Exhibition Stalls at the 2026 QMU Open Event
The following exhibition stalls will be at our 2026 Open Event.
Sing for Wellbeing
Humans are naturally musical. Singing together has long been part of how we connect, regulate emotions, and build a sense of belonging. Yet opportunities to sing collectively have steadily disappeared from everyday school life. The Sing for Wellbeing project aims to harness this innate tendency and use it as a source of potential wellbeing within formal and informal education spaces.
Sing for Wellbeing is a research-led initiative exploring how simple, inclusive musical activities can support wellbeing in education settings. Our interdisciplinary approach combines academic expertise in psychology, education, and music, with substantive practitioner knowledge of primary teaching and community-based music participation.
The project focuses on short, playful sessions that any class can take part in, regardless of musical background or ability. These sessions are designed to be joyful, low-pressure, and socially engaging, creating moments that are beneficial for all involved.
Drop by this stall and talk to us about why music is increasingly seen as a powerful tool for supporting mental health, how shared musical experiences may help pupils feel more connected and confident, and why teachers’ wellbeing matters too
Using Data to Shape Better Care for Children and Young People with Cerebral Palsy
Learn how researchers at QMU are using routinely collected health service data to improve care for children and young people with cerebral palsy (CP), in a project funded by the Chief Scientist Office.
Children with CP often experience muscle tightness or floppiness, which can become more restrictive as they grow and may affect healthy bone development. The Cerebral Palsy Integrated Pathway Scotland (CPIPS) programme holds information on about 95% of children and young people with CP in Scotland. At yearly or twice‑yearly appointments, physiotherapists record joint flexibility, everyday mobility, and participation in physical activity. The database includes almost 3,000 young people aged 2-19, giving a unique picture of how muscles and joints change over time. This information will support decision making of physiotherapists and surgeons and will address the needs of children and young people with CP and their parents/carers, for example in terms of knowing what to expect.
In our project at QMU, we are working with health professionals, children and young people with CP, and their parents/carers, to identify what information matters most to them. We analyse CPIPS data using advanced mathematical methods and create accessible materials that clearly explain the findings for families and young people.
Enriching the Student Experience: Dietetic and Acting Students Exploring Communication and Collaborative Practice Through Role-Play Consultations
Find out about an innovative interprofessional simulation that brought together QMU’s dietetic and acting students to engage in realistic role-play consultations designed to enhance communication skills, professional identity, and collaborative practice. Through enabling emotionally authentic patient encounters (with acting students playing the role of patients), the simulation enriched the learning experience of students and supported the development of their confidence, empathy, and reflective practice in a low-risk environment. Drawing on evaluation findings and student reflections from the simulation, the lead academics have been able to highlight key insights, unexpected outcomes, and wider implications for integrating arts-based partners and interprofessional learning within healthcare curricula.
Practitioner in Residence
Find out about the new Practitioner in Residence post that has been developed to drive collaborative innovation and entrepreneurial activities between QMU and Heriot-Watt University. The post brings together expertise in healthcare with engineering and digital technologies to find solutions to healthcare issues capable of transforming the delivery of healthcare services in Scotland and beyond. Working with the Global Research Institute (GRI) in Health and Care Technologies at Heriot-Watt, the post aims to generate more multidisciplinary research and collaborative projects to improve health outcomes for patients in the NHS and community health settings. The post is supported with part-funding from the Scottish Funding Council, and will facilitate the pooling of key expertise across the two institutions to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative new solutions to address significant health challenges.
Prehabilitation Delivered Using the ‘asensei’ Innovative Smartphone App
Prehabilitation refers to a person-centred approach which has emerged as a strategy to optimise patients’ physical and psychological resilience prior to surgery, improving outcomes by reducing postoperative complications and hospital length of stay. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies, such as smartphone apps, may offer a scalable approach to deliver prehabilitation remotely. QMU has been working in collaboration with technology specialists asensei combining clinical expertise with cutting-edge motion recognition software to deliver a personalised, expert-led support throughout a patient’s surgical journey.
The app can be easily used, on a daily basis, by patients in their own homes offering remote access to physiotherapy, nutrition advice, and psychological support. This could allow healthcare providers to reduce pressure on overstretched NHS services whilst delivering high-quality, consistent care at scale – before and after surgery. Pilot studies have been undertaken and the QMU and asensei teams in collaboration with the NHS are currently seeking funding for a larger rollout and evaluation of the app in the NHS.
QMU and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe: A Creative Partnership
Learn about our Fringe Festival Village, offering affordable accommodation, rehearsal & social spaces to artists on our Musselburgh campus in the run-up to and during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Learn about our Support of the Scotsman Fringe First Awards, celebrating outstanding new writing at the Fringe. Learn about our Scotsman Fringe Internships - QMU students creating digital media content with the Scotsman team. Plus, find out more about our student productions taking the Fringe by storm, showcasing the creative energy QMU nurtures and how our donor community support these opportunities.
Laying the Groundwork for Connection: Exploring Community Perceptions on Bridging Differences in West Lothian, Scotland
Meet Md Rahman, a third-year PhD researcher at QMU’s Institute for Global Health Development. His research examines the impacts of social mixing activities in promoting connectedness and social cohesion in West Lothian.
Md looks forward to sharing key findings from Phase One of his research through a series of poster presentations, alongside briefing papers. These outputs highlight the importance of partnership working in addressing ongoing challenges faced by communities, including racism and discrimination, limited opportunities for meaningful engagement, funding cuts, and hostile political rhetoric - all of which have significant impacts on community wellbeing.
More information on Md’s research is available on Police Scotland’s website.
Grant to Growth - Social Enterprise Challenge
The Grant to Growth project aims to leverage the Queen Margaret Business School’s networks within social enterprise communities in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and to give QMU students the chance to make a real impact by putting what they learn into practice. Staff of the Queen Margaret Business School are delivering the Grant to Growth project in collaboration with the University of Glasgow Business School, Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network and Glasgow Social Enterprise Networks. In the project, students - guided by academic and industry mentors - are put into teams of three to work directly with a local social enterprise over five weeks to solve a specific capacity or growth issue identified by the social enterprise's management. At the end of the period, five student teams are shortlisted to present at a final showcase/celebration event.
Last year, a total of 15 student teams worked with 15 social enterprises. For example, one group worked with an enterprise addressing obesity and inactivity among children and young people through providing classes and team-building events in Capoeria and Djembe Drumming. Another group worked with an enterprise providing accessible, cost-effective community transport services.
Head. Heart. Hand. Play Commission
As part of the QMU150 programme of activities to mark the 150th anniversary of the institution that is now QMU, we commissioned an award-winning playwright (and alum), Stef Smith, to write a play. On this stall, you can view clips of the premiere of the play, which ran at the Traverse Theatre in February.You can also talk to some of the people involved, finding out how our performing arts students had the opportunity to work with the playwright on production of this work, giving them brilliant experience of engaging with new text and an acclaimed writer.
Supporting Autistic Students at University
Autism & Uni is a semi-customisable online toolkit originally developed at Leeds Beckett University to better support autistic people as they enter and navigate higher education. In 2024, QMU became one of the first universities in Scotland to adopt the toolkit, to develop and share university-wide neuro-affirming practice. A working group of staff drawn from QMU’s student services and academic teams collaborated with neurodivergent students and staff to develop the resources, which have now been published online.
We aim to continually tailor the toolkit’s suite of tools to show how QMU supports current and prospective autistic students, from their initial visits and applications right through to graduation. Members of the development team will be available to discuss work with the toolkit so far, including challenges, opportunities, and our aspirations for the resource. In the meantime, you can check out the toolkit for yourself.
Promoting British Sign Language (BSL) at QMU and Beyond!
Learn about the resource that staff from QMU’s Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences (SHS) have created to support all staff within QMU to better understand the needs of sign language users at the University and how to work effectively with them in line with the requirements of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 and our own QMU BSL Plan. This work extends beyond the boundaries of QMU, with the team also running a microcredential online course suitable for anyone in the public, private or voluntary sectors who might encounter, or work alongside, deaf British Sign Language users.
