About Futures Festival
Our brand-new Futures Festival 2026 is open to all student year groups and disciplines and will include a wide range of careers and employability, innovation and entrepreneurship activities, and resources delivered in-person, online or available on demand.
Whatever your course subject - from sport to creative, engineering and technology to business or science - there are workshops, sessions and skills boosting opportunities that will help to set you up for success.
Why attend?
Changes in the academic calendar year mean that Week 0 between Semesters 1 and 2 (Monday 26 – Friday 30 January 2026) has been dedicated to professional and personal skills development that build confidence for your life during and after uni. This is an exciting opportunity to explore your career paths, get involved in entrepreneurship activities and develop vital skills for success.
Personal Best
The University’s exclusive, extra-curricular Personal Best Award has been embedded into Futures Festival activities with some new badges, activities and updates to help you develop current skills and stand out to future employers. These badges will enable you to develop relevant skills and experiences, setting you up for success and lead to certificates and a feature on your degree transcript on completion!
Collect stamps and unlock big prizes
Throughout Futures Festival, collect stamps by attending sessions in-person, online or through engaging with the on-demand resources. The more stamps you collect, the more rewards you can unlock, whether that is a £25 Stash Shop voucher, a £100 Love to Shop voucher or even an Apple iPad! A minimum of four stamps guarantees a LinkedIn Digital Certificate, perfect for showcasing your commitment to personal and professional development.
And it doesn’t end there; more events, workshops and employer activities will take place on campus and remotely in the following weeks: Monday 2 – Friday 27 February 2026. See the bottom of this page to find out more.
Schedule
Whether you want to focus on employability skills such as networking or interview techniques; meet employers; develop a business idea or start-up, or tap into your creative side, there is something for everyone during the week.
Choose your pathway
You can pick your pathway through the week and book onto the sessions that will help to boost your next steps on your career journey and build confidence for your life during and after uni.
Choose your topic
You can also browse events by topic and find out what events are running that match your interests.
Frequently asked questions
I don’t know what career I want to do, should I still come to Futures Festival?
Yes! This week is designed to give you dedicated time to explore different aspects of careers and skills, all of which will help you on your pathway to success.
Will there be any sessions to help me if I have an idea about starting my own business?
Yes! There will be sessions designed to help you explore your business ideas, build enterprising skills and support your start-up as well as connect with our enterprise community. Visit the Events schedule to find out more.
How do I book onto an event or workshop?
Log into Target Connect and search for the session you want to go to, then book yourself on!
Can anyone book onto the sessions?
Futures Festival is open to all students from any year group or discipline, whether that is undergraduate or postgraduate. Where a session is specific to a year group it will say on the description. To check, log into Target Connect and search for the session you want to go to.
Is Futures Festival just about career development?
No – Futures Festival is about more than your career; it is about giving you the time and opportunity to develop your skills and build confidence for your life during and after uni. Inclusivity is at the heart of Futures Festival, and every student is welcome to come along to the sessions and get support that will enhance your key skills and enable you to thrive in your studies and employment.
I am a student at the London campus, can I get involved?
Futures Festival will have a mix of delivery formats so that you can still get involved with any of the live online and on demand events and activities planned.
Click on 'See the full events schedule' button above to find out more, or click the 'On Demand resources' button for self-paced courses.
I still have some exams this week, what can I attend?
We want to make sure that as many students as possible can get involved in Futures Festival and access the amazing range of events and activities going on. Therefore, we have scheduled the start of the week to be lighter, with the majority of sessions starting from Wednesday onwards. There will also be a mix of delivery formats – from in-person, live online and on demand available – so that you can still engage and make the most of the week. Visit the events schedule to find out more.
The festival continues
Monday 2 - Friday 27 February 2026
More events, workshops and employer activities will take place on campus and remotely in the following weeks Monday 2 – Friday 27 February 2026.