Over 600 attend Students at the Heart Conference 2024

Staff and students from across the university have taken part in a two-day conference held on campus. 

Over 600 delegates from the LJMU community heard from two keynote speakers; Kat Stark NUS UK Director and Vic Stephenson, Senior Consultant – Education, Advance HE, who shared their insights on the higher education sector, its current challenges and how we can build community and student engagement. 

This year’s theme was community and the free conference, open to all staff and students at the university, saw over 80 workshops and sessions take place over the two days, on a range of topics including enhancing student community, AI in the classroom, 'obtaining a doctorate: attitudes towards disabled people' and 'the Muslim student experience and paradox of invisibility.' Students were among those presenting at the conference and shared valuable insights on PhD experiences and campus connect.

The SATHC24 was organised in partnership with the Teaching and Learning Academy and Organisational Development team. Craft and market stalls were also present at the conference for the LJMU community, to provide free health checks to attendees, key information on benefits and policies from HR, plus a charity cake sale. 

The conference came to an end with a BBQ and closing remarks from Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mark Power, who thanked Kaylie Fortune, Jason Boulter and the wider Teaching and Learning Academy and Organisational Development teams for their organisation of the successful event, for the third year running. 

Global Partner Forum

Alongside the conference, LJMU’s international team also hosted the Global Partner Forum, involving 17 colleagues from 10 of LJMU’s International Collaborative Partnerships. Colleagues came from across the world to the university to discuss international collaborative partnerships and how together we can continue to grow global student experiences and build a global community for students on campus and internationally.  

Find out more about LJMU’s global partnerships.