From AI to Aspiration: Exploring the world of work at the 2025 Festival of Social Science
In an inspiring programme of activities hosted by the Social Sciences Division in October and November 2025, hundreds of people engaged with social scientists and their research as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science.
The annual Festival, which is the UK’s largest celebration of the social sciences, provides an excellent opportunity for researchers of all levels of experience to develop their skills in public engagement.
University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University social science researchers from the fields of geography, education, economics, business, sociology and internet studies participated in the festival. Supported by the University of Oxford’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, the exciting programme of interactive events showcased the amazing breadth and diversity of social science research and how it can help us understand and influence the world around us.
The Festival
This year eight activities took place, with two online, five at the Museum of Oxford and one at the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford. The activities – which centred around the theme of Our Working Lives – included everything from discovering dangerous commutes using augmented reality headsets, to using jigsaws to explore what life is like for military parents who have children with additional needs, to thinking about the human behind AI with custom-made Rubik’s cubes!
The programme
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Do men lie more than women? – the online audience were invited to dive into the science of lying and its impact on our working lives, gaining a fascinating insight into how human psychology, morality, and economics collide!
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Invisible Work – visitors tested their assumptions about how house work is split by gender and uncovered surprising truths about how time and effort are shared (or not!)
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Dangerous Commutes – through film, play and augmented reality visitors were invited to step into the shoes of women who face extraordinary commuting challenges, from wild animals to unsafe transport and threats of violence.
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Unveiling the human behind AI: a Rubik’s Cube journey to Fair Work – using custom-designed Rubik’s cubes, visitors visualised the sprawling web of people, data, and decisions that acts as both innovation engine and power broker in the world of artificial intelligence.
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Aspiration Station – children and their families enjoyed spinning the Careers Wheel to uncover surprising jobs, dressed up for the Future Me photo booth and created a dream role passport to take home.
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The working lives of parents who have children with additional needs – using as inspiration beautiful artwork created by armed forces families, visitors were given space to reflect and create their own mini jigsaw designs to take home.
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Balancing acts: a life that changed the way we work – the online audience heard about the evolution of work-life balance and joined lively discussion on work, care, leadership, and the continuing pursuit of equality.
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How do you do it? ‘Balancing’ family life and paid work – using fuzzy felt to create family/work balance felt maps, families explored how plans and intentions to share caring and work can play out in reality when parenthood strikes.
Hear from our researchers
Dr Valentina Montoya Robledo, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, found the Festival a fantastic opportunity for collaboration and sharing her research on the mobility of domestic workers in new ways. "Children and adults asked questions, played, learned, and shared their own experiences of daily travel — turning what usually becomes invisible into a source of curiosity and critique. I have never felt more grateful to be able to share everything I have researched."
Dr Claire Lee, School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University, used the Festival to enhance her public engagement toolkit: "We were delighted to participate in the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences. It was a fantastic opportunity to share our research with lots of people of all ages and to hear their views. We are very excited that we now have a wonderful travelling exhibition, which we will be taking on the road very soon. We look forward to spreading the word about our important research even more widely."
See what our researchers got up to
Find out more
About the ESRC Festival of Social Science
The ESRC Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of the social sciences and a key element of ESRC’s commitment to promote awareness of UK social science research to new audiences. The Festival offers a fascinating insight into some of the country's leading social science research and how it influences our social, economic and political lives – both now and in the future. For more information visit https://festivalofsocialscience.com/
Get involved in public engagement with research
If you’re a social scientist at University of Oxford interested in public engagement with research, get in touch with our impact team at impact@socsci.ox.ac.uk
Further resources
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Funding for engagement activities from the University of Oxford’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account
