Pint of Science 2025 in Exeter turned research into pub conversations

Research became an evening event outside the university

According to the University of Exeter’s post-event account, the event ran for three days, from 19 to 21 May 2025. Three talks were held at each of three venues every evening, making 27 talks in total.

This differs from an approach that first chooses a lecture venue and then fills it with topics. It determined not only what researchers would say, but also where audiences would listen, what they would ask and what they would see up close. Venue, content and participation were combined into a single promise.

In the editorial team’s view, the most important promise was that audiences could ask researchers questions in their own words. It is not possible, however, to confirm that using familiar pubs made everyone feel comfortable.

The programme led with questions audiences wanted to answer rather than subject names

The Bootlegger programme for 20 May 2025 did not begin with the name of an academic discipline. Instead, it led with questions anyone could consider, such as “Should every newborn undergo genetic testing?” The description of the talk on genetic testing set out what could and could not be known, along with benefits and risks. This was the programme preview published at the time.

Starting with a question changes what audiences need to prepare. They do not need to arrive having read the relevant research papers; they need to understand the situation presented and be able to express their own thoughts. Specialist knowledge was not removed. The programme instead began by explaining how that knowledge related to everyday life. This is the editorial team’s interpretation of the programme description.

The same principle can be applied to research presentations and industry forums in South Korea. Instead of putting a technology’s name at the beginning of the title, frame a choice faced by the people who will use it as a question. Answering that question requires discussing not only the evidence but also what remains unknown. Making the title friendlier while leaving the content as an unchanged specialist presentation will not create this connection.

The evening was designed for listening to talks and asking questions

Pint of Science’s current guidance describes a format in which researchers give short talks and audiences ask questions and converse. It explains that an evening generally combines two talks, questions and answers, and activities in between. Exeter 2025 had three talks per evening. Current general guidance must not be substituted for a past event’s timetable.

This difference helps distinguish the event’s core format from arrangements that may vary between sessions. The experience of researchers and members of the public talking together can be retained while the number and length of talks are adjusted to the locality and topic. Maintaining a format does not mean repeating the same number of talks. The editorial team considers two criteria: whether audiences still have room to ask questions, and whether the talks have a reason to belong in the same evening.

Including more talks also has a cost. Time to understand one talk and ask questions competes with time to hear the next. Increasing the number of speakers does not necessarily make the content richer. If question time shrinks, audiences may encounter several research topics while having fewer opportunities for conversation. This interpretation is a consideration when choosing a format, not a report that problems occurred at the event.

Live demonstrations provided material for questions

Exeter’s post-event account describes live demonstrations of robotics research and audiences trying research VR equipment. This means that audiences could see the objects of research directly within an evening of explanations. The account establishes that these activities actually took place. It did not, however, measure how much audiences understood or whether their trust in science increased.

A demonstration’s advantage is that it makes questions more specific. Connecting a movement or observation method described by a researcher with an object in front of the audience allows people to discuss what works and what they want to know more about. Equipment used merely as a prop to create an atmosphere will not lead to this kind of conversation.

When selecting a demonstration for another event, check two things: what others can see while one person takes part, and whether people can follow the explanation without taking part themselves. If not every audience member can try the equipment, another option is to centre the session on a facilitator’s demonstration and time for questions. This is an alternative proposed by the editorial team to fit the purpose, not a procedure confirmed as having been used in Exeter.

Running small evening sessions in several places requires preparation staff

Repeating evening sessions across venues instead of using one large auditorium allows different research to be presented in different local settings. Rather than following every talk in sequence, audiences can choose evenings that interest them. This interpretation comes from reading the published arrangement of venues, topics and dates. It is not a finding about how audiences actually made their choices.

Exeter’s coordinator described how staff and students organised the event together. The coordinator also identified a desire to include more fields beyond medicine and life sciences. Choosing friendly venues does not automatically bring in researchers from a range of disciplines. The possibilities opened by a format and the presentation content actually secured must be evaluated separately.

More venues also mean more preparation. Each requires facilitation, contact with speakers, and checks of sound and viewing positions. Pint of Science currently states that it operates through volunteering, ticket sales and sponsorship. Applying this approach in South Korea does not make coordination and support work cost-free simply because volunteers are involved.

How this can be applied to events in South Korea

The following is the editorial team’s proposal for application to events in South Korea. To share research or industry topics with local people, centre the session on questions from everyday life and combine short presentations with conversation. Before choosing the event’s name and decorations, first examine whether the questions audiences bring, the evidence researchers offer and the objects everyone will see connect within a single evening.

The venue must also be assessed for its suitability for conversation. The organiser’s current call for venues identifies a separate event room, presentation sound and a screen, and step-free access as ideal conditions. It asks for access information to be provided separately for each venue and for age requirements to be checked by venue. This is current UK operating guidance, not a record establishing that all three Exeter venues met the same conditions in 2025.

Cafés, libraries and local cultural spaces can also be considered if young people, families or people who do not wish to drink alcohol are to participate. Remove any requirement to buy alcohol in order to take part, and determine arrangements for audibility, how questions will be conveyed, and ease of movement and access at the actual venue. If more in-depth practical work is the purpose, a workspace and a longer session may be more suitable.

This choice is not about reproducing Pint of Science’s outward appearance. It is about deciding what relationship participants will have with researchers. The concept becomes a criterion for choosing programmes only when the team can explain which venues and talks should be excluded or changed. After the event, do not simply count attendance: check whether questions and conversations actually occurred and what conditions made participation difficult. This makes the reason for retaining the same format in the next edition clearer.

Conclusion

Exeter’s Pint of Science 2025 combined local spaces, questions from everyday life, research talks and small demonstrations into a single evening format. The principle is to turn a concept into a specific arrangement in which audiences can listen, ask and examine things. Other events should likewise determine the venues, content and facilitation staff that make the arrangement possible, and clearly define the conversation they can actually provide.

Conditions for applying this to other events

• Refer to this case when the purpose is conversation between researchers and general audiences, and the content can be explained through questions from everyday life.
• Check the actual conditions of use, accessibility, facilitation and technical support at venues in South Korea separately.
• Do not transfer UK pub culture, facilities or age requirements into common standards for South Korea.

Unconfirmed information

• Audience composition, total attendance, the numbers participating in questions and hands-on activities, changes in understanding and trust, and changes in subsequent participation were not confirmed.
• Venue capacities, costs, session lengths, and the results of sound and access checks were not confirmed.
• The attendance figure of more than 400 in the post-event account was not used to analyse effects because the counting method was not confirmed.
• The two-talk standard in current guidance was not treated as an operating rule for Exeter 2025.
• Programme records describe what was announced at the time; the actual running order of individual talks was not confirmed.
• Application to other events is editorial interpretation.

Sources

• University of Exeter PER, post-event account by the 2025 event coordinator (published 2 June 2025, revised 17 July)
• University of Exeter news, advance announcement of Pint of Science 2025 (22 April 2025)
• Pint of Science, archived Bootlegger programme for 20 May 2025, “Medicine of the Future”
• Pint of Science, archived Bootlegger programme for 21 May 2025, “Diabetes: exploring the sweet and sour”
• Pint of Science, About page (operating purpose and funding)
• Pint of Science, contact and FAQ page (current format and venue requirements)