The Student Lifestyle show was designed for students who had received there A Level results and were making provisions to begin university. For many students this means moving away from home for the first time. The Student Lifestyle show was put in to place to bridge the gap between results day and starting university to better prepare them for their new life ahead of them.

We wanted to provide students with important information and support during the show as well as a fun environment and pre-semester deals. During the preparations of beginning university, students need to purchase all kinds of things including computers, stationary, homeware, and mobile phones, so we wanted to put student face to face with retailers who provide both necessity items and desired items.

The most obvious solution was to hold an event whereby students could meet with retailers face to face. Retailers jumped at the opportunity to meet with such a key buying group and engage with students at such an influential time. Student Lifestyle 2011 gave students the support and information they needed in preparation for the university lives and also gave retailers a unique opportunity to engage and interact with a key demographic. Retailers were given a range of options to engage with students including sponsorship opportunities and exhibition space.

Following the success of last year's event, we will be holding Student Live 2012, 7th -8th September at the Olympia in London. We are pleased that many of last year's exhibitors and sponsors will be back this year as they saw real benefit in their presence at the show. This year's event will be bigger and better than last year and we are hoping to attract many more businesses and retailers struggling to engage with this key audience.

It's always difficult when you take on such a large project for the first time. The Student Lifestyle show was a learning curve for UCAS Media last year and so this year we can really deliver a good, strong event for new university students.