Discover Festival 2027 – Call for proposals now open!
We’re very excited to announce that the call for proposals for Discover Festival 2027 is now open.
Newcastle University’s Discover Festival will welcome thousands of visitors onto campus on Saturday 12 June 2027 to inspire and inform family audiences through our research, innovation, education, facilities, and partnerships.
Now entering its third year, Discover Festival is our flagship public engagement festival: a chance for colleagues and students to open up their work to families, young people and communities from across Newcastle, Tyneside and the wider North East. In 2026, the festival welcomed more than 2,500 visitors to campus, with audiences exploring a wide range of hands-on activities, workshops, performances and exhibitions.
The Discover Festival proposal form is now open. Please read the guidance document and submit your proposal here.
What are we looking for?
We are looking for engaging, accessible and interactive activities that will appeal to a public and family audience, stimulate curiosity, and create meaningful dialogue between the University and our local communities.
Proposals are welcome from academic, research, teaching, technical and Professional Services colleagues, as well as PGR, PGT and UG students.
Your proposal might be:
- an interactive activity, exhibit, hands-on demonstration or game
- a workshop where visitors can make, create, test or contribute to something
- a live show, performance, talk or demonstration for a family audience
- an art installation, exhibition or creative response to research
- an outdoor activity, roaming performance or science busking idea
- a public participation opportunity, such as citizen science, feedback walls, public challenge questions, user testing or facilitated conversations
Why take part?
Discover Festival helps raise awareness of Newcastle University’s research, innovation, education and civic role. It gives visitors the chance to explore campus, meet the people behind our work, and understand how the university contributes to the region and wider society.
Taking part also creates benefits for colleagues and students. It is an opportunity to develop public engagement skills, test ideas with audiences, inspire young people, build connections with communities and partners, and show the real-world value of your work.
Submitting a proposal
The proposal form is open to colleagues and students who would like to submit an idea for consideration. Your idea does not need to be fully developed at this stage; we welcome early-stage ideas, outline proposals and activities that could be developed with support. If you would like support to adapt your work into an interactive public engagement activity, a range of training, advice and resources are available.
Read the guidance document, access support and submit your proposal on the link below.
The deadline to submit is 12 noon on Friday 13 November.
A small panel will review submissions, and we aim to respond to all applicants before the Christmas break. We strongly recommend reading the Festival Guidance Document before submitting, the proposal form should take around 15 minutes to complete, and you can save your progress and return to it later.
We look forward to receiving your ideas and working with colleagues and students across the University to create another inspiring Discover Festival for 2027.