Brian Cox and Andre Geim to be keynote speakers at THE World Academic Summit 2024

British particle physicist, BBC presenter, author and musician Brian Cox is a keynote speaker at the THE World Academic Summit 2024, taking place on 7-9 October at the University of Manchester.

Professor Cox is professor of particle physics at Manchester and is speaking at the summit’s conversation-style opening keynote. He actively promotes science and is well known for the science programmes he hosts on the BBC. He received an OBE for services to science in 2010, the President’s Medal from the Institute of Physics in 2012 and the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize in 2012.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Andre Geim will also deliver a keynote speech at the flagship event on 8 October in an interview talk called “How graphene has been changing science and technology frontiers”. Sir Andre is regius professor and Royal Society research professor Manchester. He has received many international awards and distinctions, including the John Carty Award from the US National Academy of Sciences and the Copley Medal from the Royal Society.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of graphene being isolated for the first time by professors Sir Andre and Sir Konstantin Novoselov at Manchester, for which they won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics. Graphene is the thinnest material in the world, as well as one of the strongest and hardest. This session will discuss a range of topics including Sir Andre’s experiences of isolating graphene and its almost limitless potential.

THE’s flagship annual higher education summit will feature more than 140 speakers and 450 guests, bringing together thought leaders from across academia, policy, industry and civil society. The agenda will consist of a mixture of keynote talks, panel discussions, seminars, case study conversations, practical workshops, best practice sharing and networking events.

The event will focus on the theme “Making a difference: The role of universities in a rapidly changing world”. It is the key place to discuss how institutions can make a difference, both internally across departments and externally with industry, government and civil society, to advance transformative research and its practical implementation.

Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said: “We are extremely excited to be welcoming, as keynote speakers, Professor Brian Cox and Professor Sir Andre Geim. They are two individuals who have had a massive impact on our world, which fits in perfectly with the theme of Times Higher Education’s flagship World Academic Summit – making a difference.

“We are also absolutely thrilled to be hosting our World Academic Summit in partnership with one the world’s most prestigious higher education institutions – the University of Manchester – on the momentous occasion of its 200th anniversary.

“The summit is about making a difference and we are delighted to have the leaders of the world’s higher education community, as well as some of the leading political, business and civil society figures working in higher education, collaborate with us in one of the world’s greatest cities – Manchester.”

The summit will feature the exclusive reveal of the world’s most widely recognised, authoritative and prestigious ranking, the THE World University Rankings 2025, at a gala dinner. This will be complemented by an in-depth masterclass from THE’s data team the following morning, providing analysis and insight into the key findings, trends and stories from the rankings data.

Tickets for the summit are available here.