One of the great offerings of LSE is that they have a public lecture series throughout the year. It runs through Michaelmas Term, Lent Term, and the Summer Term, so there’s plenty of discussions to attend. These discussions are usually held by experts in their respective fields and often run in a panel-style format, so you’ll be hearing several perspectives.

It’s truly public too – if you have friends from other universities, the lecture series is open to them as well as any others outside of LSE. However, if you spot something you like in the schedule and want to bring someone who’s not from LSE, make sure to get tickets sooner rather than later as the priority will be for LSE students.

The benefits of attending these lectures are that it enriches your university experience and education. As a maths student, these lectures help keep me plugged in to world events and open my eyes to multidisciplinary perspectives outside of my department since most of these lectures are not heavy maths. Even if you aren’t heavily engaged in the subject matter of the event, it is still exciting to sit and watch your peers ask questions and listen to the discourse. It reminds me that I am more than just a student in one department and that I am part of a wider school and global community.

Another benefit is that you can also use what you hear in these lectures in job or school interviews. If you want to apply for something in finance and you attend a lecture about a growing area of investment, you can reference interesting points of discussion from this event in an interview and offer your own perspective on what was said. Given that these lectures are often done by political figures, professors from other universities, or professors from LSE itself, these events are also a wonderful opportunity to network. Especially if you would like to intern at a certain research centre or for a politician who is presenting at one of these lectures, attending one is a good chance to ask a memorable question and engage with people who may be able get your foot in the door somewhere after the lecture has finished. If you don’t have the chance to talk to them after the presentation, you can always write an email to one of the presenters and mention that you watched their lecture, pointing out something you found interesting or confusing.

LSE’s public lecture series is something I always point out to new students because I think it’s a great resource and it would be a shame to not use them. Even though Lent Term tends to get busy and stressful with exams looming ahead, it’s worth taking some time to check out these events. See what’s on the schedule here: LSE Events.