University news

The University of Glasgow welcomed more than a hundred leading researchers from around the world for a conference on spatial cognition research.
 
The Turner Kirk Centre for Spatial Reasoning hosted the Spatial Cognition Conference 2026 at the Glasgow University Union between August 24 and August 28.
 
The conference, held at different locations around the world every two years, enables researchers working in the field of spatial cognition across a wide range of disciplines to present new work, attend workshops and symposia, and network with their peers.
 
Spatial cognition is concerned with the acquisition, development, representation, organization, and use of knowledge about spatial objects in real, virtual or hybrid environments and processed by human or artificial agents. 

 
After being welcomed to the conference by the Lord Provost’s Office at Glasgow City Chambers, 105 delegates took part in the academic programme, which ranged from the investigation of human spatial cognition to mobile robot navigation.
 
Attendees had the opportunity to attend a workshop, three keynote presentations, three symposia, 12 doctoral colloquium lightning talks, 24 oral presentations and see 13 full papers and 48 posters.
 
The Turner Kirk Centre for Spatial Reasoning, launched last year, is a multi-disciplinary research centre delivering pioneering research into the connection between developing spatial skills and unlocking human potential.
 
The Centre’s flagship STEM SPACE Project has reached over 10,000 children in schools across Scotland and has demonstrated how developing spatial skills in classrooms can narrow socio-economic and gender attainment gaps.
 
Professor Quintin Cutts, director of the Turner Kirk Centre for Spatial Reasoning, chaired the conference with the Centre’s lead researcher Dr Jack Parkinson.
 
Professor Cutts said: “We were pleased and proud to have the opportunity to host this prestigious international conference and to welcome colleagues from 18 countries to our city.
 
“Since our launch last year, thanks to the generous support of the Turner Kirk Trust and the Scottish Government, we’ve been able to see the difference that introducing spatial skills into classrooms is making to children in 24 local authorities across Scotland. This initiative is particularly timely as there is increasing focus on the importance of spatial reasoning in STEM learning.  Scotland is considering its inclusion to the mathematics curriculum in the ongoing Curriculum Improvement Cycle.
 
“It was fantastic to be able to discuss those results with colleagues from multidisciplinary backgrounds, learn from their experiences and hear more about their ongoing research. Spatial cognition is a fast-growing area of research, and the conference has inspired us at the Turner Kirk Centre for Spatial Reasoning to work harder than ever to play our part in making real impact.”
 
The conference proceedings are available at the Springer Nature Spatial Cognition XIV web pages.

First published: 14 September 2026