Fancy a lecture in a bar? Bar patrons will get just that with 20 boffins from Canterbury University hosting talks on topics ranging from the effects of microplastics and warning signs of volcanic eruptions to the impact of artificial intelligence on human creativity.

Nine bars around the city are taking part in the event, dubbed Raising the Bar, on Tuesday, September 15.

The event aims to make university research more approachable and give people an opportunity to take part in conversations usually restricted to lecture theatres, laboratories, or academic conferences.

The venues are Two Thumb Manchester, C1 Espresso, Botanic, Renegade Brewing Co, Craft Embassy, Bealey Quarter, Muy Muy, Cascade, Ramen Ria and Two Thumb Colombo.

Other topics for discussion include whether smarter traffic lights could reduce congestion and improve evacuations, if animals can sense natural disasters before they happen, ancient Rome, and the importance of maintaining muscle mass as you age.

Prominent Covid-19 expert Dr Michael Plank will host a talk on how maths can help pandemic responses through modelling and a discussion of bird flu will be hosted by Dr Tammy Steeves.

Other speakers will host talks on how people could be fed if conventional agriculture or supply chains failed, what miniature trackers reveal about penguins beneath the waves, and what Pacific and Indigenous approaches can teach universities about who gets to define knowledge.

The full programme is available on the event website.

Attendance is free, and anyone interested should register online at rtbevent.com/rtbchch2026.

Raising the Bar is a global initiative started in New York in 2014. It will be the fourth year UC has hosted the event.