You don't have far to go to expand your horizons

Student life, eh? It's not what it was. These days you can't just turn up to a lecture, doodle absentmindedly on a piece of A4 while pretending to have read a book that you know zip about.

Oh no. Students now are expected to actually do some work. The coalition seem hell bent on taking the enjoyment out of education. What my generation lacks in knowledge of Richard III, it makes up for in an uncanny ability to know the lyrics of every Oasis song, circa 1994-97.

So, it is with heavy heart that The Week has to report that a group of diligent, hard-pressed souls from the Arts and Festivals Management BA (Hons) at De Montfort University have been arranging no lesser thing than a festival as part of their course.

Demand

Cultural Exchanges – a name that surely makes it sound as if 30 spotty French teenagers are about to land on the doorstep and demand to be taken to Alton Towers and Twycross Zoo – is a celebration of culture.

So next week, right here in little old Leicester, you can hear phenomenal actress and human rights campaigner Dame Janet Suzman talking about her remarkable career. We've seen her on stage in that there London. Believe us, she is mesmerising. Oh yes, and it's free.

And there's more. There's a screening of actor Adrian Lester's short film, Of Mary, followed by a Q&A session with the Hustle star himself.

That's just £3 (£2 for concessions).

Sunday Times "voice of sport" Hugh McIlvanney, co-writer of Sir Alex Ferguson's autobiography, will be appearing. To sample the delights of his newsroom anecdotes, you will need to cough up a paltry £4 (£3 concessions).

Then there's actress and singer Heather Peace, best known for her roles in TV dramas like Lip Service, London's Burning and Ultimate Force and shortly to appear on our screens in Waterloo Road. And again, it's free, gratis, nada.

And the Guardian's former picture editor, Eamonn McCabe, who has several photos in the National Portrait Gallery collection in London, will give a snapshot of his award-laden career.

Cultural Exchanges, which is now in its 11th year, is staging nearly 50 events over five days, ranging from post-graduate creative writing to a discussion on art in prison to dance performances.

There's something for everyone, and the whole cunning plan of the festival organisers is to lure in people who perhaps wouldn't usually pass through DMU's doors to enjoy such a cultural miscellany.

So go on, give it a go, dip a toe in the balmy waters. For starters, because it's not very often you get the chance to hear someone of Janet Suzman's calibre.

But think about the students, the beers they've missed, the takeaways they've shunned. Go on. Do it for the kids.

Cultural Exchanges runs from Monday to Friday. Many tickets are free but to make sure you get a seat, call the box office on 0116 250 6229 or online at: