The glittering line-up of stars speaking at this year's annual RIAS Convention in Aberdeen on 7 May include Professors Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, co-designers of the incredible Kunsthaus Graz museum for art and electronics in Austria; architects Tony Fretton, Lars Gemzře, Richard Weston, Jonathan Woolf and Alex de Rijke; and Benedetta Tagliabue of EMBT, designers with RMJM, of the new Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh. Also featured are Dublin-based architects Róisín Heneghan and Shih-fu Peng, winners of the international competition to design the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

At this year's inside:outside convention, speakers have been invited to talk about their current work and its driving generators - whether inside or not. The common thread also engages the vital art of urban design.

Running alongside the event will be a series of sketch design competitions for architects, architecture students and schoolchildren. Sponsored by Aberdeen City Council the competitions aim to encourage public debate and positive change and will focus on key sites in and around Aberdeen City Centre. The RIAS Convention is one of the largest annual gathering of architects and other design professionals in Europe.