For PUBLIC EVENTS at the University please see University Events
To book a place or register interest, email us at exe.u3a.uni.liaison@gmail.com, with names, membership numbers and emails of ALL who wish to attend, including the date of the event in the subject line of your email.
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Not such a breath of fresh air? Where ageing and lung disease collide
Prof Chris Scotton PhD FHEA, Professor of Respiratory Biomedicine, Director of Postgraduate Research
Wednesday 13th May 2026 3pm - 5pm
South Cloisters Room 3.06 at St Luke’s Campus (it’s on the 3rd floor of that building, with plenty of signposting, and there is a lift for accessibility).
Your lungs are an incredible evolutionary feat of structural engineering. They are precisely tailored to efficiently absorb oxygen from the air we breathe, while getting rid of the carbon dioxide gas that we produce as a metabolic waste product. Unlike most organs in your body, however, this means that your lungs are always exposed to the external environment. And that air we breathe is rarely fresh – it contains all manner of viruses, bacteria, fungi, dusts and pollutants (not to mention vices such as smoking/vaping). Your lungs do an amazing job of fighting back against these insults – but this becomes more challenging as we get older, and if we have a family history of lung problems. As a result, there are millions of people in the UK living with a chronic lung disease (such as asthma or COPD). There are also some rarer conditions that lead to severe lung scarring, known as pulmonary fibrosis, which is intrinsically linked with ageing. This talk will explore how your lungs work, how things can go wrong (with a focus on pulmonary fibrosis), and what you can do to help stay healthy.
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Conversation Cafe
The Conversation Cafe is organised by Jo Hughes in the INTO centre. It brings together students for whom English is a second language and u3a members. They learn about English culture and language and we learn about theirs. So if you would like to hear about the education system in Brazil or Korea, or are up to explaining the difference between a cream tea in Devon and a Cornish one, come along and have a chat.
Summer term dates
| THURSDAYS |
| 21st May 1335 - 1455 |
| 28th May 1335 - 1455 |
| 4th June 1335 - 1455 |
| 1th June 1335 - 1455 |
In the INTO building on the Streatham campus.
If you are interested, please contact Jo Hughes
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A VISIT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S VSIMULATORS RESEARCH FACILITY
Postponed - new date awaited
University of Exeter Engineering Research Centre, Anning Road, Exeter Science Park, Clyst Honiton, Exeter EX5 2FN
This unique facility combines a range of tools, including eye tracking, biomedical measuring devices, VR headsets etc, all on a moving platform that can then simulate a range of environments and measure how humans react / adapt / move. The facility has supported several significant healthcare projects to help people with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, chronic ankle instability, Meniere’s (a vestibular inner ear condition affecting balance) and others. In addition, the team has worked with engineering consultants and other universities to support structural engineering projects around human response to vibration in office floors and pedestrian footbridges.
Members will have the opportunity to try out the motion platform for themselves and find out about the capabilities of our state-of-the-art facilities. Lunch will be provided.
For more information, please see below the link to the facility’s website and to a video about their healthcare research, featured on ITV Westcountry and BBC Spotlight.
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/facilities/vsimulators
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy2vfjl7gc0
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