Unitalks

Zaid from Tower Hamlets visit Queen Mary University in East London to interview Shahidha Bari, a lecturer there in Romanticism. Zaid is deciding whether to study English or Marketing at University, and speaking to Shahidha on her passion for Keats and her love of libraries might just persuade him. Our agony aunts answer questions you’ve sent in on careers and employability after you’ve left university.

Christian from London interviews Christopher Hamilton, a senior lecturer in the Philosophy of Religion at King's College London. Despite being passionate about pursuing a career in Marine Biology, Christian isn't afraid to quiz Christopher on philosophy's toughest questions: What is the meaning of life? What's more important, pain or pleasure? Our agony aunts answer questions you've sent in on typical anxieties and apprehensions you might face at university.

Sixth former Raihana from London interviews Anne Phillips, Graham Wallace Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics. A science student with a keen interest in politics and feminism, Raihana quizzes Anne on glass ceilings, fighting inequality, and surviving and succeeding in a male-dominated field.

Sixth Form student Charlie from Newport interviews Professor of Music and international concert pianist, Kenneth Hamilton. Though she wants to study Physics at University, Charlie plays the clarinet and the Saxophone, and quizzes Kenneth on the link between music and physics, Chopin, and what makes a good piano player.

Sixth Form students, Simran and Kimjeet travel to King’s College London to interview Eleanor Knox. Simran and Kimjeet are hoping to study Law or Psychology somewhere in London, but after talking to Eleanor, they question whether to study something vocational rather than what they are passionate about. They also discover the connection between Physics and Philosophy and some of the weirder parts of Eleanor’s work which studies some of the deepest, longest, most complex puzzles in our world.

Sixth form student Riley interviews Professor Tara Shears, a world leading particle physicist at Liverpool University and researcher at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN. Riley is preparing to study Chemistry in the hopes of becoming a Forensic scientist. He asks what it really takes to be a great scientist, how to cope with the disappointment of failed experiments and what in the world bananas have to do with antimatter.

17-year-old Stella from Camden interviews Robert Eaglestone, Professor in English Literature at Royal Holloway. Stella is hoping to study Zoology at university but has always had a variety of interests including science, art and literature. In their interview, the two discuss literary theory, the similarities of the Science and English as fields of study, and how the stories we read shape how we are in the world.

16-year-old Tom interviews Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, who was part of the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep and is currently Professor of Embryology at the University of Edinburgh. Thomas wants to work in healthcare when he’s older, hopefully as a doctor. In their interview they talk about the importance of ambition, the ethics of cloning, and how the findings from Dolly the Sheep will go on to save lives.

The IAI are delighted to work with The Brilliant Club and Kings College London to bring you UniTalks, a brand new podcast which unlocks access to university for the next generation of big thinkers – answering all of the challenges of applying for, and studying at, the world’s leading universities, above and beyond the A-level curriculum. In this teaser trailer, we introduce the students taking part and give you a taste of the what the series will offer.