Great Look Up will be a great night out for the whole family with something for everyone to enjoy. There will be guest speakers including BBC TV presenter Maggie Philbin and Dr Stuart Eve from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, as well as a large projection telescope and of course a summer BBQ!

To attend you simply need to register your interest on the website.

Event details:

Date: 28 August 2009

Venue: The Varsity Centre, University of Surrey, Egerton Road, Guildford, Surrey

Time: 7.45pm – 11.30pm

So gather the troops, pack a blanket and enjoy the splendour of stargazing. Maybe see you there.

Digital networking in London & Surrey - thebluedoor guide

We thought we'd share a list of digital networking events that thebluedoor attends on a fairly regular basis - based both in Surrey and London. If you can go along to any of these, please do say hello:

TEDxTuttle - Tuttle Club: a regular meet up (Brighton, Reading and London based) which tend to happen every Friday and lots of people on the circuit, generally freelancers, go. There is an interesting looking conference on the 17th September!
Measurementcamp - this is a regular meet up in London which discusses the merit of online measurement and tries to drill down into best practice. It is headed up by a big name in the industry – Will McInnes.
TechCrunch – there are a number of events that are organised by this publisher and it's an exciting environment to be in.
Open Soho – they have a Facebook page and event announcements are normally shared via @PaulWalsh on Twitter.
Chinwag – these events are excellent and they are beginning to go down a training route.
eConsultancy – really valuable events and an informative organisation overall.
NESTA – innovative and quite a unique organisation.
Sun Start-up Essentials – sponsored by Sun, these are really good events.
First Tuesday – these have a dot.com feel and actually happen every other Tuesday, usually pulling in some charasmatic speakers.
Mobile Guildford – very mobile focused, it is still growing in its popularity but we've enjoyed those we've attended.
The Hub – quite a public sector focus, but with a wide range of speakers.

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