SCIENCE and technology is the focus next week as the Malvern Festival of Innovation returns for its tenth successive year.
The annual festival takes place from October 4 to 9 at the Coach House Theatre in the town.
The event will focus on the themes of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) along with entrepreneurship and creativity.
To launch the festival week, founder Dr Adrian Burden will be joined on stage by Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC’s principal technology correspondent and author of the book Always On, Hope and Fear in the Social Smartphone Era.
Dr Burden will chat with him about his life travelling around the world reporting on emerging technology and meeting with some of the world's most influential tech entrepreneurs.
There will also be an opportunity to network at BloomSpace where signed copies of Rory’s book will be available to buy.
The events programme also includes the 'Next Generation Innovators' schools outreach day, an afternoon live with Thriving Three Counties business podcaster Dan Barker, the Science and Technology Comedy Night, and the Family Day with its associated science show at the Malvern Theatres.
Dr Adrian Burden said: "Whilst we’ve been encouraging our local entrepreneurs and students to innovate over the last decade through the festival, Rory has been meeting influential, innovative household names like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Lastminute.com’s Martha Lane Fox, and Tesla’s Elon Musk.
"This will be a fascinating opportunity to hear what Rory thinks makes them tick and to understand his take on the impact of the mobile phone and associated rise of social media."
Cllr Daniel Walton, portfolio holder for tourism and economic development at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "This longstanding and popular event has something to offer for people of all ages, it is also such a great opportunity for the next generation of budding scientists and entrepreneurs to gain knowledge and learn new skills."
The event is free for all to attend, but places are limited so people are encouraged to book tickets in advance.
Visit www.festival-innovation.com to book.
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