Opening Hours

Friday 28 February: 9:30am – 3:00pm
Saturday 1 March: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Bringing a school group to the event?
Please arrive 20 minutes before your pre-booked time-slot.

Book your free tickets now!

Map & Directions

What University? & What Career? Live
Hall 12, The NEC, Birmingham
B40 1NT

Car
The NEC is clearly signposted from all motorways and major routes including the M42, M40 and M6 – just put B40 1NT in your sat nav. When you arrive at the NEC, look out for the event name on signage to be directed to the correct car park.

Parking
The NEC has over 16,500 parking spaces. Pre-book your parking on the NEC website in advance to benefit from a discount.

Train
Direct services run regularly to Birmingham International. If you’re travelling from further afield you may need to catch a connecting train at Birmingham New Street.

Bus
Use X1 or 97A services from Birmingham City Centre.

Air
Take the air-rail link to Birmingham International Railway Station.

Please check with your local network for transport updates before you travel.

Accommodation: 

You can book accommodation for the upcoming event here.

Subsidised transport

Groups with a minimum of 40 visitors travelling to the NEC, Birmingham from outside the East or West Midlands* in the UK, are eligible (subject to availability) to receive £200 towards travel costs.

There are only a limited number of bursaries for each event and are awarded on a first come, first served basis.

To be eligible you must adhere to the following conditions:

  • Groups attending must be travelling from the regions outside the West or East Midlands** in the UK to the NEC, Birmingham event to apply and receive funding.
  • A group of 40 or more needs to be registered and attend What University? & What Career? Live on 28 February & 1 March 2025 at the NEC, Birmingham. This can include students, advisors (teachers, lecturers or other) and accompanying adults. The transport subsidy will be paid based on the number that attend (i.e if 40 people are registered for the event and 33 attend; no subsidy will be paid).
  • Subsidies are only available for groups of students from Year 11 and above.

To apply for the distance travel bursary, please request an application form by emailing SchoolLiaison@vmgl.com

Terms and Conditions

* The East Midlands includes Derby, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland. The West Midlands includes Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire.