During the event, current LUMS students and employers such as Deloitte, Unilever and Kantar Worldpanel came together to participate in a networking session. Students were given five minutes to talk with each of the sixteen employers, who were presented anonymously, and the students had to ask questions that would enable them to guess the names of companies they had spoken to.

Many employers who came to the event were represented by our LUMS alumni. Scott Hirst (BSc Finance and Management Studies, 2013), who currently works at HSBC, said: “Always fun to be back at Lancaster. Students brought a lot of interesting questions, and we felt that the session enabled students to explore other opportunities that they haven’t thought of before. Overall, good session”. His colleague, Robert Webster (BA Advertising and Marketing, 2010), who also works at HSBC, added that he “loved the format of not disclosing company details to the students.”

The event was also positively received by students. Zhihong Zhao, who studies MSc Accounting and Financial Management, said that it was a great opportunity for her to network with employers and learn about them in a friendly atmosphere.

The Speed Networking session ended with an announcement of the winning team of students who guessed the names of all companies on the event, followed by networking time with snacks and refreshments when students asked more specific questions to employers they were most interested in.