Beyond Boundaries

What role can therapy and counselling play in improving our lives? Tamsin and Swathi hear from Liga Sparite, a counsellor, a tutor on the University of Aberdeen’s postgraduate counselling programme, and an Aberdeen alumna. Liga shares her own transformative journey, and explains how person-centred counselling can help both counsellor and client to more fully understand and empathise with themselve...

Aberdeen's archaeologists are racing to uncover secrets from a mysterious Pictish fort, before they are lost forever to climate change. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels mean parts of the clifftop site in Morayshire is increasingly at risk of falling into the sea. Tamsin and Swathi meet Prof Gordon Noble, part of the team leading the Northern Picts project dig at Burghead. Learn more about stu...

Travelling overseas for cut-price dental work - gleaming white veneers and 'reality TV'-style overlays - is increasingly common. However, hundreds of UK dentists have reported treated patients with serious complications after they've returned home from receiving cosmetic dentistry. In this edition of Beyond Bourdaries, the head of Aberdeen's Institute for Dentistry Prof Khaled Khalaf shares his th...

Have you ever wondered why immigration is such a contentious issue when it's discussed in the news or on social media? Part of Dr Nour Halabi 's work at Aberdeen is to help students understand how to think critically about what they read, hear and watch. Nour is an interdisciplinary fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations, and the author of Radical Hospitality . She e...

The world's combined healthcare systems contribute 5% of emitted greenhouse gases. If global healthcare was a country, it would rank as the world's fifth biggest greenhouse gas emitter. In this episode, Tamsin and Swathi hear what is being done at Aberdeen and elsewhere to improve this situation - with Dr Laura McCrimmon, a junior doctor and expert on sustainable healthcare. Learn more about study...

When you shop for new clothes, do you ever think about the working conditions of people in the garment factories where they are made? Muhammed Azizul Islam - who goes by Aziz - is a professor in Aberdeen's Business School. He grew up around garment factories in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, and now works on finding ways to make things more equitable for workers. His specialism is in Sustainabilit...

There is so much we still don't understand about life under the waves - yet the race is well underway to install infrastructure and machines to harness offshore wind and tidal energy. Professor Beth Scott has spent her entire life studying (and playing in) the sea, and has an important role advising on the ecological impact of offshore energy installations. Where better to study marine ecology tha...

Aberdeen, Europe's energy capital, is at the forefront of developing sustainable energy systems to help fight climate change. Studying here will put you at the heart of a network of real-world projects including water electrolysis to generate hydrogen energy, using AI to make energy systems more efficient, and so much more. Senior lecture in engineering Dr Alfonso Martinez-Felipe  tells Tamsi...

Protein supplements, performance shakes, isotonic powders... there are so many expensive things you can buy to support your gym routine. But do any of them actually do anything useful? This episode is for regular gym-goers and high-performance athletes alike, as we go beyond boundaries of sport and nutrition with Dr Derek Ball , until recently the Head of Sports Science at the University of Aberde...

You might think artificial intelligence - or AI - is a relatively modern concept, but the science goes back to World War 2, and a remarkable British mathematician Alan Turing. Who better to introduce us to the history of AI, than Aberdeen's Interdisciplinary Director for Data and AI, Georgios Leontidis . Learn more about studying at the University of Aberdeen, and find a prospectus here .

What does it mean to 'decolonise' a museum? And what is the difference being being 'not racist' and being 'anti-racist' in the way you showcase artefacts and exhibits? Aberdeen, as an ancient university, has acquired museum pieces from all over the world - and sometimes needs to make very tricky ethical decisions about what should happen to them. This introduction to decolonising is with Museum St...

Medical science students at Aberdeen benefit from the chance to work with real people's bodies, that have been donated after their death. Hundreds of people from across north Scotland have signed up to donate their bodies in future - including Beyond Boundaries host Tamsin! In this episode, Tamsin and Swathi learn about how and when bodies are donated, with the University's Regius Chair of Anatomy...

Ever worry that you're addicted to scrolling on social media? It turns out there is a big difference between 'an addiction' and 'a habit'. Get all the answers - and top tips on cracking your social media habit - with Dr Helen Knight from the University of Aberdeen's School of Psychology . Learn more about studying at the University of Aberdeen, and find a prospectus here .

Our next generation of lawyers face an enormous new challenge: how to keep pace with rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. For example, how can we legislate for 'deathbots', where someone’s online activity can be uploaded to an avatar to imitate their conversational style after they have died?   Understanding and staying ahead of technology is a big passion for Dr Patricia Živković . She...

Girl or boy? How tall? What eye colour? Advances in technology mean that it’s increasingly possible for expectant parents to make precise choices about characteristics of their unborn children. But what rights should parents have to do this, and what are the ethical considerations?   The University of Aberdeen has been at the forefront of guiding effective and ethical assisted reproduction in...

'You are what you eat', right? Swathi and Samantha unpack how food and drink choices impact climate change, and how food poverty affects communities right here in Scotland. Our experts this time are Prof. Alexandra Johnstone and Prof. Jennie MacDiarmid - both from Aberdeen's prestigious Rowett Institute for food and nutrition research. Learn more about studying at the University of Aberdeen, and f...

Introducing Beyond Boundaries, a series showcasing the ground breaking research and inspirational teaching that awaits you at the University of Aberdeen. In each episode, Aberdeen students introduce you to diverse and pioneering experts from across the university. Subscribe now so you don't miss a thing. To learn more about studying at the University of Aberdeen, find a digital prospectus here .