The media spotlight last fell on the Lady Mitchell lecture hall, approximately one month ago, for the student occupation. This afternoon, it was instead filled with those attending a public symposium entitled ‘The State of the Universe’.

It was arranged by University of Cambridge’s Centre for Theoretical Cosmology to coincide with Professor Stephen Hawking’s 70th birthday.

Unfortunately, the renowned physicist, who continues to defy medical experts, was unable to attend the conference due to ill health, following his release from hospital on Friday.

Despite his notable absence, Hawking demonstrated once again his ability to overcome adversity by still having his distinctive voice ring out through the hall. He sent a pre-prepared speech and projected photographs from his early life and career masked his stage absence.

Prof Hawking always records speeches in advance, although the sentence-cueing duties were performed by an assistant rather than activated by muscles in his cheek, as per a live deliverance.

His modest words told of his inspirational life history, from his schooldays in St Albans, through his studies at Oxford to pinpointing highlights of his scientific career against the backdrop of motor neurone disease.

Perhaps reassuringly to some, he spoke of his relaxed approach to studying physics at the University of Oxford. He said: ‘I once calculated that I did about a thousand hour’s work in the three years I was there, an average of an hour a day.’ Whilst to some (read: arts students), this might not sound particularly out of the ordinary, to others, it is an indication of the already budding genius.

This moving and frequently laughter-inducing address urged listeners to “remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet”. It was delivered to the world’s leading cosmologists, colleagues of Hawking’s and his loved ones.

Celebrity attendants were also present, with Richard Branson posting on Google+ two days ago:  ‘Honoured to be invited to lunch with Britain’s greatest living scientist Stephen Hawking.’ Before the lecture, he expressed a hope to help the professor fulfil a dream in the near future by taking him into space on his Virgin Galactic space craft. Presumably, his others birthday gifts were also of the same calibre…

Other speakers at the event included Lord Rees, Astronomer Royal, Nobel prize winner Professor Perlmutter and Professor Kip Thorne, leading theoretical physicist.

Today’s events mark the culmination of four days of birthday celebrations organised by his colleagues at Cambridge University. A scientific conference had been held earlier in the week, with world leaders in the field reviewing the current status of black holes, cosmology and fundamental physics.