Jan 21

Online Learning – Talks Organised by the Third Age Trust – 2026

Artificial intelligence news: January

From Diagnosis to Prediction: How AI Is Changing Primary Health Care. Dr Simon Rudland discusses the evaluation of a test utilising AI to predict heart disease.

Friday 23 January at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

The calendar, time and the cosmos part 1

Accounting for time has numerous purposes. Irene Kyffin traces the progress of this accounting from pre- and early history up to the present.

Friday 23 January at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

Wellbeing taster morning with u3a subject advisers

This session offers an opportunity to sample a variety of restorative wellbeing activities. Throughout the session, you’ll be able to try tai chi and qigong, seated yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and reflective wellbeing practices – you could attend the whole session or just the parts which interest you.

Monday 26 January at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

Why snails might hold some answers to age-related memory loss

Explore how molluscs can help us to understand how we learn and remember, and how they can be used for studying age-related memory loss, in this Science Network Event with speaker Professor Mark Yeoman.

Tuesday 27 January at 11am

Free – online via Zoom

Laughter yoga with Merrie Maggie: January

Bring more joy and laughter to your life with Laughter Yoga – an aerobic exercise with playful exercises combined with deep yogic breathing.

Tuesday 27 January at 3.30pm

Free – online via Zoom 

Cryptic crosswords in context

Their history, how they work, who does them and why – a talk by u3a Cryptic Crosswords Subject Adviser Henry Howarth.

Wednesday 28 January at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

The story of Tootje (Cato) Granaat 1926-2020

Her daughter, Melanie, explains what happened when the Granaat family tried to flee to England and their experiences during the war.

Thursday 29 January at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

The calendar, time and the cosmos part 2

Accounting for time has numerous purposes. Irene Kyffin traces the progress of this accounting from pre- and early history up to the present.

Friday 30 January at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

Preparing for an AI world

Do you wish your u3a colleagues and your friends and family were better informed on the current wave of Generative AI – what it can and can’t do, and how and why it is transforming society? This four week course is for you!

A four week course starting

Monday 2 February at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

Flight inspiration aviation meeting: February

Space and aviation: the new high ground

The line between air and space is fading fast. This talk reveals how space systems now underpin aviation.

Tuesday 3 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

After Alzheimer: memory, ageing and what comes next

In this illustrated talk, Dr Mike Bender explores the history of Alzheimer’s disease and how it came to shape our understanding of dementia. Drawing on current research, he highlights practical ways to support and slow memory decline, and considers how communities, including u3a groups, can develop effective self-help approaches.

Tuesday 3 February at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

How do your medicines work? – hypertension

Mike Trevethick discusses hypertension, the drugs used to treat this condition, and the science of how they work in the body.

Wednesday 4 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

The technological challenges in delivering the HS2 railway line

John Butler of u3a Let’s Talk Tech discusses the technological civil engineering challenges being overcome with this project.

Wednesday 4 February at 1pm

Free – online via Zoom

Smashing particles – behind the scenes at CERN

In this talk, Dr Octavio Dominguez CERN explores the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva.

Thursday 5 February at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

The mathematicians’ library

Thomas K. Briggs explores some of the publications that have been instrumental in the development of mathematics throughout human history.

Friday 6 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

Tech for all: innovations supporting disability and ageing

Matthew from AbilityNet explores how emerging technologies can empower disabled and older people.

Tuesday 10 February at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

The calendar, time and the cosmos part 3

Part 3 of this series looks at the Aboriginal concept of time as expressed in the Cosmos.

Friday 13 February at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

How do your medicines work? – pain relief

Mike Trevethick explains how common medicines for pain relief were discovered and the science of how they work in the body.

Wednesday 18 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

Laughter yoga with Judith: February

Laughter Yoga combines hearty laughter exercises with deep yoga-style breathing (pranayama). Hosted by Judith Anne Walker of Edinburgh u3a.

Wednesday 18 February 10am
Free – online via Zoom

Gravy or grave? The ghost in literature

Ghosts are never just ghosts. In this illustrated talk, Gravy or Grave? traces their evolution in literature—from Gothic horrors to psychological hauntings—revealing how writers use the supernatural to explore fear, guilt, and human conscience.

Friday 20 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom 

Mindfulness and meditation continuation session: February

Join us each month as we continue the practices introduced in the Mindfulness and Meditation Series, and introduce new ones.

Thursday 19 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

Live cookery demonstration – winter warmers

Chef Alex from ‘Vegetarian for Life’ demos his delicious winter recipes live on Zoom, especially for u3a members.

Friday 20 February at 10.30am

Free – online via Zoom

Memoir writing with Jenny Newman

Everyone has a story to tell. Writing a memoir can be a precious act of self-discovery, and a way of finding meaning in your life.

Friday 20 February at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

Laughter yoga with Merrie Maggie: February

Bring more joy and laughter to your life with Laughter Yoga – an aerobic exercise with playful exercises combined with deep yogic breathing.

Tuesday 24 February at 3.30pm

Free – online via Zoom 

Introduction to cryptic crosswords

Try your hand at solving cryptic clues on this two-hour taster session with Henry Howarth, u3a Subject Adviser for Cryptic Crosswords.

Wednesday 25 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

Novel writing with Jenny Newman

This workshop is about becoming a novelist: your sources of inspiration, what skills and techniques to develop and how to sustain your writing practice.

Friday 6 March at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

Cures from within: can we use chemistry to teach the body to heal itself?

In this Science Network Event, Dr Angela Russell introduces the field of regenerative drug discovery and how it is beginning to impact diseases of ageing.

Tuesday 24 Febuary at 11am

Free – online via Zoom

Mindfulness and meditation series

We welcome back the six week course of Mindfulness and Meditation led by members of Sheffield u3a Mindful Ageing Group John, Mike and Ruth.

Wednesdays at 10am for 6 weeks, starting Wednesday 25 February at 10am

Free – online via Zoom 

How AI can save you hours when researching your family history

Steve Doyle shows how, using simple non techie approaches, you can use AI to vastly increase the effectiveness of family history research.

Monday 2 March at 2pm

Free – online via Zoom

Flight inspirations aviation meeting: March

The new space race

The new space race, led by private companies like SpaceX, is transforming exploration through reusable rockets, commercialization, and by making space access sustainable and paving the way for humanity’s multiplanetary future.

Tuesday 3 March at 10am

Free – online via Zoom

Beyond the beam: what we do with lasers

How beams of light are reshaping science, medicine, and our understanding of the universe.

Thursday 5 March at 10am

Free – online via Zoom