Night of Discovery, Leiden

What a fantastic day and night with the Leiden University team running the Night of Discovery, supported by Leiden&Partners and led by Alexander Mouret.

It was a pleasure to speak at the opening reception and to meet the Rector Magnificus of the University, Hester Bijl and the city Mayor, Peter Heijkoop, who are doing great work to make sure the city and Key Region Leiden programme is growing the investment in innovation.

I spoke about how we operate in Greater Manchester Combined Authority and our MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub work to drive collaboration across education, industry, and the wider public and private sectors.

I gave a talk to the city ambassadors who do so similar work to those with Marketing Manchester to grow the event economy in ambitious and creative ways.

Above all, I talked about making sure that we protect the pursuit of knowledge and the many reasons why universities deserve their special place within society.

The programme for the Night of Discovery was amazing and it was a very beautiful evening in the lovely city of Leiden! Definitely recommend to anyone who loves when we bring art and science together.