Stag Talks

Conversations and insights from the University of Surrey

Stag Talks bring Surrey academics directly to international secondary school students and offer thought-provoking discussions that support:

• Wellbeing
• Personal development 
• Self-discovery
• Healthy habits and routines.

What Stag Talks are available?

Talks last 10–60 minutes and can be adapted to any secondary school age group. Here are just some of the Stag Talks available for you to book. 

Habits and health

• Length: 9 minutes
• Description: A brief talk outlining the psychological definition of habits, how they guide behaviour and how to change them.
• Age: Appropriate for 14+ years

What are ‘habits’ and how do they shape our day-to-day behaviour?

• Length: 1 hour with time for questions and interaction 
• Description: Habits are actions that we do automatically, without thinking. This talk explains how we make and break habits, and the advantages and disadvantages of acting habitually in our everyday lives.
• Age: Appropriate for 16–18 years

What are emotions

• Length: 20 minutes
• Description: In this talk we will consider what emotions are – a question that has puzzled psychologists for over 120 years – and consider why they may be important. 
• Age: Appropriate for 14+ years

Memory on trial 

• Length: 40 minutes
• Description: Your memory is not the same as a video recording. In this talk, we’ll discuss what this means for eyewitness testimony and the legal system. 
• Age: Appropriate for 16-18 years (includes examples from legal cases – not discussed in depth, but this includes reference to cases of murder/sexual assault etc.) 

Introduction to personality psychology

• Length: ~20 minutes 
  Description: What is personality psychology and why is it important? 
• Age: Appropriate for 16–18 years

Peer support in schools: its role in addressing mental health issues among children and young people

• Length: ~15 minutes
• Description: Describes existing knowledge about peer support as a flexible, creative method for alleviating social and emotional difficulties like loneliness, exclusion and bullying. Explores different forms peer support can take, and what we can learn from evolving practice.
• Age: Appropriate for 16-18 years

From bystanding to upstanding

• Length: ~15 minutes
• Description: Explores the role of social context in bystander responses to bullying, including ambiguity about responsibility and collective moral disengagement. Offers ideas to enhance altruism and empathy using examples from research and practice.
• Age: Appropriate for 16–18 years

Embodied AI in human-robot social interaction

• Length: 15 minutes
• Description: Discusses the importance of psychology in AI and how to conduct interdisciplinary research between Psychology, AI, and robotics.
• Age: Appropriate for 14+ years

How to Boost Your Brain: Science-Backed Ways to Sharpen Your Mind

• Length: 20 minutes but can be longer. 
• Description: We explore powerful and surprising ways to enhance your thinking, memory, and focus—based on cutting-edge research from psychology and neuroscience. Discover how changes in your daily life can help unlock your brain’s potential.
• Age: Appropriate for 16–18 years

Please ask us if there is a topic not listed here that you think your students would benefit from hearing about. 

Make a booking enquiry

Let us know what Stag Talks you would like to hear in your school by completing our enquiry form. We’ll get in touch to discuss practical arrangements.

Enquiry form

Or email us at stagtalks@surrey.ac.uk 

Please note a minimum of 50 attending students would be required to make a Stag Talks booking. However it may also be possible to combine with another school to enable this. Talks are subject to academic availability but we will do our best to offer you one of your preferred talk topics.