Monday 31 March – Tuesday 01 April, 10:00 – 17:00
University of Reading and Online

We are delighted to announce details for our 2025 Student Forum! This annual two-day event run by the Royal Entomological Society’s student representatives is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students studying insects.

It provides an opportunity to network and discuss ideas with other students, consider options for your future careers in entomology, and share your research in a welcoming space. The programme also includes talks and careers advice from invited insect scientists and interactive workshops to help develop skills to help further your careers. Please note due to their interactive nature, workshop will only be available to those joining in person.

The 2025 event will be run both in-person at the University of Reading and the talks will also be live streamed online.

Invited speakers

We welcome the following invited speakers who will provide keynote talks and share their experiences and advice on careers in entomology.

Dave Goulson 
University of Sussex 

Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at University of Sussex, UK. He has published more than 350 scientific articles on the ecology of insects. He is the author of Bumblebees (OUP 2010), and of several bestselling popular books including A Sting in the Tale (2013), A Buzz in the Meadow (2014), The Garden Jungle (2019) and Silent Earth (2021), collectively translated in 20 languages. Goulson founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006, a charity that has grown to 12,000 members. Awards: Zoological Society of London’s Marsh Award for Conservation Biology (2013); elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2013); British Ecological Society Public Engagement Award (2014); Zoological Society of London’s Clarivate Award for Communicating Zoology (2020). In 2015 he was named number 8 in BBC Wildlife Magazine’s list of the most influential people in conservation. In the 6 years 2018-2023 he was named as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Thompson ISI. He is an “Ambassador” for the UK Wildlife Trusts. 

Franziska Kohlt
University of Leeds

Franziska Kohlt is a historian of science, science communication scholar and practitioner, with a focus on environment, health, and children’s culture, and the interplay of rhetoric, narrative and science. Her entomological interests cover the perceptions of insects, the narratives that shape them, and their ideological histories. She is currently working on a monograph on how Victorian Psychology and Fantastic Literature a language in which to communicate new scientific knowledge, its implications.  

Chris Foster
University of Reading

Chris Foster is a lecturer at the University of Reading with teaching and research in entomology and landscape ecology. He also leads work on the insect collections within the Cole Museum of Zoology at Reading and co-ordinates the UK ground beetle recording scheme. He is interested in how the involvement of students at all levels in insect science, recording and outreach can promote insect conservation, with a particular passion for getting out in the field. Chris is a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and involved in the society’s committee work.

Abstract submission

We are inviting abstract submission for both talk and poster presentations. This is a great opportunity to present your research in a welcoming space amongst your peers ahead of larger conferences.

Abstract deadline: 17:00 (GMT), Friday 07 February

Registration

Registration is now open at the bottom of this page and covers the cost of both days of the conference, including refreshment breaks, lunches, and a poster session with drinks.

Please note there are discounted rates for student members of the RES, so if you are not a member already, consider joining today. Student membership is just £15 per year with one year’s free trial.

To access the discounted rates you will need to login to your account.

Social event

We welcome delegates to join us after the poster session on Monday evening for an insect themed pub quiz! Get ready for a night of buzzing brains and entomological excitement and join us for an engaging and light-hearted evening that will test your entomological knowledge, whilst continuing to network with others.

This does not need to be pre-booked, delegates can simply turn up and buy their own food and drink. Venue to be confirmed.

RES Student representatives

Ayman Asiri
Cardiff University

Ben Hawthorne
Newcastle University

Vera Kaunath
University of Potsdam