600 staff attend Students at the Heart Conference 2026

More than 600 staff, students and partner organisations have attended this year’s Students at the Heart Conference 2026. 

The annual conference, in its fifth year, brings the LJMU community together to share the latest insights and best practice when it comes to teaching, learning and research across the university and the sector. 

Keynote lectures 

Keynote lectures were delivered each morning with Professor Caroline Wilkinson, Director of Forensic Research Institute (FORRI) opening the conference on ‘Face Lab: How to get 'a head' in higher education’ and Wednesday seeing JMSU President Miles Craven deliver a keynote on ‘students and their university lives.’ 

A focus on high-quality teaching and learning 

Many of this year’s sessions touched upon elements of LJMU’s Framework for High Quality Teaching and Learning which was implemented at the start of the academic year to driving forward teaching excellence, recognise and reward high-quality teaching, and address areas of improvement. 

Highlights included contributions about student evaluations of teaching and student-centred module redesign, as well as insights into the language of intellectual stimulation and students’ understanding of this, and a case study on the transformative potential of experiential learning.   

A thank you from Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Power 

Professor Mark Power welcomed staff to the conference, highlighting the opportunity for staff to come together, share ideas and explore how we can all make sure we’re contributing to education and student experience, research and knowledge exchange, and place and partnership. 

He also thanked the Organisational Development and the Teaching and Learning Academy who organised the two-day event, and all LJMU staff in attendance for their ongoing hard work and commitment to LJMU and our students.