Festival of Industry and the Professions

An exclusive event for Offer Holders
Register now

Your future starts here: Don't miss our Festival of Industry and the Professions on Saturday 25 April.

This exclusive event is for offer holders just like you. Your chance to get a real feel for your future at University of Staffordshire and how we'll build your employability skills. You'll discover why students rated us 3rd in the UK for career prospects (Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025).

Come along and meet inspiring industry professionals and graduates from your chosen field. They'll share how their journeys began and where their degrees have taken them.

Take part in a hands-on masterclass designed to kickstart your career thinking. And get personalised advice, with bookable one-to-one sessions covering accommodation, student life and careers. You'll have everything you need to feel confident about your next steps.

Plus, with the event taking place on our Stoke-on-Trent campus, you’ll be able to explore our fantastic facilities in person and picture yourself here.

Join us to

Hear from a keynote speaker in your chosen subject

Meet leading figures from your industry or profession, who will explain where your degree could take you

Meet graduates and hear real success stories

Hear from our graduates who will provide insights into university life and how it shaped their careers, along with reflections on what they would tell their younger versions of themselves

Plan your career journey with our ‘Future Me’ workshop

Learn about all the different pathways that will lead to your dream career - and how you can make the most impact in your field

Event timetable

catalyst foyer 400x400

Registration

9.30-10.00 - The Catalyst foyer

Welcome to your day. It’s all about shaping your university journey so you feel fully prepared for your future career. We’ve got illuminating talks, personalised career sessions and lots more to inspire your next steps.

Industry and the Professions keynote

10.00-10.30am - The Catalyst (head to your subject area)

Hear from an inspirational speaker who studied your subject. They will talk about their experiences and how they got to where they are today. While sharing their own career path, they'll reveal what really made the difference along the way.

Meet your keynotes

 

Richard Harper

Games Art

The University of Staffordshire graduate has been instrumental in developing tools, automation systems and scalable workflows for Rare. Rich has also supported major projects, including Sea of Thieves and Everwild.

Peter Hunter

Forensics

Peter Hunter is Head of Forensics at Staffordshire Police. Peter is also a board member of the Staffordshire Forensics Partnership, which provides opportunities for students to get hands-on experience.

Natasha Thomas

Law

Natasha has more than a decade of experience in civil litigation and is the supervising solicitor for University of Staffordshire’s Legal Advice Service.

Hector Musonza

Nursing and Midwifery

Hector is a Practice Education and Preceptorship Lead at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust. Hector has undertaken a variety of clinical roles before moving into an educational role within clinical practice.

Alexander Makanga

Biomedical Science

Alexander is a Senior Biomedical Scientists with the NHS.

Gary Napper

Games Design

Gary has worked on many games, including the Harry Potters series, Burnout and Black, and as lead design for Spare Parts. Gary specialises in level design, game integration and gameplay balancing.

Ian Bolton

Computing and Esports

Ian oversees the Tech Industry Gold accreditation scheme, which recognises high-quality pathways into employment in digital and tech roles. Ian has also worked in the esports and gaming sector.

Holly Rogers

Creative Industries

Holly is a Director at Evoque Architects Ltd.

Damian Harty

Engineering

Damian has held senior engineering roles with Prodrive, Tesla, Polaris and REE. Damian has worked with vehicles featuring two to 10 wheels – covering powersports, military and world-class motorsports.

David Lyttleton

Creative Industries

David is an Illustrator who has worked for magazines and newspapers, and illustrated children’s books.

Chris Fitzpatrick

Games Programming

Chris currently guides EA SPORTS WRC’s live service. Chris blends gameplay expertise with hands-on engineering, having steered track physics, vehicle handling and build pipelines.

Zuzana Tothova

Biomedical Science

Zuzana is a Senior Biomedical Scientist at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.

Alex Scott

Sport

Alex is a Senior Participation and Workforce Lead at Staffordshire Football Association.

Paul McCaffrey

Creative Industries

Paul is a Comic Artist who has worked for a range of publications.

Adam Cookson

Sport

Adam is a Football Development Manager at Stoke City FC.

Sean Phillips

Criminology and Policing

Sean is a former Detective Superintendent and Head of Child Abuse Investigations for West Midlands Police.

Industry and the Professions panel

10.30-11.00am - The Catalyst (subject-specific session)

Your chance to hear from our experts about current issues in your chosen field, and how the industry is responding to challenges and changes. Our panel members will share their own career journeys and advice for succeeding at university and out in industry.

 Meet your panel

Biomedical Science

Hear from students who have been on placements and taken on paid roles to develop their skills and experience.

Business

The founders of Snappy Gurus – who help talented graduates land their first roles – will be joining a panel with experts from Midlands Power and the University’s Entrepreneurship Manager Marc Williams. They will be discussing personal and professional resilience.

Computing and Esports

Led by TechSkills, we will be delving into the world of computing, the skills you’ll need to succeed and career pathways.

Creative Industries

Hear from David Lyttleton, Paul McCaffrey and Holly Rogers about their career journeys, the creative industries sector and how they are navigating this challenging landscape.

Criminology and Policing

Hear from our expert panel about the skills that will help you gain jobs across criminology, policing and legal sectors.

Education

Hear from some of our graduates about their roles working in specialist areas such as SEND and early years.

Engineering

Join Damian Harty and other experts as they explore top tips and advice to help you take your first steps into an engineering career.

Forensics

Join Peter Hunter and students to explore some of the great opportunities that will be open to you as a student, such as placements and volunteering.

 Games
Games Design

Join Gary Napper and Laurence Oldham (from EA) as they explore key considerations of games design.

Games Programming

Join Jake Hayton (Forth Star), John Whiles (Playground) and Angharad Hill (Rebellion) to discover what it’s like to be a programmer within the industry.

Games Art

Explore the world of games and concept art with our team of experts including Richard Harper (Rare Ltd).

Law

Hear from our expert panel about the skills that will help you gain jobs across criminology, policing and legal sectors.

Nursing and Midwifery

Explore where your degree can take you with our panel of nurses and midwives, who will be sharing their own career journeys and experiences.

Operating Department Practice

Hear from our students, graduates and staff about how their clinical training and experiences have shaped their careers.

Paramedic Science

Hear from clinicians, students and academics about how to make the most of your career journey as a paramedic.

Psychology

Hear from a diverse range of experts, who will be lifting the lid on how they got into their careers.

Social Work / Health and Social Care

Meet members of the service user and career group, who will talk about the impact that social work has had on their lives.

Sport

Hear Alex Scott, Adam Cookson and students talk about paid sports placement opportunities open to you as a student.

Masterclass

11.00-11.45am - The Catalyst (subject-specific session)

Professional development is about always learning, always trying new things and always thinking differently. With this hands-on masterclass, we’ll help you to get started on your career journey. You’ll also explore some of the ways we help students stand out from the crowd, including skills badges and professional certificates that impress employers.

Find out more about your masterclass

Biomedical Science

Explore how we build employability skills directly into our Biomedical Science curriculum.

Business

Take on a live challenge as you lead operations at a leisure and retail centre, find practical solutions to key problems and develop your professional skills. 

Computing and Esports
Computing

We’ll focus on our links with Amazon Web Services (AWS), including routes into careers and how you can earn professionally recognised AWS certificates.

Esports

Explore how to design an esports event experience – and have a behind the scenes look at one of your future course topics.

Creative Industries

Find out about our bespoke internships with VCCP and Lesniak Swann – and have a go at our interactive activity to help prepare for work experience.

Criminology and Policing

Explore how to compile a crime report as you use your investigative skills.

Education

Using our outdoor learning environment, you’ll try your hand at communicating in Makaton and using active phonics.

Engineering

Test your problem-solving skills as you design a mini wind turbine that can produce enough energy to light up a home.

Forensics

Learn how we embed employability skills into forensics by taking on our mock challenge.

 Games
Concept Art 

Get hands-on drawing shapes and exploring the concept art behind a sword, shield, spaceship and monster.

Games Design

Step into the role of a games designer for this hands-on session, where you’ll turn your ideas into a playable level and test your design.

Games Programming

Your chance to program your first game in C++, with some expert insights from Ryan Buxton who works at D3T.

Games Art

Explore how to create a game environment in Unreal Engine 5, with everything from landscaping tools to material setups.

Law

Step into the role of a legal professional as you deal with a real-world dispute – involving escaped animals, neighbour conflict, and personal injury.

Nursing and Midwifery

Explore how you’ll use our simulation spaces and high-fidelity manikins to practise your clinical skills in real-world environments.

Operating Department Practice

Discover how basic skills will lay the foundation for your future success as an ODP.

Paramedic Science

Explore emergency airway management and how you’ll build on these techniques as a paramedic.

Psychology

Explore how our graduates put their classroom knowledge into practice as professional psychologists or part of the wider psychological workforce.

Social Work / Health and Social Care

Learn from current students and our service user and carer group, who will bring practice to life using a simulated scenario.

Sport

Get hands-on with our range of sports fitness, rehabilitation and coaching kit to monitor athletic performance and learn career-ready skills.

'Future me' workshop

12.00-12.45pm - Catalyst Gallery

Start mapping out your journey through university and into your dream graduate job. Choose the activities and experiences you want to include in your degree – and we’ll help you plan the steps to make it happen. 

Your ‘Future Me’ workshop will be packed with inspiration. Our Careers and Placement Team will take you through the wide range of paid internships, placements and funded international opportunities open to you as a student. And if you’re interested in freelancing or setting up a side hustle, we’ll introduce you to funding to kick-start your business ideas. 

You can also discover more about our employer-endorsed online career skills programmes, funded driving lessons, and other opportunities that will help you stand out from the crowd. By the end of the workshop, you’ll leave with a personal vision board and a clear plan for your future at University of Staffordshire. 

future me workshop

What’s more, the support won’t stop when you graduate. You can continue to have access to graduate internships and our popular ‘lifetime careers support’ – helping you grow and progress throughout your career. 

Available throughout the day

A casually dressed male student is chatting to an academic, they are sitting down in a modern open space with a laptop

Spotlight on university life and one-to-one advice

10.00am- 2.30pm in The Catalyst Hall

All you need to know about key topics such as accommodation, student support, academic mentoring, placements and self-employment support. You can either drop into the Catalyst Hall to speak to our experts or book an appointment for in-depth advice and to get all your questions answered. 

Bookable appointments will become available after you register, with all the information you need shared on the booking confirmation page and in the communications you’ll receive from us afterwards.

Register now for the Festival of Industry and the Professions

Please complete this form to book your place on the Festival of Industry and the Professions event. This event is aimed at University of Staffordshire offer holders starting an undergraduate degree in September 2026.

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2026

in the UK for Games Education

Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

TIGA Best Games Institution 2024, 2025

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021