Great Lecture
Great Lecture ©

British Council

About this programme

The British Council 'Knowledge is GREAT' Lecture Series showcases UK's knowledge, creativity and innovation through leading UK specialists in areas of topical debate and discussion.

Throughout the year, the British Council in Singapore organises and hosts a variety of lectures on diverse topics such as arts, environment, sciences and more, aimed at academics, practitioners, students and the general public.

Our inaugural lecture in 2015, featured Professor Peter Abrahams from Warwick Medical School on the topic, Leonardo da Vinci - A 15th century anatomist whose artistic and conceptual ideas anticipated 21st century radiology.

Since then, we have collaborated with numerous institutions, organisations, both in the UK and Singapore, to constantly bring exciting and high profile lectures to Singapore.

‘Thank you to the British Council for delivering these wonderful talks, I learn so much and take back to my students’

 

Upcoming lectures

Upcoming British Council 'Knowledge is GREAT' Lecture Series will be listed on our events page.

Partnership Opportunities for UK institutions

UK institutions can utilise this platform to promote the university, department or your academic. Institutions can also use our lecture series to engage your alumni community in Singapore.

Do email education@britishcouncil.org.sg for more information on partnership proposal.

 ‘Such an enigmatic speaker, has really enthused me to pursue study in the UK in clinical anatomy’

 

Ben Crystal, British Council in Singapore
Ben Crystal ©

British Council in Singapore

Notable British Council 'Knowledge is GREAT' Lecture 2018

Title Speaker(s) Role and Organisation 
Ensuring High Quality Healthcare through Education
  • Professor Lynn Kilbride
  • Dean, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Dundee
Truth and Social Media
  • Professor A. C. Grayling
  • Master, New College of the Humanities and Supernumerary Fellow, St Anne's College, Oxford
Disability and Leadership in the Cultural Sector
  • Jo Verrent
  • Speaker, Writer, Activist
Designing Inclusive Interactions
  • Graham Pullin
  • Dr Daiana Beitler
  • Mario Van Der Meulen 
  • Programme Director, Digital Interaction Design, University of Dundee
  • Regional Director, Asia, Microsoft Philanthropies
  • Principal Designer, Foolproof Singapore 
Artificial Intelligence in the Past, Present and what it holds for the future
  • Professor Sir Michael Brady FRSFREng FMedSci
  • Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford
    Chairman, Perspectum Diagnostics and Head of Image Analysis

Notable British Council 'Knowledge is GREAT' Lecture 2017

Title Speaker(s) Role and Organisation
State of the World's Plants: Unearthing the Valuable and the Vulnerable
  • Professor Monique Simmonds OBE
  • Deputy Director of Science, Royal Botanic Gardens
An Evening with Dame Nancy Rothwell and Sir Andre Geim
  • Professor Sir Andre Geim
  • Professor Nancy Rothwell
  • Nobel Laureate
  • President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Manchester
  • Mr Ben Crystal 
  • Actor, Author, Producer
Enough of Experts: Trust. credibility and the academy in a post-truth age
  • Sir Richard Dearlove KCMG OBE
  • Chair, University of London Board of Trustees and Former Chief MI6
  • Professor Bob O'Keefe
  • Vice-Principal and Dean of Management and Economics, Royal Holloway University of London
  • Dr Mary Stiasny
  • Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) and Chief Executive, University of London International Programmes
  • Mr Emmanuel Daniel
  • Chairman and Founder, The Asian Banker
Women in Science
  • Professor Doreen Cantrell CBE, FRS, FRSE, FMedSci
  • Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow, University of Dundee
  • Professor Birgitte Lane FRSE, FMedSci
  • Executive Director, A*Star's Institute of Medical Biology
The Journalism of Politics and the Politics of Journalism
  • Bridget Kendall MBE
  • Master, Peterhouse Cambridge 
Work and Wellbeing in an Ageing Society
  • Professor Dame Carol Black DBE, FRCP, FMedSci
  • Principal, Newnham College Cambridge
Climate Change: The Greatest Opportunity of our Age
  • Professor Sir David King
  • UK Foreign Secretary's Special Representative for Climate Change

'Such an enigmatic speaker, has really enthused me to pursue study in the UK in clinical anatomy'

Notable British Council 'Knowledge is GREAT' Lecture 2016

Title Speaker(s) Role and Organisation 
The Wars of the Roses: The Real Game of Thrones
  • Dr Suzannah Lipscomb MA, MSt, DPhil (Oxon), FRHistS 
  • Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History and Fellow at New College of the Humanities (NCH)
Ten Cities That Made an Empire
  • Dr. Tristram Hunt MP
  • Member of Parliament (Labour Party) for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London
In Conversation with Professor Brian Cox and the University of Manchester
  • Professor Brian Cox OBE
  • Professor of Particle Physics at the University of Manchester and The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science
An Evening with Graham Sheffield CBE
  • Graham Sheffield CBE
  • Director of Arts, British Council 

Collaborations with Institutions and Organisations

 
University of the Arts London Newnham College, University of Cambridge
University of Birmingham New College of the Humanities
British High Commission Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Clifford Chance Perspectum Diagnostic
Cranfield School of Management Peterhouse, University of Cambridge
University of Dundee Pomeroy Studio
University of Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Energy Institute Royal College of Art
Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay Skills Future SG, Lifelong Learning Institute 
Goldsmiths, University of London University of Sheffield
Intercultural Theatre Institute  University of Southampton
King's College London Singapore Art Museum 
LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore Botanic Gardens
University of London Singapore International Foundation
University of Manchester Singapore Management University
Microsoft Singapore Repertory Theatre
National Arts Council Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS)
National Gallery Singapore The Glasgow School of Art
Newnham College, University of Cambridge University of Warwick

Comments by participants

‘We simply wish to pass on our thanks and appreciation for an interesting and enjoyable evening at the 'Enough of Experts' Panel Discussion yesterday evening. Of course, this is not the only talk/event we have enjoyed and our thanks extend to those we have attended but not followed up with our compliments. You and your colleagues not only bring about an interesting programme of content and speakers, but manage to create a very relaxed and accessible atmosphere and feeling.

Last night, particularly, afforded great opportunities to have a conversation with each of the Panelists, who did their strolling around so professionally and personably. It was simply a 'Best of British(ness)' evening.’

Videos

Click to view our 'Knowledge is GREAT' Lectures:

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