Birmingham City University’s third International STEAM Conference took place between the 18th and 20th of October 2022 in its dazzling newly-opened STEAMhouse building.
The event was an overwhelming success.
This year the Conference was extended across three days, allowing more opportunities for presenters and delegates to interactively explore how the ‘STEAM Approach’ is deployed within a wide range of applications, specialisms and organisations to develop strategy and foster innovation.
The first day of Conference featured a glittering array of guest speakers and international STEAM experts who presented the day’s core topic, STEAM in its International Context.
Delegates were able to listen to, ask questions of and meet in person renowned STEAM luminaries from around the world including Stanford’s Seamus Yu Harte, University of Ottawa’s Chantal Rodier and Ars Electronica’s Andrew Newman. As an additional treat, dialling in from Australia to give his presentation was Art Thinking CEO Kristefan Minski.
Fittingly, the whole day’s content was live streamed around the world, so viewers across different continents were able to watch and interact.
The second day of this year’s Conference was firmly hands-on, with its theme of STEAM applied to Innovation and Business reflected throughout.
Delegates were given a unique opportunity to take part in an all-morning Stanford University d.school workshop session, facilitated by our keynote US speaker Seamus Yu Harte. Few people this side of the Atlantic will have experienced such a session and the audience was visibly enthused and inspired.
During the afternoon, Elham Del Zendeh presented a compelling history of the Story Futures project, which combined storytelling with immersive technology to create a gamified VR testing range for best-practice energy usage and which won many plaudits at the New European Bauhaus expo this year.
Delegates were also able to tour and view an extensive demo showcase of art and technology presented by STEAMhouse members.
The third day of STEAM Conference 22 was focused on STEAM in Academia and Research. It was opened by Berlin-based artist and RSA fellow Kat Austen, who gave a warmly-received talk. Her mesmerising art, passionate environmental consciousness and application of interdisciplinary practice were an utterly compelling mix for delegates.
The remainder of the day was devoted to presentations of multiple academic research papers, which reflected a variety of STEAM-associated subject areas. The sessions were all recorded and are now available individually to view on the STEAMhouse YouTube channel.
We offer our thanks to all who presented and attended International STEAM Conference 2022.
See you next year!
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If you would like to find out more about STEAMhouse, click here to discover how you can become a member!
STEAMhouse is on a mission to enable innovation through collaboration. Powered by Birmingham City University, it’s a supportive space where entrepreneurs, students, businesses and organisations co-exist to solveproblems and develop new ideas. Comprised of four floors, STEAMhouseprovides the latest technology, kit and equipment, complemented by a portfolio of products services and programmes that include skills development, space hire, consultancy services, and events, it’s a destination that makes innovation happen.
