An inspirational occasion

LJMU students took centre stage at the University’s annual Middle Temple event in London recently, hosted by LJMU Chancellor and Honorary Fellow, Sir Brian Leveson.

Close to 80 students, from new undergraduates to PhD researchers, travelled from Liverpool to London by train for this exclusive event. All had been nominated to take part by their academic school or department for being exceptional students, and it was apparent that they impressed the gathered Honorary Fellows, alumni, staff and other friends of the University with their enthusiasm and drive to use their experiences at LJMU to make a difference.

It’s the fourth time that this event has taken place in the unique surroundings of Middle Temple’s Great Hall, London’s finest example of an Elizabethan Hall. Middle Temple is one of four Inns of Court that educate the UK’s barristers and leading lawyers. Sir Brian, now President of the Queen’s Bench, was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1970, and the Hall can only be used by LJMU at the explicit invitation of the Chancellor.

While saying it was impossible not to be impressed by the grandeur of the great Hall, Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Weatherill said that this exceptional evening captured the essence of the University; from the launch of the Formula Student electric racing car to a Roscoe Lecture delivered by the Director General of the BBC or Ugandan students studying in Liverpool, LJMU was a place where the exceptional happened every day.

He called on all the students to make the most of every opportunity that came their way and based on the networking at Middle Temple, it was clear that they enjoyed the chance to talk to leading figures such as Sir John and Lady Sorrell, co-chairs of the Sorrell Foundation and co-founders and trustees of the Saturday Club Trust, Maddalaine Ansell, Chief Executive of University Alliance and Alison Johns, Chief Executive of the Leadership Development Foundation.

Prior to the evening reception at Middle Temple, students had the chance to visit Tate Modern, one of our cultural partners, along with the Student Opportunities Team. Others took park in a series of alumni industry insight visits, meeting graduates from their own discipline who had gone on to forge successful professional careers, such as Glen Martin (Media), Head of COS and CR Management at Ericsson, Matthew Blanchard (Business Studies), founder of FEIN, Hayley Minn (Journalism), now Live TV reporter at Mirror Online and Chun Qing Li (Architecture), an award-winning entrepreneur and managing director and founder at KREOD to name just a few. It's the first time that such industry visits have been organised as part of the Middle Temple event, and they proved a hit with students.