Approximately 70 students from 11 different institutions from across the UK ventured to the south coast to hear from a variety of speakers whilst exploring the Olympic and Paralympic Values and 2012 legacies, focusing particularly on the impacts they have on young people in terms of their courses and future careers.

The HLST is part of the Higher Education Academy and Clive Robertson, the HLST client for the event, said: “The Higher Education Academy exists to support educational professionals in providing the best possible learning experience for students. This is done through a network of 24 subject centres across the UK, HLST is one of such centres based at Oxford Brookes University.

"The 2012 London Olympiad provides a rich source of learning and personal development opportunities for all students, particularly those in the hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism subjects, including events management.

“The conference clearly demonstrated this, with the perspectives of academics, those charged with planning the Games and delivering legacies, and of a multi gold-medal Olympian - informing lively debate by students about the relevance, implications and impact of Olympic and Paralympic Values.”

Among the speakers involved was Paralympic cycling gold medallist, Darren Kenny. He shared his experiences of the games and told the story of the difficult journey to his success today, quickly becoming an inspiration to many of the delegates.

Local speaker, Sarah Kennedy attended from Team Dorset to discuss the structure and delivery of the games within Dorset itself, particularly relevant due to Weymouth being the Olympic sailing venue for 2012. Gareth Smith, Head of Podium, also spoke about the legacies of the Olympics including the roles of Podium.

The day also included three interactive workshops led by Richard Shipway senior lecturer and lecturer Deborah Sadd, of Bournemouth University, and Virginia Bailey and Jo Gardner of Regional Educational Legacy in Arts and Youth Sport (RELAYS).

A video-booth was also set up during the day to record the students' thoughts and opinions related to the Games and the Values.