University of Leeds win Frank Morton Sports Day bid
22nd May 2017
The University of Leeds has successfully presented a bid to host the annual Frank Morton Sports Day, together with the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). Over 3,000 chemical engineering students are expected to attend the event, which will be held in February 2018 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, UK.
The event is named after prominent chemical engineering professor, Frank Morton, who founded the competition in 1961, when he organised a football match between chemical engineering departments at Birmingham University and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).
It has grown significantly since then, and gained legendary status among UK and Irish chemical engineering undergraduates.
The sports day typically includes a variety of sporting competitions from football to quidditch. The University of Leeds team has promised to host ‘more sports than ever before’ in 2018; with the addition of Laser Quest, crazy golf, and sledging.
The University of Manchester hosted the event in 2016, with Loughborough University taking the reins in 2017.
As well as sporting competitions, Frank Morton includes a recruitment fair and evening of entertainment at a student-friendly venue. Leeds has the fourth largest student population in the UK, generating a buzzing and well-established nightlife offering.
Matthew Powders, President of the Leeds 2018 bid said:
“The Leeds team submitted an excellent bid, which showed great attention to detail and made the most out of the extensive facilities available to students in the city.'
'It’s a great opportunity, not just for students; but also for companies to exhibit at the recruitment fair and meet some of the brightest and the best chemical engineering students in the UK. IChemE will be joining in the fun once again in 2018, with useful advice for students and lots of free stuff.'
IChemE’s Director of Communications, Andy Furlong said:
“The Leeds team submitted an excellent bid, which showed great attention to detail and made the most out of the extensive facilities available to students in the area.
'It’s a great opportunity, not only for the students, but also for companies to take a stand at the recruitment fair and meet the best and the brightest of the UK chemical engineering student cohort. IChemE will be there again in 2018, with plenty of freebies and advice for students.”
The University of Leeds School of Chemical and Process Engineering has over 1000 students from 70 countries currently studying, making it one of the largest integrated engineering schools in Europe. It is a ‘Top 100’ university for chemical engineering, according to the QS World University Rankings 2017.
The Leeds organising committee is currently finalising plans for the event, which will take place in February 2018. Companies interested in supporting the event can get in touch with the team via: frankmorton2018@gmail.com.