Category: Analysis

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Barry Langford, Professor of Film Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London

What does the familiar film tagline “based on a true story” really mean? Leaving aside questions of historical fidelity versus poetic license, what does an audience get from the assurance that a given story “truly happened”?

At best, these claims remind us that – however fantastic or horrific – these events were once realities for other people very much like ourselves. At worst, they exercise a kind of moral blackmail: guilt tripping the audience into thinking that criticising the film’s storytelling somehow disrespects the real people who endured those traumatic events.

Every story of Holocaust survival and rescue is unique and, against the backdrop of ubiquitous slaughter, uniquely miraculous. Annabel Jankel’s new film Desperate Journey, based on the experiences of Austrian-born Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller (1921-2022), is certainly as extraordinary a story as any.

Freddie (played by Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen) escaped his parents’ fate through a circuitous and often picturesque journey across Nazi-dominated Europe, ultimately landing late in the war in Auschwitz-Birkenau and surviving a death march.

Such accounts can all too easily topple into cliches of wartime derring-do, or fall victim to sentimentality and sensationalism. What inoculates them against these perils is precisely the unique and often tiny details that ground wildly improbable tales of survival in gritty reality. (The French film-maker Claude Lanzmann, best known for the Holocaust documentary film Shoah, once remarked that “there is more truth for me in some trivial confirmation than in any number of generalisations about the nature of evil”.)

However, Desperate Journey – which focuses almost exclusively on the most colourful part of Freddie’s tale, his time working under a false identity in German-frequented nightclubs in occupied Paris – leaves out almost all of this granular detail. As a consequence, it ends up feeling almost as divorced from the hard-to-fathom realities of the Holocaust as much-derided fantasies like The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

For example, shortly after Freddie’s escape from Austria, at the urging of a friendly farmer’s wife (Niamh Cusack), he burns his Austrian passport, stamped with the lethal “J” (for Jew). From this point on he is stateless and without papers in a continent-wide trap. But, bar a narrow escape on board a train, in the film his fugitive status seems to cause him remarkably few problems.

Numerous survivor accounts attest to the grinding daily fear and the incessant improvisation needed to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo. Yet courtesy of a friendly Jewish landlady and a tolerant employer, Freddie enjoys a life – albeit precarious – of sleazy glamour in the demi-monde of wartime Parisian nightclubs and brothels.

Despite a screenplay by Michael Radford (1984, Il Postino), and handsome if somewhat overblown production design, almost nothing in Freddie’s story has a ring of authenticity. Nazi officers are uniformly leering sadists. The nightclub dancer (Sienna Guillory) with whom Freddie strikes up an ill-starred and dramatically unconvincing romance performs improbably elaborate routines that evoke Josephine Baker and harbours her own tragic secret to match Freddie’s. The French Resistance fighters he encounters are hard but honourable tough guys in leather jackets and crew-neck sweaters (including an enjoyably hammy turn from Steven Berkoff).

Viewers who favour historical precision will be dissatisfied to find Freddie fleeing Austria days after the March 1938 Anschluss and arriving apparently a few weeks later in occupied Paris (France surrendered to Germany in June 1940; the real Freddie Knoller spent two years in Belgium before fleeing to France ahead of Hitler’s advancing armies).

To those with an aversion to cliche, Freddie’s arrival there, emerging from the Metro to the strains of accordion music and the overtures of improbably glamorous street prostitutes and a cartoonishly Mephistophelian pimp (Fernando Guallar), will be equally grating.

Perhaps the film’s most fatal flaw is its refusal even to try to dramatise the trauma that Freddie – only 17 when his six-year trans-European odyssey began – underwent. He sees his family torn apart, sees his companions mown down by German border guards, lives with the ever-present threat of capture and deportation, and ultimately survives (offscreen) the death factory of Auschwitz and the nightmare of the death marches. Yet his principal character note, from early on in the film, is his adolescent fascination with the imagined lubricious pleasures of Parisian nightlife. His exploits there play more as a slightly risky caper than a struggle for survival.

Desperate Journey feels like a throwback – a 1950s Hollywood version of the war. It is far too light and conventionally melodramatic to hold up against decades of scholarship and public understanding of the real costs of survival amid inconceivable terror and against overwhelming odds.

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Barry Langford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Desperate Journey: wartime cliches overwhelm this extraordinary true account – https://theconversation.com/desperate-journey-wartime-cliches-overwhelm-this-extraordinary-true-account-270531

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Orcun Can, Lecturer in Digital Economy, King’s College London

Warning: this article contains spoilers for the first four seasons of Stranger Things.

When the Duffer Brothers came up with the idea for a television show that would mix Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg, they had trouble convincing network executives. Some thought a show that had an ensemble cast of kids as main characters would be a production nightmare. Others thought the tone was far too scary to have children at the centre, so it either needed to be “nicer” or focus on the reclusive, angry-sad chief of police Jim Hopper (David Harbour) instead.

But when the first season aired in its entirety in 2016, it became an instant success. The 1980s nostalgia, the use of practical effects on the Demogorgon (the show’s monster), a comeback performance by Winona Ryder and the chemistry between the kids all combined to bring a show that represented what the quintessential Netflix Original should be.

When the first season of Stranger Things was released, House of Cards (2013-18) was the flagship Netflix Original. Long before the lawsuits against lead actor Kevin Spacey, the show enjoyed such status that the iconic Netflix “tu-dum” that sounds out whenever you hit play was derived from the show (just watch the very final few seconds of the season two finale and you’ll understand).

There were other successful and popular originals like Orange is the New Black (2013-19), a new season of Arrested Development (2013-19), and the Marvel collaboration, Daredevil (2015-18). But nothing showed the narrative and world-building possibilities of this still-strange way of TV quite like Stranger Things did.

Fans of Stranger Things soon began to exert power over the show itself. When many demanded “justice for Barb” (Shannon Purser), a character that died early on in the first season, plans for season two changed to make room for just that. When season four came around, fans were equally passionate about Eddie’s (Joseph Quinn) death, petitioning to bring him back for the final season.

As it prepares to launch its fifth and final season, Stranger Things is a different beast than before. It is now more akin to the “event television” series like Lost (2004-10), Sherlock (2010-17), or perhaps the most prominent example, Game of Thrones (2011-19). Event TV is the kind of television show that fans don’t just binge on their mobile phones during their commute, or watch in the background as they eat cereal, but make plans to watch, frequently with friends or family. Fans are no longer just watching new seasons as they drop, but diving into petitions, online debates and the personal lives of its cast.

Acknowledging this change of status, the fourth season of Stranger Things wasn’t released in one go, as with the previous three seasons, but drip fed to fans in two parts – seven episodes first, then two more episodes a few days later. The final season is to be divided into three parts. Four episodes first on November 27, three episodes a month later on December 26, and the grand finale, a few days later, on New Year’s Eve.

Back in 2016, The Guardian’s TV critic Mark Lawson likened Stranger Things to watercooler TV hits, shows from the pre-streaming era that would create such a buzz that you would talk about them with your colleagues over the watercooler the next day. Nine years later, Netflix seems eager to frame Stranger Things as the watercooler TV show of the 2025 holiday season.

The original show is going to end, but in many ways this seems to be just the beginning. A teaser trailer has already been released for a new animated Stranger Things series, called Tales from 85. The show takes place between the events of the second and third seasons of Stranger Things, already positioning the show to become a franchise.

Add to that other spin-offs like the after-show Beyond Stranger Things, in which cast and creators discuss the events and behind-the-scenes details of episodes, tie-in mobile games, an immersive viewing experience, books, board games, merchandise and a London theatre production, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, it is now so much more than the quintessential Netflix Original.

Stranger Things proves that even in an era filled with sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots, it’s still possible for a brand-new story to launch a major franchise that grows far beyond its original platform. Who knows, we may even get a new season down the line. After all, stranger things have happened in the TV business.

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Orcun Can does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How Stranger Things went from Netflix Original to a global franchise – https://theconversation.com/how-stranger-things-went-from-netflix-original-to-a-global-franchise-270327

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, Professor of Musicology, University of Sheffield

Does the truth matter in a film about historical events? This question sits at the heart of any biographical drama, shaping how we judge the balance between storytelling and accuracy.

Early in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, I thought of Amadeus. That 1984 film isn’t about Mozart – it’s about jealousy. Similarly, Blue Moon isn’t a documentary about Broadway composer Richard Rogers (Andrew Scott) and lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke). It’s a moving drama about Hawke’s character dealing with professional and romantic failure. Don’t expect it to be historically accurate.

Linklater and screenwriter Robert Kaplow set the movie as an extended scene in a bar called Sardi’s on the opening night of Oklahoma! in 1943. The Broadway hit marked the end of the exclusive partnership of Rodgers and Hart when the former decided to form a new, genre-defining pairing with Oscar Hammerstein II.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals (including Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music) went on to become staples of the repertoire. They provided models for much of what came later. In contrast, the Rodgers and Hart collaboration is now remembered more for its songs, such as standards like My Funny Valentine and The Lady Is a Tramp, than for its musicals, including On Your Toes and Pal Joey.

Blue Moon shows us a portrait of Hart who can see that the parade has passed him by. He comments loudly on Hammerstein’s clunky lyric writing while watching the title song of Oklahoma! in the theatre (the number itself rather feebly staged). When Rodgers arrives at Sardi’s, Hart discloses his low opinion of the show.

The alcoholism that would soon take his life is a key theme used to explain why Rodgers can’t bear to write with him anymore. He has become unreliable. Meanwhile, a romantic crush inspired by 11 letters written to Hart from a Yale college student (a vulnerable Margaret Qualley) is used to explore Hart’s sexual fluidity, though it’s not clear that Hart ever met her in real life.

Hawke’s elegiac performance is worth the price of admission alone. This is a truly stunning portrayal of someone whose illness makes them unable to evolve professionally when the culture around them changes. Both witty and deeply sad, it’s an intense psychological tour de force, worthy of an Academy Award.

But that intensity is also tiring. Almost the entire movie shows Hart sitting in Sardi’s, having discussions with the bartender (a wonderfully colourful performance from Bobby Cannavale), writer E.B. White (sensitively portrayed by Patrick Kennedy) and the pianist (Jonah Lees, hampered by having to mime a strangely pedestrian piano soundtrack of songbook classics). Although the screenplay is notionally conversational, Hart’s inability to share a genuine exchange with anyone other than his crush means that much of the time it feels like being adrift in an 80-minute monologue.

That’s where the movie is most striking and most problematic. You can’t help but find Hawke’s colossal speeches compelling, but it’s so static that it feels more like the material for a play – possibly even a radio play – than a movie. The sustained focus also makes Linklater’s awkward handling of Hart’s diminutive stature (achieved through careful placing of the camera) distracting far too much of the time. It quite unnecessarily allows the fact that the real Hart was about 4ft 10in to hinder the presentation of Hawke’s searing portrayal.

Throwing in other factual details also unhelpfully overwhelms common sense. The film recounts how Rodgers and Hart got together again a few months after Oklahoma! to write some new songs for a revival of their 1927 musical A Connecticut Yankee. Yet it shows Rodgers proposing the revival to Hart in the middle of their fraught exchange in the bar soon after the composer arrives for his opening night party – something that doesn’t ring true and upsets the psychology of the scene.

Another implausible moment, when Hammerstein introduces his future protege Stephen Sondheim – then a child – to Hart as his “neighbour”, borders on the risible. Sondheim wasn’t at the opening night of Oklahoma! and wasn’t that close to Hammerstein at this point, and it’s almost certain that the stagestruck child would not have been so rude when meeting a major lyricist (it was only later that he became openly critical of him). He was too much in love with the theatre and was only 13 years old.

It seems to me that these sorts of problems stem from the decision to set all the action on one night, rather than splitting it into two or three scenes in Hart’s final months. Throwing in too many facts and then not paying attention to credibility undoes the research itself.

If we’re here to learn about human truths that speak to a wider audience beyond theatre nerds, then why allow the reality of Hart’s height to be the thing that dictates where the camera is most of the time? After all, Rodgers wasn’t sleek and handsome in the way Scott embodies him, so why is Hart’s height a constant focus? Or if the aim is to engage with historical truths, why portray Hart as snarky about Hammerstein’s lyrics – and pompous about his own syntactic ability as a writer – when he was no more pedantic than his colleague?

As such, Blue Moon falls between two stools, the real and the imagined, without being quite sure which is the more important. Thankfully, and ironically, Hawke’s performance rises above it.

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Dominic Broomfield-McHugh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Blue Moon: Ethan Hawke’s performance is a tour de force – but can’t save this uncertain film – https://theconversation.com/blue-moon-ethan-hawkes-performance-is-a-tour-de-force-but-cant-save-this-uncertain-film-269992

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Farhang Morady, Reader in International Development, University of Westminster

A short video of a private wedding went viral in Iran recently, tearing away the country’s veil of piety and exposing hypocrisy and a seeming disregard for the rules by which the theocratic regime requires that most Iranians live their lives.

The wedding in question was that of Fatemeh Shamkhani, in mid-2024. She is the daughter of Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the luxurious Espinas Palace Hotel in Tehran.

She wore a low-cut strapless dress with a western-style bridal veil rather than the full head-covering mandated for Iranian women. Many wedding guests also wore modern western styles and a lot of the women went without head coverings.

The video displayed images that were starkly dissonant, revealing the significant class and moral divides within the Iranian Republic and contradicting Iran’s values of revolutionary simplicity and Islamic modesty.

That it was Shamkhani’s family wedding made matters worse. A former commander of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards, he is a key power broker in Iran, who has the ear of Khamenei himself. He was also involved in the savage crackdown on the public protests in Iran in recent years, in defence of the same security and morality laws his family was seen so lavishly violating at the wedding celebration.

More than a mere scandal, the event functions as a potent symbol of a systemic crisis. It has highlighted the triple ailments of elite privilege, selective morality and a rapidly eroding social contract between the ruling class and the people of Iran.

Shamkhani is part of a wealthy group at the centre of power in Iran that enjoys many privileges but imposes strict religious and moral rules on ordinary citizens. In recent years, the wealthiest people have become steadily richer – according to Forbes magazine, in 2020 the number of high net worth people in Iran grew by 21.6% against a global average of 6.3%.

The emerging ruling elites maintain their wealth through oil revenue, state contracts and shadow economic activities – that enable them to evade sanctions (the Shamkhani family was identified and sanctioned earlier this year by the US treasury as controlling a vast shipping empire involved in transporting oil from Iran and Russia in breach of US sanctions). .

Meanwhile, millions of Iranians are facing severe economic hardships due to hyperinflation, stagnant wages and currency devaluation. To the 36% of Iranians living below the poverty line, it is deeply offensive for these citizens to witness senior officials’ families flaunting their extravagant wealth.

Tale of two Irans

Since the 1979 Revolution, Iran has maintained its legitimacy through its mission to reshape public conduct by enforcing rules such as hijab requirements and sex segregation. The state maintains complete authority to regulate female bodies.

So the Shamkhani wedding, with its ostentatious luxury, its low-cut gowns and lack of head coverings felt to many Iranians as showing complete disregard for laws that the regime’s “morality police” uses to enforce strict rules on ordinary women. The rules exist to control, but they do not apply to those at the top of the tree.

This incident is significant in the context of the “woman, life, freedom” protests of recent years. These were sparked in 2022 by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who had been arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. Since then, many Iranians, particularly young people, have openly defied the hijab law.

In response, the government has stepped up its enforcement efforts. But Iran is struggling to address significant shifts in generational attitudes and a substantial decline in its legitimacy. The state is attempting to establish a degree of control that may be impossible to achieve. It cannot force millions of women, who have courageously rejected a law, to return to compliance.

The continuing defiance of Iranian women is a powerful sign that the identity of Iranian society has evolved beyond the state’s ability to dictate it.

Additionally, the viral nature of the leaked video is significant. In an era characterised by the prevalence of smartphones and encrypted messaging applications, the regime finds itself unable to exert control over the narrative. The video spread rapidly inside Iran, prompting a great deal of outrage and extensive commentary, criticising the powerful elites.

Infighting at the top

There has also been some speculation that the leaking of the Shamkhani wedding video is part of a power struggle at the top. It’s been reported that the supreme leader has appeared in public only very rarely since the 12-day war with Israel and the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear installations in June. Meanwhile, there are signs of political infighting as rival factions jockey for position.

Prominent among those are Shamkhani and former president Hassan Rouhani. The pair have clashed openly over issues such as the 2015 nuclear deal which Rouhani presided over for Iran. Rouhani has also been accused by Shamkhani’s faction of mismanagement in office. There has been speculation that the leaking of the video may have been sanctioned by the former president as a power play.

The disunity has been made worse by resentment among many Iranians who observe the apparent excesses illustrated by the Shamkhani wedding. For the regime’s critics, the video emphasises Iran’s growing inequality, corruption and hypocrisy.

Events like this are more than just news – over time, they can weaken the social and political foundations of Iran. When the ruling families disregard the rules, those rules begin to lose their authority.

Farhang Morady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Leaked wedding video lays bare luxurious lives of Iran’s political elite and highlights hypocrisy of Islamic Republic – https://theconversation.com/leaked-wedding-video-lays-bare-luxurious-lives-of-irans-political-elite-and-highlights-hypocrisy-of-islamic-republic-264942

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University

For anyone facing cancer, the treatment options can feel brutally familiar: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of them all. But a new approach is beginning to offer something very different. By using nothing more than precisely controlled sound waves, histotripsy can destroy tumours without cutting the skin or burning healthy tissue.

Histotripsy uses technology similar to medical ultrasound scans but delivers far more powerful and focused energy. Instead of creating an image, it produces controlled bursts of energy that form microscopic bubbles inside the targeted tissue.

As these bubbles rapidly expand and collapse, they break the tissue apart into tiny particles. The body then absorbs and clears away this debris over a few weeks, leaving behind little to no scar tissue and protecting the surrounding structures.

One of the biggest advantages of histotripsy is that it is non-invasive. For patients, this means no incisions, less pain, a lower risk of infection, and a quicker recovery than surgery or treatments that rely on heat to destroy tissue.

Crucially, histotripsy does not use ionising radiation or heat, both of which can harm healthy cells. Instead, the procedure is guided in real time using imaging, so clinicians can see exactly where the therapy is being delivered and adjust instantly. This level of precision is central to its safety.

Research into histotripsy has grown rapidly. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that it can effectively destroy tumours in the liver, kidney, pancreas, and other organs. Its ability to clearly define the treatment area while sparing nearby vital structures makes it especially useful for cancers that sit close to blood vessels, ducts, or other sensitive tissues.

Clinical trials have recently brought histotripsy closer to routine patient care. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved it for selected liver treatments after promising results in patients with primary and secondary liver cancers.

In the multi-centre Hope4Liver trial, histotripsy successfully removed targeted liver tumours with fewer complications than many standard treatments. These early results suggest the technology could be valuable not only for cancer but also for benign conditions.

Histotripsy does more than mechanically break down tumours. When tumour cells are fragmented, they release cellular debris and chemical signals that alert the immune system. Laboratory research shows this can help the body recognise and attack cancer cells.

Some studies have even demonstrated abscopal effects, meaning immune responses are triggered in tumour sites far from the treatment area. This immune activation raises the possibility of combining histotripsy with modern immunotherapies to make cancer cells more vulnerable to the body’s defences.

Read more:
Unlocking the body’s defences: understanding immunotherapy

Another strength of histotripsy is that it works hand-in-hand with real-time imaging. This gives doctors the ability to adjust the treatment to a patient’s movement, such as breathing, and to work around anatomical variations.

Researchers are exploring histotripsy for a wide range of health problems. Trials have investigated its use for benign prostate enlargement, softening calcified heart valves, and potentially treating certain neurological conditions. Its ability to target tissue gently and precisely, without harming surrounding areas, makes it appealing for patients who are poor candidates for surgery.

In early studies of valve disease, histotripsy has been shown to soften calcified valve cusps and improve leaflet motion, thereby reducing pressure gradients and improving valve opening. It is not yet a technique that reliably removes all calcification or replaces the valve, and most of the evidence so far comes from pre-clinical research.

Looking ahead, histotripsy may become a powerful addition to medicine’s toolkit. Researchers are still studying its long-term benefits in larger patient groups, but its safety record, minimal damage to surrounding tissues, and compatibility with immune-based treatments set it apart.

As further trials are completed, doctors expect to better understand which patients will gain the most. Technological advances are also likely to produce devices designed specifically for different organs, along with improved imaging guidance and motion correction.

For patients, the potential impact is significant. If widely adopted, histotripsy could reduce the need for invasive surgery, improve tumour control and offer new options when other treatments are too risky or have failed.

The transition from laboratory research to clinical practice is still underway, but the momentum is strong. Each study adds to the evidence that histotripsy can provide precise, effective treatment with fewer risks

Current limitations

But challenges remain. Differences in tissue density, patient anatomy and movement can make targeting harder. The phenomenon known as acoustic aberration, where sound waves are distorted by bone or other tissues, can also reduce accuracy.

Engineers and clinicians are continually improving equipment and navigation algorithms to achieve even greater precision and to broaden its use.

It is also important to remember that cancer is often more widespread than imaging can detect. Histotripsy works on specific, localised lesions and cannot identify or treat hidden microscopic cancer cells. For many patients, though, it can play a valuable role in a broader treatment plan.

Histotripsy’s ability to break cancer with sound reflects a major shift in medical innovation. By transforming sound waves into a potent and precise therapy, scientists and clinicians are redefining how conditions such as cancer can be treated: less invasively, more safely and with greater potential for cure. As research continues, histotripsy stands poised to reshape patient care for years to come.

Justin Stebbing does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Histotripsy: how sound waves could change the future of tumour treatment – https://theconversation.com/histotripsy-how-sound-waves-could-change-the-future-of-tumour-treatment-270181

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Khan, Editor-in-Chief, The Conversation

In the late 19th century, Stuttgart was booming. The southern German city was famously the cradle of an emerging automobile sector and had already established itself as an industrial powerhouse and centre for toolmaking, mechanical engineering and textiles. Rail connections in the Baden-Württemberg region accelerated development, transported workers and spread wealth.

One might think, then, that an obvious place for the nascent railways to reached out to would have been the historic university town of Tübingen, about 20 miles from Stuttgart. No so, Tilman Wörtz of the university’s communications department informed me, on a recent visit. In fact, explained Wörtz, an accomplished journalist, the story goes that the academic grandees of the era resisted a connection with the emerging financial and industrial powerhouse, perhaps regarding it as somewhat uncouth and vulgar to distract from deep cultural and scientific considerations to engage with the forces of commerce. So for a long time, the proposed railroad hit the buffers.

Fortunately today, thanks to the efforts of university leaders, the institution strives to connect, both with industry and the wider community. There is now a railway station, and I was thrilled to speak with a number of academics about relaying their research and knowledge to non-academic readers. Indeed, this fascinating read on rapper Haftbefehl, who is the subject of a Netflix documentary gripping Germany has already come out of the sessions, and do stay tuned in the coming weeks and months for more from the University of Tübingen, which was founded in 1477 and is now the first German member institution of The Conversation.

Fast forward a week, and I found myself in the eye of what some cast as a fourth or even fifth industrial revolution, in Dubai, incorporating AI, nanobiology, and bioengineering. The city is pitching itself as being at the heart of, and a driving force in, this new era of change, which sees civic government enabling human and technological collaboration tackling societal issues and powering growth.

For more than a decade, what is now called Protoypes For Humanity has been an exhibition at the heart of this city’s dash for development, powering projects that bring the prospect of solutions to challenges in the environment, energy, health, technology and other spheres.

When I attended Prototypes a year ago, it was still largely a showcase for PhD candidates’ projects from some of the world’s leading universities, many of which are members of The Conversation. In the last 12 months, however, a new element has been developed, under the guidance of Naren Barfield, former Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the UK’s Royal College of Art. This sees senior academics come to the city to deliver papers drawing on key aspects of their research.

Full transparency, I served on the selection panel Professor Barfield designed to finalise the programme and The Conversation was a media partner for the 2025 Prototypes event.

The themes for the year were as follows:

• Wellbeing and health futures
• Sustainable and resilient infrastructure
• Artificial intelligence and augmented intelligence
• Environmental sustainability and climate action
• Socio-economic empowerment and innovation
• Open and speculative categories

Following short paper presentations in the Socio-Economic Empowerment category, Barfield explained the thinking behind the new element of Prototypes and the opportunity for researchers:

We are bringing together some of the world’s sharpest minds and most innovative researchers to tackle challenges faced in different parts of the planet. Dubai and this initiative provide a unique chance to generate ideas across a range of academic disciplines that might not otherwise collaborate in such an impactful way.

The Prototypes for Humanity initiative and the relatively new Professors’ Programme has a proven track record of connecting academia with policymakers, industry, and the public in a way often described elsewhere as aspirational. Here, it is actually happening.

The reference to industry struck a chord, perhaps given that I’d so recently heard that story of detachment from 19th century Stuttgart, but also because it’s a grumble I regularly encounter across the world when it comes to academia and its engagement (or lack of) beyond the university sector today.

At the conference venue, in the Emirates Towers of Dubai International Financial District, Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, director of Prototypes for Humanity, discussed the thinking behind the project and potential routes forward.

At Protoypes we’ve seen how researchers can directly drive innovation in partnership with industry and, in the case of Dubai, with the city government as a facilitator.

This has been possible thanks to some of the advantages of this state and region. But these are solutions that can, and do present wider benefits – in some cases globally relevant solutions solutions.

He later added:

This edition [of Prototypes] helped to confirm fundamental assumptions for the space we operate in, i.e. creating bridges between academic ingenuity and real-world needs. The main one is that, although there is sometimes a disconnect between university innovation capabilities and industry needs, there is genuine interest, across all of the parts in this equation, to overcome obstacles and do more. We have enabled and witnessed very promising and results-oriented conversations between academia and potential partners, from PhDs and private sector discussing pilots in applied robotics, to professors supporting a humanitarian agency to rethink aid allocation systems, to multinationals looking to fuel their R&D roadmaps.

Dubai is an excellent incubator for these bridges we are building but, in keeping with the city’s outlook and spirit, we want to enable impact across the world – so it’s just natural that, in the future, we hope to open structured avenues for multi-city collaborations, where local ecosystems complement each other’s strengths.

Prototypes’ community brings in research talent from more than 800 universities around the world, including many academics who have also engaged with The Conversation. For instance, Jeremy Howick, of the University of Leicester, presented on empathy in healthcare in the age of AI, and has written this account. Further articles based on projects that exhibited and on the professors’ papers will be published on The Conversation and will be accessible via this link.

Stay tuned to read more on critical and diverse research relating to subjects such as monitoring and diagnosing pre-eclampsia (Patricia Maguire, University College Dublin, using seaweed to create a sustainable packaging alternative (Austeja Platukyte, Vilnius Academy of Arts ) and the emergent Internet of Beings (Francesco Grillo, Bocconi University, Milan).

– ref. From Stuttgart’s first industrial revolution to Dubai’s fifth – the need for research to connect outside the academy – https://theconversation.com/from-stuttgarts-first-industrial-revolution-to-dubais-fifth-the-need-for-research-to-connect-outside-the-academy-270528