Leeds Beckett students learn from an evening with Alistair Brownlee

Over 100 attendees from 56 sports tech companies and a number of LBU undergraduates joined the triathlon legend at the School of Arts Thursday 5 March in the latest networking event from Digital Sport North (DSN).

Alistair, who completed an MA in Finance at LBU before receiving an honorary doctorate in Sports Science alongside his brother, Jonny, has accessed coaching and facilities at Leeds Beckett throughout his career. Billed as 'networking and a fireside chat with the Team GB hero', the night was hosted by radio and TV broadcaster Rich Williams, with an introduction from Digital Sport North's Rob Powell.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist talked candidly about moving on from his sporting career, the things that excite him about the future, his plans and his approach to investing in sports tech businesses. Charis Palmer-Smith, Head of Charity at The Brownlee Foundation, then spoke about their work to inspiring children to get into sport, with members of the audience signing up to be volunteers.

These events aren't just about being in the presence of sporting greatness, however, as they also provide excellent networking opportunities for LBU students. LBU's Dr Ian Richards said: "This is the fourth DSN event we have staged in the last 16 months, and it is great to see our current students mixing with our alumni and professionals in the industry making valuable connections."

Those alumni included Olly Wilson, who is now Head of Social Content for Sports News Blitz, Michael Parsons, Lead Researcher at Rezzil and both James Thomas and Molly Shermer from Azzuu.

Second year Sports Marketing student Katie Ransome got a lot out of the event, which was attended by representatives of multinational organisations and international sports federates, adding: "It was great meeting all those new people, because it's not always about what you know, but who you know."

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