The expert is still alive and kicking
21 March 2017

Mark Speed FMRS, Chair of the MRS Annual Conference Awards judges, on Impact 2017.

The 60th MRS Annual Conference was a vintage one, if somewhat ‘tainted’ by recent events - ‘Brexit’ and ‘Trump’ being very much this year’s buzzwords. This resulted in some interesting sessions taking stock of the challenging political environment and the research world’s reaction to it all. Overall the standard of the presentations was high and we, as a sector of information experts, have much to challenge in this current wave of populism. More specifically there were some excellent sessions on key long term societal issues.

Alongside all this were some superb keynotes, from the creative minds of writers Oliver James and Caitlin Moran, to the history-infatuated Dan Snow and the dancing Ed Balls - providing both light relief and food for thought. In the midst of all this Dr Hannah Fry entertainingly reassured all the singletons out there that not all is lost if you rely on the application of maths. As ever, it was an illuminating and thought provoking two days showing the expert is still alive and kicking, and with a record number of delegates and seamless organisation by MRS.

A full list of the finalists for the MRS Annual Conference Awards can be found here. The winners will be announced at the Excellence Awards lunch on 9 June.