Big name speakers appear at university's Festival of Ideas

The Festival, which took place on May 17 and 18, attracted over 4,500 guests to the university's Hatfield campus - making it their biggest ever public event.

The event attracted a bumper crowd (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire))

Jon Sopel was the headline speaker, alongside Tom Hughes, editor of the popular News Agents podcast fronted by Sopel, alongside Lewis Goodall and Emily Maitlis.

Jon Sopel and Tom Hughes gave the headline speech (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire)

Dame Nicholl led a panel on breaking barriers for women in sport. She was joined by netballer Mel Mansfield, as well as Team GB and England Lacrosse player Ella Cohen and Team GB Para Dressage rider Mari Durward-Akhurst, a Hertfordshire native. 

Dame Liz Nicholl spent 20 years as the Head of UK Sport (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire)

In all, the weekend featured 70 events, including workshops, panels and interactive demonstrations.

The panel discuss breaking down barriers for women in Sport (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire)

The spotlight was also shone on Hertfordshire's booming television industry, with the area becoming something of a cinematic hotbed.

The event also showed off the universities work and research (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire)

Professor Quintin McKellar, vice-chancellor at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “We’re so thrilled that the Festival of Ideas has been such a success and that so many members of our local community joined us to experience some of the very best the University of Hertfordshire has to offer. 

"We hope this event helped more people to see, understand and be inspired by the work we do; enthused them to want to explore more ways they can work with us to achieve great things together; and gave them new ideas about how they can play their part to support, sustain and improve tomorrow’s world.

"Most importantly, we hope everyone had fun. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who came along, to all the brilliant speakers and acts who made the weekend so special, and to all our staff and students who were fantastic ambassadors for Herts."

Over 70 events took place across the weekend (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire)

The weekend also saw a moving tribute to Gboyega Odubanjo, a poet, PHD student and visiting lecturer at the university, who tragically died last year.

Family, friends and fellow poets gathered to read a selection of his poetry.

The London Community Gospel Choir brought the event to a close (Image: Charlie Ridler/University of Hertfordshire)

The festival was closed in style with a performance from the London Community Gospel Choir.