Festival of the Mind 2026
See the brightest minds from the University of Sheffield collaborate with the region’s cultural and creative industries, to help bring their research to life in exciting, entertaining and innovative ways. Applications to apply for up to £5,000 to be part of the next festival are now open.
The next Festival of the Mind will take place 6-15 November 2026, in venues across Sheffield, including the Millennium Gallery, Winter Garden and The John Lewis building.
The Festival is the University of Sheffield’s unique collaboration between our academic colleagues and experts from South Yorkshire’s cultural sector. It is a biennial celebration of our world-class research, showcasing collaborative projects produced by researchers from the University and artistic talent from the region's creative industries. Over 10 days our most exciting and cutting-edge research is shared with the public through innovative, imaginative and impactful events, performances, installations and exhibitions.
For examples of previous projects, visit the 2024, 2022 and 2020 Festival of the Mind websites or check out the Festival of the Mind series on the University of Sheffield Player.
Applying to take part in Festival of the Mind
Themes for Festival of the Mind 2026
Our festival themes for 2026 are:
- Transformation - change and evolution in all its forms.
- Challenge - pushing boundaries and overcoming obstacles.
- Community - shared connections, identities and experiences.
- Heritage - histories, traditions, cultural legacies of people and places.
Where possible, projects should relate to one or more of these themes.
Eligibility Criteria
All Festival of the Mind applications must:
- be led by an academic member of staff working in collaboration with at least one external creative partner from the South Yorkshire Region
- demonstrate a clear link to current University of Sheffield research
- involve an activity - e.g. artwork/exhibit, performance, talk etc. - to be delivered during the festival dates as part of the festival programme (any additional digital outputs will be added to the universities digital platform The Player)
- based on an understanding that any University of Sheffield Intellectual property used in the projects will remain the property of the University of Sheffield
- based on an understanding that all artworks created will remain the property of the creative partner unless previously discussed with the research partner at the University of Sheffield
- have the approval of the academic's Head of School.
Apply
Applications should be submitted via the online form:
Please prepare your answers in advance as the Google Form cannot be saved part way through. The application questions are available in a Word Document to download here.
The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Friday 30 January 2026. We aim to make a decision on applications in mid February 2026.
Budget
A full breakdown of budget should be included up to a maximum of £5,000 including VAT. In exceptional circumstances we will consider over £5,000 if there is match funding from the Faculty. Please contact the team at engage@sheffield.ac.uk to discuss.
What to include:
Materials, costs for partner’s time in preparing and delivering the project, costs of moving finished pieces to exhibition venues, costs of specialist software and kit etc. Staff costs such as overtime or for technical support may be considered - please ask for advice.
What to exclude:
Academic staff time that is core funded, venue hire charge (unless you have a specific need and can only use a specific venue), marketing costs - note all promotion is handled by the Festival of the Mind team working with the university comms team.
Processes and compliance:
All expenditure must adhere to the University of Sheffield’s financial and purchasing policies as outlined on the Finance webpages. The purchasing of supplies for your projects must ensure best value is obtained due to our charitable status as an institution. There should be a clear business purpose for the purchase and budget available for it with prior approval from the budget holder.
If successful, 50% of the entire budget for your project must be spent by 20th July 2025, and adhere to the University's financial year end deadline dates for processing costs. You will be allocated a second budget for spending the remaining 50% of project costs after year end closure. Finance teams in your faculty or school must be made aware of the award.
If you are in any doubt whether to include costs, please contact engage@sheffield.ac.uk to discuss.
Assessment Criteria
Applications will be reviewed in line with the following areas of assessment:
| Area of assessment | The application should demonstrate |
|---|---|
| 1. Research | Clear evidence of the link to the applicant’s research. |
| 2. Public engagement | How the public and practitioners might benefit. The appeal to a general public audience or stakeholder audience. |
| 3. Project plan | Clear and realistic objectives and deliverables. Quality of the collaboration and approach to the partnership. |
| 4. Potential impact | The potential impact, e.g. anticipated reach, learning, influence on beliefs/behaviour and any potential legacy. |
| 5. Resources | That the resources applied for are realistic, appropriate and justified, and the project offers good value for money. |
| 6. Evaluation and follow on plans | How the activity will be evaluated and any plans for any follow up work. |
The assessment panel will also consider the following:
- REF Impact case-study status
- Knowledge Exchange priorities
- Affiliation with a University research centre
- Reflecting the university’s golden thread: "Independent thinking. Shared ambition."
- Match funding.
Applications will be assessed by a panel consisting of University representatives including academic staff and professional services staff from Public Engagement, Impact, and MARC, along with representatives from festival partners, Yorkshire Arts Space and Sheffield City Council.
Selected projects will represent the range of University disciplines and the diversity of our staff and creative partners.
Contact us
Please email engage@sheffield.ac.uk if you have any questions, would like to discuss an application or are looking for a collaborative partner for your project.