“Pint of Science” 2025: Bringing Research to the People

From May 19 to 21, Utrecht joined more than 400 cities across 27 countries for the Pint of Science Festival 2025, an international science outreach event created in 2012 (https://pintofscience.nl/). Every year in May, the festival brings researchers and the public together for three evenings of engaging, informal talks in cafés and bars, making science more accessible.

This year, BACW was proud to take part in the festival. We co-organized the opening night on Monday, dedicated to the theme “Sustainability: A Balancing Act – Policy, People & Planet”. The evening featured talks on climate narratives in Big Tech (Dr. Rianne Riemens), well-being and sustainable lifestyles (Prof. Laura Weiss), and biodiversity in tropical forests (Prof. Joeri Zwerts), sparking deep reflection and discussion among the audience.

Over the following nights, the Utrecht Pint of Science team offered equally exciting sessions. On Tuesday, “Multifaceted biology: from protein structure to cellular agriculture” explored groundbreaking advances in biology and biotechnology from cryo-electron tomography in sperm cell research (Dr. Jonas Möcking), to lab-grown meat (Prof. Josh Flack) and pancreas organoids (Dr. Amanda Andersson-Rolf).

On Wednesday, “The Spectrum in STEM: LGBTQIA+ science showcase” focused on the intersection of science, diversity, and society. Topics included non-binary language innovations (Prof. Hielke A.D. Vriesendorp), fungi-based materials (Jara Salueña Martín, PhD Candidate), and theoretical physics for AI (Prof. Ro Jefferson).

Pint of Science relies almost entirely on volunteers, most of whom are researchers themselves. By stepping outside of lecture halls and laboratories, they offer the public, especially young adults, the chance to learn, question, and engage with science in a relaxed and welcoming space.

These events play a key role in science communication and youth engagement, and align with BACW’s mission to explore what it means to become an adult in today’s fast-changing world.

The next edition of Pint of Science will take place from May 18 to 20, 2026, and we’re already looking forward to it!