Speakers into schools and colleges

Careers in design
If your students are interested in design, here's a chance to find out about different design disciplines and their respective careers. This talk surveys the options, using case studies and our own examples from Teesside University where product, spatial and graphic design have a long-standing reputation for excellence.

Developing a career in fine art studio practice
This talk focuses on Teesside's rapidly-emerging studio culture which is enhancing the regional arts economy. We look at case studies of our Fine Art graduates, highlighting the knowledge and skills required to develop an exhibition profile, undertake artist residencies and opportunities to initiate studio exchange programmes across Europe.

Fine art graduates working in the creative sector
Here we present examples of recent graduate achievements to highlight the value of an independent-minded approach to professional and academic progression. We follow the progress of certain artists' careers within museums and galleries, health, arts development and project commissioning.

A career as an accountant - more exciting than you think
From Lord Alan Sugar to the Beckhams, from McDonald's to the local corner shop, every business needs an accountant of some sort. This session looks at the types of roles, organisations and locations in which an accountant might work. It's an opportunity for your students to work as accountants using our interactive task to look at an organisation's start-up budget.

Business - keeping the customer satisfied
Marketing isn't just about sales and advertising - it's about knowing your customers and meeting their needs. By looking at some of the latest market segmentation software and topical marketing case studies, this session highlights the importance of keeping the customer satisfied, and how to do it. We introduce some of the latest theoretical developments in this fast-moving area.

Storytelling in animation
This session explores some of the origins of storytelling related to the basic story process used in animation. The 90-minute workshop has two parts – an audio-visual presentation and a group exercise. Part one introduces ideas and script development, character design, storyboarding, the animation bible and animatics, finishing with an example of an animation production. Part two involves the students in a fun ideas workshop, where they develop an original story that would be suitable for an animation.

Getting into games
This talk covers the different kinds of jobs in the games industry, and how to best prepare students for a career in this area. If your students are interested in studying games, or would like to go into games in the future, this talk will interest them.

A totally biased guide to open-source software
This talk covers various open-source software concepts - from economics to controversies - outlining the many advantages of open, collaborative software development. Students are introduced to the massive range of free and open-source operating systems and applications.

Emerging technologies
New technologies are emerging all the time, changing the way we work, rest and play. But what exactly are we talking about? Are all these technologies such a great idea? And where else would you hear a lecture covering topics including custard, trousers, music, spying, robots and the dream house of the future?

How does Google work?
The enormous success of the web and its rapid uptake by millions of users means that browsing alone isn't a good enough way of getting information. Searching has now become the major way of finding information. Here students find out why we need search engines, basic search engine techniques, the Google phenomenon and the issue of images - are they really worth 1,000 words?

The IT crowd - careers in computing
This talk aims to dispel media myths about the type of people working in computing and the careers available to IT graduates. We consider the types of courses on offer at Teesside University and the exciting careers they can lead to. We focus on opportunities in new technologies. This talk aims to widen participation and alter students' perceptions.

Biology solves crime!
It's not all about DNA - the location, recovery and identification of biological material plays an essential part in crime investigation. This session will use case studies to illustrate the key contribution that biologists can make to forensic investigation.

Bugs, blood and bones - biology in the crime scene
An exploration of human identification and the tools that forensic anthropologists and forensic biologists use to investigate a crime scene, and why they don't even need a body to say what happened.

What the forensic scientists don't tell you!
Forensic science covers a vast expanse of scientific disciplines. This session will discuss the exciting, challenging and rewarding work of a forensic scientist and the weird, wonderful and unexpected contributions that science can make to solving crime.

Who do you think you are?
A talk about how the human body can be studied to reveal all manner of information about you - from your sex, to your age, and what you like to eat.

You can run but you can't hide - investigating murder in the 21st century
An experienced forensic investigator will conduct an interactive role play relating to a violent crime. Students will play the parts of offender, victim, witness and police officer; other students will be invited to actively drive the scenario by suggesting possible actions. Motives and behaviours of offenders will be discussed. Methods of detecting the crime will be explored with an emphasis on scientific methods. The session concludes with a debate about trials and sentencing. Aspects of the investigation will be illustrated by reference to real-life cases.

Disconnected youth? Popular myths and everyday realities
This discursive lecture asks questions about young people, social welfare, poverty and crime and the way that youth is represented in popular media and social research, inviting input and discussion from students.

Do offenders ever receive a fair and just punishment?
This interactive workshop looks at the practice and policy relating to sentencing people found guilty of a crime. Students look at the competing justifications for punishment and the influence of the media, public opinion and the state in relation to appropriate punishments. Using case studies, they discuss how they might deal with offenders, considering the factors that may influence their decision.

Getting personal - thinking sociologically about personal life
This session focuses upon current research in this area and explores the new directions within sociology on friendship, new media, identity and family relationships.

McDonaldization, branding and consumption
How much autonomy and choice do we really have in our leisure and consumer lives? It is perhaps not as much as we may like to think. This session addresses some challenging questions and encourages students to think critically.

Researching active criminals
This talk explores the problems and benefits of conducting field work with people actively involved in criminal activity. Discussing areas such as access, safety, confidentiality and ethics, the presentation draws upon field work conducted for the book Criminal Identities and Consumer Culture (Hall, Winlow and Ancrum, 2008) and includes some findings from recent research including a study of the English Defence League.

Making treasure baskets
Giving babies objects with various sensory qualities to investigate helps them to discover and explore their world. In this workshop students will learn what resources can be used and will have the opportunity develop some treasure baskets for babies to use.

Television as teacher
This interactive workshop explores the role that television plays in educating our children. Students will be asked beforehand to watch some of their favourite television programmes and in the workshop we explore the positive and negative things that children learn from such television programmes.

Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineers play a crucial role in the design and maintenance of aircraft and space vehicles and the systems needed to maintain and operate them. By the nature of the subject, they are multi-skilled problem solvers with a good understanding of science and maths. This creates a broad range of career opportunities. They are employed across a variety of engineering sectors in addition to aircraft and space technology including environmental engineering (wind turbines), transport engineering (aerodynamic vehicle design), business and management, and also consultancy. Aerospace engineers range from conducting groundbreaking research to holding senior management positions in multinational companies.

Chemical engineering
This talk looks at the varying roles of a chemical engineer across a huge variety of sectors including: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy, water, food and drink, materials, oil and gas, biotechnology, business and management, and also consultancy.

From cathedrals to carbon criticality - shaping the future, civil and structural engineering
This talk is about the inspirational role of the civil and structural engineer on shaping the world we live in. It sets out to demonstrate that every journey we make, every destination, town and building, and every activity we undertake in our built environment has been conceived and enabled by sustainable engineering thinking.

Adapting Austen
This session explores the appeal of Jane Austen to readers and filmgoers, raising questions about her work, the novel/film debate and the continuing relevance of Austen's work in the 21st century.

Discovering the world of Shakespeare
This interactive workshop explores the world occupied by William Shakespeare - Elizabethan and Jacobean England - and then examines how Shakespeare's plays take up and dramatise the concerns of that time. Issues such as the role and nature of women, witchcraft, the family and social and political order are explored before finally exploring the ways in which contemporary culture has taken Shakespeare's plays and uses them as a means to explore the issues with which we are concerned today. No prior knowledge of the plays is required.

Contemporary British Muslim fiction
This session offers students a taste of fiction by a selection of contemporary British writers of Muslim background. It introduces them to debates about Muslims in Britain, and encourages them to think beyond stereotypes that have weighed particularly heavily on Muslims since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Making monsters - the afterlives of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
This session explores the lasting legacy of Mary Shelley's celebrated Gothic novel Frankenstein. It looks at the ways in which Shelley's story has entered into popular culture, with a focus on its adaptations for the screen.

Becoming a midwife
Midwifery can be an exciting and rewarding career. This session highlights how and why.

Get moving
Are your students fascinated by the human body? Do they want to know how and why our bodies move and operate as they do? Here they can find out how physiotherapists help patients move and perform to their optimum through the rehabilitation process.

How clean is your mouth?
Dental nurse, hygienist and therapist roles feature heavily in promoting oral health. This is particularly relevant in the North East, which is noted for its poor oral health. In this session, students find out how dental professionals deliver this information, who benefits and why it's important.

Making the impossible possible
Occupational therapists help people with a limiting inherited condition or following trauma to carry out the everyday activities we take for granted. Students learn about the methods, techniques and tools used to enable people to live independently.

Not just being nice
Social work is perhaps the most misunderstood of all caring professions. This session looks at how social workers combine their significant legal authority with trained skills in investigating, assessing and intervening with individuals and families.

Nursing in the 21st century
What is nursing today? Modern nurses have an increasing range of duties and responsibilities in today's health provision. Students find out about the various paths and opportunities for graduate nurses.

Scrubs
With so many popular TV programmes involving people who work in surgery (Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, Holby City and Nip/Tuck), this session looks at the reality of a career in operating department practice. As well as a presentation, students have the opportunity to take part in activities including intubating dummies, working with replica skeleton bones and taking blood pressure.

X-ray vision
Medical professionals can diagnose conditions through less invasive methods than ever before. Students find out how today's medical professionals use technology to diagnose and treat many medical conditions.

Legacies of slavery - America's race problem
This session places the long struggle for African American civil rights in the perspective of the even longer struggle for African American freedom from bondage, and explores the ways in which legacies of slavery - in the way that Americans understand black skin, in the history of racial inequality and persecution, even in the Barack Obama presidential election campaign - continue to shape race and racism in modern America.

The mythology of Alexander the Great
In addition to being a real historical figure who dramatically affected the course of European, African and Asian history, a number of legends and myths have developed around Alexander the Great. This mythology is historically interesting and when we consider the agendas of those who created such myths, they have always been entertaining.

The Norman Conquest
1066 is one of the few significant historical dates that English people claim to know; some of them may even know why they know it. It is the date of the Battle of Hastings - fought on 14 October 1066 - between Harold Godwineson, King of England, and William, Duke of Normandy. The result was a victory for the Normans. It is unlikely that many people know very much about the battle however, such as its context, why it was fought, and the consequences of its outcome. This talk will look at each of these aspects in turn to show how the Norman Conquest can be regarded as one of the major turning points in English history.

Loss of self-control defence
This session examines the abolition of the provocation defence and the introduction of the replacement defence of loss of self-control by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The perceived advantages and disadvantages of the new defence will be discussed, and comparisons with the old law of provocation will be drawn.

Problems with the insanity defence in criminal law
We take a critical look at the defence of insanity, considering its success or failure in protecting defendants who are mentally ill. Students have the opportunity to come up with their own suggestions for reforming the defence.

Unfitness to plead and the overlap with doli incapax: an examination of the Law Commission's proposals for a new capacity test
The seminar looks at the Law Commission's Consultation Paper No. 197 and focuses on the relationship between the proposed capacity test and the abolition of the defence of doli incapax for children aged 10 or above.

A film-maker's story - from comprehensive to Cannes
An inspirational example for young would-be film-makers, Samm Haillay discusses his personal journey from student to prize-winning producer. His first feature film, Better Things, was selected to be shown at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2009. Samm shares his experiences, his vision of film, and the juxtaposition of sound and image as a medium to explore the human condition.

Beyond broadcasting - the future of TV in a digital age
Within our internet age, young audiences are finding new ways to consume and engage with the media. How will new technologies and behaviours change traditional broadcasting and film-making models? This lecture uses recent case studies to explore the new and emerging media landscape, to consider possible futures. It addresses related issues including piracy, intellectual property, fan fiction and user-generated content.

Hold the front page - journalism and news in the 21st century
The news industry is changing fast. The convergence of print, sound and moving images online demands a new kind of journalist. Being able to access low-budget technologies has led to citizen journalism and user-generated content that sometimes challenges the professional model. How do news organisations and journalists cope in this developing environment? What are the implications for privacy, democracy and the standard of truth? Students are invited to debate these issues, relating them to case studies from the British media.

Selling cinema
We choose a film at the cinema based on its advertising - posters, billboards, press adverts, trailers and recommendations. Within this session, we look at how film companies persuade people to see their films. Students will plan a marketing campaign for their own movie idea.

Auditions for actors
Do your students want to apply for an acting or performing arts degree, or to go to drama school? This lecture covers audition techniques, etiquette and preparation, and what to expect from auditions for drama school, university, television and theatre.

Introducing music technology
This talk introduces the expanding role of technology within the music industry. We consider how all aspects of modern music and sound production benefit from these rapidly-changing technologies. We demonstrate how they are used to compose, arrange, perform and record.

What's your real job?
What's the reality of a career in the performing arts? We examine the sort of training that students need and how they can enter the industry. This session includes practical demonstrations and participatory elements.

Forensic psychology: assisting the police and the legal system
Forensic psychology is devoted to the psychological aspects of legal processes in courts - investigative psychology, the psychology of criminal behaviour, and the treatment and intervention of criminals. This presentation explains how forensic psychology can help the police in their investigations and how it relates to the legal processes.

Environmental health
A career as an environmental health practitioner offers work in a huge range of venues, from councils to Royal Navy ships all the way through to the Glastonbury festival, and an accredited qualification could enable your students to work in public health all over the world. This talk looks at this exciting profession and how it offers something different every day.

Food nutrition and health science
Colour plays an important role in our perception of food. Is it fresh and safe to eat? Is it properly cooked? Is it familiar, or unusual and perhaps a bit scary? Remarkably, the colour of a food can change your perception of what it tastes like. This talk looks at the spectrum of issues around food colours.

Enhancing sport performance
Reaching the top of elite sport is an ever more challenging task for aspiring young athletes. It is the sports scientist's job to ensure athletes are maximally prepared for competition, but there are many varied factors that determine success at the elite level. These factors include movement technique (biomechanics) to ensure that performance outcome (e.g. forces) are maximised; physical fitness (physiology) to understand how the body responds to exercise to enable athletes to enhance their physical capabilities; and sport psychology to focus the athlete's mind on performing to their best. In this session students will receive a detailed talk on one of these major topics.

Sports therapy - injury treatment and rehabilitation
Here we give students a basic insight into an area of sport science support that focuses on preventing injuries. Sport requires athletes to perform at their physical best, but they often become injured during training or competition. This session looks at ways of identifying physical difficulties, and potential and actual injuries through fitness testing and screening. We discuss how strength and conditioning improves performance and prevents injuries.

From websites to web applications in 30 minutes
This session introduces the idea that web applications are clearly distinct from websites. Using rapid development tools we will build a web-based information system that solves the same problems as much larger applications such as online banking, e-commerce, booking systems and social network sites. This talk assumes a casual awareness of the web. Students will have an essential building kit for developing next generation web applications.

Working in the web industry
This talk outlines the different roles and responsibilities within a typical web development company, and the skill sets needed for each. It centres on developing a web-based information system for a local company, starting with identifying the need through to delivery and testing.