Gill Duncan

After graduating from Edinburgh Napier, Msc International Events & Festival Management alumnus, Gill Duncan, took up an internship at Edinburgh Science. 10 years later she is now Director of Edinburgh Science Worldwide.

Gill Duncan was at a crossroads in her mid-twenties.

She had tried a couple of different career paths but couldn’t quite figure out what she wanted to do. After leaving school, completing her undergraduate degree and then diving straight into work, Gill felt a bit lost when things didn’t fall into place after that.

This prompted her to attend a postgraduate open day at Edinburgh Napier.

Encouraged by the positive, supportive atmosphere, Gill enrolled on the MSc International Events & Festival Management programme at the university.

Gill reflects on her time at ENU

“I really enjoyed getting to know and working with the student group. Everyone had such diverse experience, especially as many had worked in various industries all over the world before joining. It was interesting to work together. I also really valued the information provided to us about opportunities to gain experience within the festival sector.”

A large group of people sitting on benches with their backs to the camera, looking at the performers on stage

After graduating from Edinburgh Napier in 2011, Gill took up a production internship position at Edinburgh Science. Her responsibilities included assisting the production manager in preparing for the annual festival, purchasing materials for the build in the venues and live workshops, production runner... basically whatever was needed!

Over a decade later and Gill is now Director of Edinburgh Science Worldwide.

Edinburgh Science Worldwide is the international arm of Edinburgh Science. They help with programming and event delivery at other science festivals, provide business planning support and tour Edinburgh Science shows and workshops.

Edinburgh Science has been a programming partner on Abu Dhabi Science Festival since 2011. Gill and her team help to curate, produce and deliver the festival. Other examples of Edinburgh Science’s Special Projects include taking part in 2020 Nanjing Tech Week in China; creating a series of bespoke events to celebrate the UK’s Principia Space Mission and partnering with local UAE stakeholders and Google to create “The Innovation Hub”, a collaborative community centre designed to embed new technology and innovation skills in the young people of the UAE.

Gill offers her advice to anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps

“Don’t be afraid to get stuck in and take an ‘imperfect’ job in an industry you want to work in. When I took on my role as an intern, I had already had management positions in another industry, but I knew the experience would be valuable. Now I am still with the same business having worked my way up and I can honestly say I call upon the experience I gained during that time often. With an embedded understanding of the front line of what we do it also helps me to understand the impact of management decisions, so I see it as a crucial step on the journey.”

A group of school children, all wearing red safety bibs, taking part in a science experiment

The events that Gill and her team organise have a huge impact on the families and communities they visit. Edinburgh Science Worldwide has taken their hands-on immersive science content to over half a million people in the last 10 years. Over 8,000 students from local universities have also received training in delivering science workshops to young people.

There are challenges too, of course.

“The main difficulty of my job is managing stressful timelines and keeping a level head in challenging environments. When we work on the ground building our content in overseas venues, they can be hot and dusty extremely noisy. Combine that with some jet lag and hundreds of spinning plates and daily changes and challenges and it is a recipe for a tough time for everyone. It is definitely only possible with a great team.“

A group of four school children wearing safety goggles, looking to the right of the camera

2020 was a difficult year for everyone, but particularly for the events and festival sector.

Edinburgh Science Worldwide has been working hard during the pandemic to deliver content around the world despite the challenges. They have delivered online conferences, written scripts for new shows that will take place overseas and worked with the organisation's partners to design exhibition content.

“This year in Edinburgh we are hoping to deliver an event which will have a strong digital element but also allows for some live and in-person experiences delivered in a safe way. I hope that the city can come to life again soon and we want to be part of that journey back.”

Gill returns to Edinburgh Napier on an annual basis to speak to the students and share her industry insights

“Listening to speakers from industry was one of the most inspiring parts of the course to me. As I benefitted from it, I want to support this element of the programme in any way I can. I also really love to share with students what we do and encourage them to apply to take part in our events. We have had such great students support us in our work over the years in many roles it's really an invaluable opportunity for us also to connect with the ENU network.”

Learn more about Edinburgh Science Worldwide at their website.

Interested in volunteering at Edinburgh Napier? Find out more!

Published March 2021