The University of Warwick has announced a series of exciting events throughout 2025 as it prepares to celebrate its 60^th anniversary.

Premiering with the Festival of Innovation in January and culminating in a stunning light festival in November, Warwick will come alive with a diverse programme of events to celebrate its 60th anniversary year in 2025.

With 60 days to go until the University’s landmark anniversary, the countdown has begun to a programme of celebratory events which mark six decades of education, research, and infinite curiosity since its inception in 1965.

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Warwick, said “As we prepare to mark the University’s prestigious 60th anniversary in 2025, it is the ideal moment to also reflect on our legacy.

“At The University of Warwick, we are proud of our rich heritage as a world-class leader in education, research and innovation, locally, nationally and internationally.

“However, whilst this is an opportunity to take stock of the achievements of the past six decades, it is also a chance to renew our commitment to a further 60 years of innovation and collaboration.

“The celebrations will foster a positive, lasting impact for years to come as we look ahead to a future that is defined by our transformational spirit.”

As part of the University’s continued commitment to making a better world, together, highlights of the 60th anniversary celebrations include:

• The Festival of Innovation and Grassroots Growth Summit in Warwick Arts Centre on the 27th January. An open and interactive experience, the Festival will feature hands on exploration of work in Clean Tech, Health Tech, Agri Tech and CreaTech, a celebration of the founders who have excelled as part of the University’s innovation ecosystem and the opportunity to connect with innovators and experts who are changing the world. An entrepreneur, founder and SMEs exhibition will connect businesses with organisations and peers that can help them. At the Grassroots Growth Summit attendees will engage with industry leaders, innovators, policy makers and stakeholders driving change through innovation.

• Resonate Days Out - a programme of events where the Warwick Institution of Engagement team will host daytime and evening events throughout the year in partnership with both existing and new community organisations - including centres in Canley and Foleshill, and others throughout Coventry, Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

• A ‘science art collision,’ Poetry Trail, will herald the work of Gibbet Hill female science academics through a series of poems, written by poet-in-residence Sujatha Menon and drawn from the scientists’ research. As part of the trail, a collaborative poem written by Foleshill Community Centre members and Sujatha Menon will also be featured. Each poem will be accompanied by a prologue based on conversations between the scientist and poet in residence, highlighting the scientific insights that formed the basis of the poem. The Poetry Trail will open in May 2025.

• In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats – an immersive, virtual reality experience, set against the backdrop of the Coventry and West Midlands rave scene, where experience-seekers will embark on an adventure, reigniting the anticipation, trepidation, excitement, and euphoria that surrounded the Acid House movement. The show will provide a multi-sensory journey via an immersive exhibition, interactivity and simulation and help to showcase the University’s strength of cultural programming. The exhibition will be visiting Warwick Arts Centre in Autumn 2025.

• ‘The Global Illuminations Light Festival’, which will be a collaborative celebration of the University’s diverse international community, involving students and staff from over 147 countries. The Festival will transform campus buildings into a vibrant light spectacle, featuring eco-friendly projection mapping, a student-curated global soundtrack as well as an International Light Procession. This event will take place in November with dates and times announced in due course.

With more activities and events are set to be announced, the anniversary will cement Warwick’s commitment to providing not just a world-class education for its students, but also an environment that reflects its diversity.

For more information visit The University of Warwick 60th AnniversaryLink opens in a new window web pages.