On Monday, English DJ and co-founder of Bestival, Rob da Bank delivered a lecture to students at Arts University Bournemouth on how to run a festival. He talked about the history of Bestival, where the idea came from and how they make sure the festival is a success.
This got us thinking – are these ‘alternative’ lectures inspiring creative minds, or are they simply another method of shameless self-promotion for big businesses?
We asked our Ideas & Imagination Team what their dream university lecture would be and why.
Kristi – Final year, Digital Media 
I would love to go to a lecture from someone who works at Ogilvy & Mather or another big London ad agency. I think it would be really interesting to hear how members of their team started out and how they worked their way up in the industry – particularly because I’m interested in a similar career myself!
Flynn – 2nd year, Graphic Design 
As a design student, I’d be interested in going to a lecture by Grayson Perry or another contemporary artist to hear about their use of art and creativity in expressing modern issues.
Amy – Final year, Management and Marketing 
If I had to keep it course relevant I would choose Dame Cilla Snowball DBE, as over the last 25 years she has made a significant contribution to women’s roles in business. I would love to hear about her experiences and any advice she would offer to someone in my position. In many ways she has broken down a lot of barriers for women in advertising but also in business and I think she would have a lot of thought provoking points.
Faith – Final year, Politics 
My dream guest lecture would be about how we can achieve global peace and prosperity. It would be delivered by the current Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres (although I think I would actually prefer for it to be delivered by former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as he is more well-known).
