Day 1

7 November 2023

Day 2

8 November 2023

  • Main stage
  • Collaboration space
  • Wonks' stage
  • Senate Room
  • 8:00
  • 8:15
  • 8:30
  • 8:45
  • 09:00
  • 9:15
  • 9:30
  • 9:45
  • 10:00
  • 10:15
  • 10:30
  • 10:45
  • 11:00
  • 11:15
  • 11:30
  • 11:45
  • 12:00
  • 12:15
  • 12:30
  • 12:45
  • 13:00
  • 13:15
  • 13:30
  • 13:45
  • 14:00
  • 14:15
  • 14:30
  • 14:45
  • 15:00
  • 15:15
  • 15:30
  • 15:45
  • 16:00
  • 16:15
  • 16:30
  • 16:45
  • 17:00
  • 17:15
  • 17:30
  • 17:45
  • 18:00
  • 18:15
  • 18:30
  • 18:45
  • 19:00
  • 19:15
  • 19:30
  • 19:45
  • 20:00
  • 20:15
  • 20:30
  • 20:45
  • 21:00
  • 21:15
  • 21:30
  • 21:45
  • 22:00

So you want to write for Wonkhe?

Wonks' stage | 13:30pm - 14:00pm

So you want to write for Wonkhe?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 13:30 – 14:00
Location: Wonks' stage

Come along and meet Wonkhe’s editorial team and hear more about how you can get your voice better heard in higher education.

Speakers

Debbie McVitty

Editor

Wonkhe

David Kernohan

Deputy editor

Wonkhe

Sunday Blake

Associate editor

Wonkhe

Michael Salmon

News editor

Wonkhe

5 unexpected things we learned from Belong

Wonks' stage | 16:30pm - 17:15pm

5 unexpected things we learned from Belong

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 16:30 – 17:15
Location: Wonks' stage

Belong is our new student insight panel that we are launching with Cibyl and in this session we will run down some of the most surprising and interesting results from the research that have come to light this autumn.

Chair

Jim Dickinson

Associate editor

Wonkhe

How to build a Lifelong Learning Entitlement

Wonks' stage | 15:15pm - 16:00pm

How to build a Lifelong Learning Entitlement

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 15:15 – 16:00
Location: Wonks' stage

Short credit-bearing courses linked to the lifelong loan entitlement are coming, but how do institutions and the wider sector need to change their systems to react? Wonkhe’s David Kernohan and University of Salford Director of Strategy Jackie Njoroge discuss the technicalities of making a transformative new offer work.

Speakers

David Kernohan

Deputy editor

Wonkhe

Jackie Njoroge

Deputy Chair, HESPA and Director of Strategy

University of Salford

Features of a good civic strategy and what takes it from good to great

Wonks' stage | 14:15pm - 15:00pm

Features of a good civic strategy and what takes it from good to great

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 14:15 – 15:00
Location: Wonks' stage

Speakers

Richard Brabner

Director of ESG for UPP and Director of the UPP Foundation

Jane Robinson

Pro vice chancellor - engagement and place

Newcastle University

The degree apprenticeship experience

Wonks' stage | 13:00pm - 13:30pm

The degree apprenticeship experience

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 13:00 – 13:30
Location: Wonks' stage

The Edge Foundation in collaboration with the Universities of Bath, Huddersfield and Oxford has conducted in-depth research on degree apprenticeships. This session will draw on data from interviews with degree apprentices, large employers and SMEs to discuss what the experience looks like for apprentices and employers.

Speakers

Andrea Laczik

Director of research

Edge Foundation

Dana Dabbous

Senior education and policy researcher

Edge Foundation

Packing our knapsacks for the Journey to a Million

Wonks' stage | 12:15pm - 12:45pm

Packing our knapsacks for the Journey to a Million

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 12:15 – 12:45
Location: Wonks' stage

UCAS has predicted that UK universities could see up to a million applicants by 2030. What will these students want to study? How will they access information and advice about their choices And where will they live? David Penney and Ben Jordan think through what needs to happen to take the next steps in the Journey to a Million. 

Speakers

David Penney

Director of marketing

UCAS

Ben Jordan

Head of policy

UCAS

The state of HE data in 2023

Wonks' stage | 11:15am - 11:45am

The state of HE data in 2023

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 11:15 – 11:45
Location: Wonks' stage

Where are we with higher education data collection and use in 2023? Data expert Andy Youell delivers his state of the data nation.

Speakers

Andy Youell

Executive director:regulation

University College of Estate Management

Wonkhe after hours – join us ’til late

18:30pm - 22:00pm

Wonkhe after hours – join us ’til late

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 18:30 – 22:00
Location:

We’d love you to join the Wonkhe and University of London teams at The Marquis Cornwallis pub in Bloomsbury for drinks (on us), proper food and more entertainment till late.

Food will be available from 7.30pm
Speed networking will take place at 8pm upstairs
Find it on Google Maps (a 5-10 minute walk from Senate House)

Drinks reception

17:30pm - 18:30pm

Drinks reception

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 17:30 – 18:30
Location:

Join us for drinks and entertainment at Senate House.

Bonnie Greer on the value of arts and humanities

Main stage | 15:15pm - 16:15pm

Bonnie Greer on the value of arts and humanities

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 15:15 – 16:15
Location: Main stage

Author, critic and broadcaster Bonnie Greer discusses the future of arts and humanities, and the role of universities in realising their value to the wider UK public. 

Chair

Sarah Churchwell

Chair in Public Understanding of the Humanities

University of London

Speakers

Bonnie Greer

Playwright, novelist, critic and broadcaster

Registration and refreshments

08:30am - 09:45am

Registration and refreshments

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 08:30 – 09:45
Location:

What do the UK’s places want from their universities?

Main stage | 10:00am - 11:00am

What do the UK’s places want from their universities?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 10:00 – 11:00
Location: Main stage

“Levelling up” may no longer be the current buzzword in government, but long standing issues of inequitable economic growth, public health, cultural assets, and education outcomes across the UK haven’t gone away – nor has universities’ and colleges’ commitment to their places. As Britain gears up for a general election, how might “place” shape the next generation of policy thinking – and how can universities best meet the needs of their communities?

Chair

Debbie McVitty

Editor

Wonkhe

Speakers

Wendy Thomson

Vice chancellor

University of London

Rachel Wolf

Founding partner

Public First

Katy Shaw

Professor of 21st century writing and publishing

Northumbria University

Andy Westwood

Professor of government practice

University of Manchester

Sunder Katwala: How can universities help cross political divides in polarised times?

Main stage | 11:15am - 12:00pm

Sunder Katwala: How can universities help cross political divides in polarised times?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 11:15 – 12:00
Location: Main stage

We have heard a lot about how graduate education/educational status is important to identity and culture, and universities are told they are part of the problem of the out of touch new elites. Universities are an epicentre for navigating intergenerational arguments and shifts, which might naturally put campus culture at one pole of the spectrum in polarised times. But universities can also potentially be instrumental in helping to bridge those divides.

Chair

Alistair Jarvis

Pro-Vice Chancellor of Partnerships and Governance

University of London

Speakers

Sunder Katwala

Director

British Future

How do you solve a problem like HE regulation?

Main stage | 12:15pm - 13:15pm

How do you solve a problem like HE regulation?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 12:15 – 13:15
Location: Main stage

Can any higher education regulator realistically be expected to balance the interests of students, providers, government, and the nation – and not get itself into hot water? With regulatory divergence and reform across the UK and criticisms from a House of Lords committee over the efficacy of English regulator the Office for Students, our panel will assess the options for HE regulation and think through what might be done to make it work.

Speakers

Mike Ratcliffe

Academic registrar and HE historian

Andrew Boggs

University secretary

Royal Holloway, University of London

Smita Jamdar

Partner & head of education

Shakespeare Martineau

David Sweeney

Professor of Research Policy

University of Birmingham

Making it work – how students are navigating the cost of living crisis

Main stage | 14:00pm - 15:00pm

Making it work – how students are navigating the cost of living crisis

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 14:00 – 15:00
Location: Main stage

We have seen countless reports containing stats that describe the ways in which students are struggling when it comes to rising living costs. Yet we know little about what exactly students are doing to make ends meet – and get to the end of their courses. Drawing on new research from Wonkhe and Pearson on belonging during a cost of living crisis, this session examines the impact of the crisis on students’ social and academic experiences, and debates whether efforts to enable students to succeed in these circumstances are normalising stretched, miserable student experiences.

Speakers

Darcie Jones

VP Education

University of Plymouth Students' Union

Zuzanna Romanska

VP Wellbeing and Community

University of Lincoln Students' Union

Dom White

President

Derby Students' Union

Dhruv Dev

President

Leeds Beckett Students’ Union

Lou Robinson

Vice President Engagement

Open University Students' Association

Preparing for Generation-AI

Collaboration space | 15:15pm - 16:00pm

Preparing for Generation-AI

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 15:15 – 16:00
Location: Collaboration space

Education institutions today worry about the impact of generative AI on academic integrity. Meanwhile, future students are quietly integrating AI tools into their daily lives – and they will enter university in the expectation of graduating into an AI-infused world. What do universities need to do now to look forward to build a higher education experience that can inspire and challenge Generation AI?

Chair

Jim Dickinson

Associate editor

Wonkhe

Speakers

Melanie Garson

Cyber policy and tech geopolitics lead

Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Caroline Prendergast

Chief learning officer

KPMG

Leading change in tough times

Main stage | 16:30pm - 17:30pm

Leading change in tough times

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 16:30 – 17:30
Location: Main stage

Who’d be a vice chancellor right now? Leading a university has never exactly been easy but delivering on ambitious goals while navigating financial challenges, culture wars, the aftermath of a global pandemic, and myriad internal disputes is not a task for the faint hearted. In this session we’ll hear from leaders grappling with the challenges of leadership – and share cross-sector learning about navigating the tough times.

Speakers

Josette Bushell-Mingo

Principal and CEO

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Katie Normington

Vice chancellor

De Montfort University

Chris Naylor

Director

Inner Circle Consulting

Lunch

13:15pm - 14:15pm

Lunch

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 13:15 – 14:15
Location:

Has TEF changed the teaching and learning landscape?

Collaboration space | 11:15am - 12:00pm

Has TEF changed the teaching and learning landscape?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 11:15 – 12:00
Location: Collaboration space

In retrospect the Teaching Excellence Framework looks like a relatively benign effort on the part of government to improve higher education quality (or tackle poor quality, depending on your point of view). But five iterations of the exercise, a national review, and endless debate later, what difference has TEF made – and can it tell us meaningful things about how higher education is working to provide students a transformative educational experience?

Speakers

Clare Saunders

Co-chair

Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA)

Mark Peace

Professor of innovation

Manchester Metropolitan University

Unpacking the “third mission” – how can universities authentically be of service to their communities?

Collaboration space | 12:15pm - 13:15pm

Unpacking the “third mission” – how can universities authentically be of service to their communities?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 12:15 – 13:15
Location: Collaboration space

Beyond “public engagement” – some university leaders are trying to think differently about how univeristies can work in partnership with their communities, sharing power, and building citizenship capacity, drawing on social action models like community organising. Author of The New Power University Jonathan Grant explores with two such leaders the difference that these approaches make – and how they might be mainstreamed in UK higher education.

Speakers

James Purnell

President and vice chancellor

University of the Arts London

Julie Sanders

Vice chancellor and principal

Royal Holloway, University of London

Jonathan Grant

Founding director

Different Angles Ltd

What progress are universities making on anti-racism?

Collaboration space | 14:15pm - 15:00pm

What progress are universities making on anti-racism?

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 14:15 – 15:00
Location: Collaboration space

A “war on woke” from some parts of government might have made efforts to tackle structural and institutional racism more tricky, but higher education continues to take action on anti-racism. Three years on from the global Black Lives Matter protests, what has changed in higher education – and what still needs to be done to keep anti-racism high on institutional agendas?

Speakers

Pradeep Passi

Pro vice chancellor (Equity, diversity and inclusion)

University of Salford

Oliver Young

Associate Dean for Taught Students and Chief Diversity Officer

University of Exeter

Influencing government policy across the UK

Collaboration space | 16:30pm - 17:30pm

Influencing government policy across the UK

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 16:30 – 17:30
Location: Collaboration space

The new PolicyWISE initiative based in the Open University leads comparative policy research across the nations of the UK and Ireland, partnering with policymakers and academics in and across each nation, tackling some of the biggest issues facing societies today. This expert panel has diverse experience of academic and government across the nations so is well-equipped to ask what it takes to achieve policy impact.

Speakers

Wendy Alexander

Vice principal

University of Dundee

Dewi Knight

Director

PolicyWISE

Megan Fearon

Senior manager for policy and public affairs

The Open University

Alistair Jarvis

Pro-Vice Chancellor of Partnerships and Governance

University of London

Making university life better

Senate Room | 11:15am - 12:45pm

Making university life better

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 11:15 – 12:45
Location: Senate Room

Bring your best ideas to make university life better – work with a team of like-minded intrapreneurs and pitch your idea to see if you can persuade your competitors to invest their Wonkhebucks in your plan. No real money involved – but this interactive session should spark your thinking about your organisational culture, and what kinds of activity or intervention could help you and your colleagues thrive.

Speakers

Joe Cooper

Director of people and culture

University of East London

Selena Bolingbroke

Principal of the Building Crafts College

New Rules – test your resilience in the face of policy chaos

Senate Room | 14:15pm - 16:45pm

New Rules – test your resilience in the face of policy chaos

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 14:15 – 16:45
Location: Senate Room

Despite an external environment characterised by its volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, there’s additional pressure on the sector to respond dynamically – with growing pressure from students, regulators, and the government to do so well and at pace. This immersive and interactive simulation game will challenge participants to think beyond “mimetic” modes of development and consider if there are assumed models about what a “good” university looks like that might be stopping us from achieving for students.

Speakers

James Coe

Associate editor

Wonkhe

Alan Roberts

Partner

Counterculture

Welcome

Main stage | 09:45am - 10:00am

Welcome

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 09:45 – 10:00
Location: Main stage

  • Main stage
  • Collaboration space
  • Wonks' stage
  • Senate Room
  • 8:00
  • 8:15
  • 8:30
  • 8:45
  • 09:00
  • 9:15
  • 9:30
  • 9:45
  • 10:00
  • 10:15
  • 10:30
  • 10:45
  • 11:00
  • 11:15
  • 11:30
  • 11:45
  • 12:00
  • 12:15
  • 12:30
  • 12:45
  • 13:00
  • 13:15
  • 13:30
  • 13:45
  • 14:00
  • 14:15
  • 14:30
  • 14:45
  • 15:00
  • 15:15
  • 15:30
  • 15:45
  • 16:00
  • 16:15
  • 16:30
  • 16:45
  • 17:00
  • 17:15
  • 17:30
  • 17:45
  • 18:00
  • 18:15
  • 18:30
  • 18:45
  • 19:00
  • 19:15
  • 19:30
  • 19:45
  • 20:00
  • 20:15
  • 20:30
  • 20:45
  • 21:00
  • 21:15
  • 21:30
  • 21:45
  • 22:00

Live recording: The Wonkhe Show

Main stage | 13:00pm - 13:45pm

Live recording: The Wonkhe Show

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 13:00 – 13:45
Location: Main stage

Get up and close and personal with your favourite weekly higher education podcast being recorded live from the festival.

Should higher education just stop protest?

Collaboration space | 15:00pm - 16:00pm

Should higher education just stop protest?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 15:00 – 16:00
Location: Collaboration space

Students are pretty committed to action on the climate crisis – and its activist wing is increasingly turning to direct action and protest to shake the state and institutions like universities out of perceived inaction. Meanwhile campuses are seeing increased protest activity in the wake of the Hamas-Israel war – all in the context of heavy demands to reduce harassment and disruption, improve progress on Net Zero and secure free speech. This session will examine the contours of these debates and attempt to plot a way forward for the future.

Chair

Jim Dickinson

Associate editor

Wonkhe

Speakers

Connie Chilcott

President (Exeter)

Falmouth and Exeter Students' Union

Leonie Fleischmann

Senior Lecturer in International Politics and Human Rights

City, University of London

An election manifesto for HE

Senate Room | 10:15am - 11:45am

An election manifesto for HE

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 10:15 – 11:45
Location: Senate Room

Let’s be honest – we’re not expecting higher education to make headlines during the next general election campaign or emerge as a doorstep issue. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good time to think through how higher education connects into the key issues facing the country, and talk to the political parties about what policies might be enacted in the next Parliament. Working together, you’ll tackle the issues and come up with policies to address them – bonus points if any of them appear in a party manifesto.

Speakers

Andy Westwood

Professor of government practice

University of Manchester

Graeme Wise

Head of engagement and knowledge exchange

University of London

Report launch – How universities can prepare students for the changing world 

Wonks' stage | 15:00pm - 16:00pm

Report launch – How universities can prepare students for the changing world 

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 15:00 – 16:00
Location: Wonks' stage

We are delighted to welcome you to the launch of a new report by Demos and the University of London, looking at how AI and other new technologies are transforming the labour market, and what this might mean for the future of universities. 

One of the main drivers behind the growth of universities in recent decades has been the expansion of the ‘knowledge economy’ which has created greater demand for skilled people across a range of professions. However, rapid technological developments are transforming the knowledge and skills that students will need to prosper, putting a new premium on ‘softer’ skills, including critical thinking, creativity, self-motivation, teamwork, and the ability to adapt to new technologies and ways of working. This in turn poses some fundamental questions about the role of universities, what and how they should teach and how they should operate. 

This event will bring together report author Richard Brown and expert respondents to discuss the report’s findings and recommendations.

Chair

Polly Curtis

Chief Executive

Demos

Speakers

Richard Brown

Freelance researcher and Associate Fellow at University of London

Vicky Stott

Chief Executive

QAA

Wendy Thomson

Vice chancellor

University of London

Jo Fox

Pro vice chancellor (research and engagement) and Dean, school of advanced study

University of London

James Ball

Journalist and author

How universities can achieve Living Wage accreditation

Wonks' stage | 14:00pm - 14:45pm

How universities can achieve Living Wage accreditation

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 14:00 – 14:45
Location: Wonks' stage

Our expert panel discusses why universities might seek accreditation as a Living Wage employer, and shares their insight about the process.

Chair

Jonathan Grant

Founding director

Different Angles Ltd

Speakers

Katherine Chapman

Director

Living Wage Foundation

Tom Levitt

Associate lecturer in sustainability

University of West London

Edmund Heery

Professor Emeritus in Employment Relations

Cardiff Business School

What does the public think about HE funding?

Wonks' stage | 12:45pm - 13:15pm

What does the public think about HE funding?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 12:45 – 13:15
Location: Wonks' stage

Public First has undertaken a comprehensive survey of the public’s attitudes to higher education funding. Associate director Jess Lister shares the findings – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and what they mean for universities’ efforts to change the public conversation on university finances.

Speakers

Jess Lister

Associate director, education practice

Public First

What might the future of education technology hold?

Wonks' stage | 12:00pm - 12:30pm

What might the future of education technology hold?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 12:30
Location: Wonks' stage

Beyond the hype, and the sales pitch, beyond digital transformation and digital natives – this session will explore how technology is likely to shape higher education provison in the years ahead, what changes universities can realistically expect to learning and teaching, and how they might work with technology providers to get ahead of the curve.

Chair

Robin Gibson

Marketing Director

Kortext

Speakers

Claire Pike

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education Enhancement)

Anglia Ruskin University 

What do UK universities need to know to be able to continue to collaborate with EU universities?

Wonks' stage | 11:00am - 11:45am

What do UK universities need to know to be able to continue to collaborate with EU universities?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 11:00 – 11:45
Location: Wonks' stage

Brexit has been just about got done, but that doesn’t mean that UK universities have any intention of withdrawing from Europe. EUA director of policy coordination and foresight Thomas Jørgensen shares the latest on opportunities and challenges after the association to Horizon Europe, and how UK universities can stay connected to our European colleagues.

Speakers

Thomas Jørgensen

Director for policy coordination and foresight

European University Association

Achieving curriculum transformation at scale

Wonks' stage | 10:15am - 10:45am

Achieving curriculum transformation at scale

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 10:15 – 10:45
Location: Wonks' stage

Recent research from Wonkhe and Adobe showed how universities are transforming curriculum to be more engaging, more inclusive, and more authentic. But how does an on-paper strategy translate into authentic change on the ground, with educators and students equipped with the skills, knowledge, and mindset they need? 

Chair

Mark Andrews

Pedagogical evangelist

Adobe

Speakers

Mark Simpson

Pro Vice Chancellor (Learning & Teaching)

Teesside University

Nuala McLaren

Head of Reader Services and Academic Support

Goldsmiths, University of London

In conversation: Richard Puttock

Wonks' stage | 09:30am - 10:00am

In conversation: Richard Puttock

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 09:30 – 10:00
Location: Wonks' stage

Richard Puttock – former Director of Data, Foresight, and Analysis at the Office for Students – in conversation with Wonkhe’s David Kernohan about data, metrics, and regulation.

Chair

David Kernohan

Deputy editor

Wonkhe

Speakers

Richard Puttock

Head of Business Intelligence and Data Analytics (BIDA)

University of Leeds

The imaginary university, with Paul Greatrix

Collaboration space | 13:45pm - 14:30pm

The imaginary university, with Paul Greatrix

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 13:45 – 14:30
Location: Collaboration space

Aficionados will be avid listeners to The Imaginary University – the podcast where University of Nottingham registrar Paul Greatrix challenges his guests to describe their ideal university. Join Paul and guest Amatey Doku in this live journey to the furthest reaches of the higher education imaginary – and prepare to get involved in spinning the web of fantasy while you’re there.

Speakers

Paul Greatrix

Registrar

University of Nottingham

Amatey Doku

HE consultant

Moorhouse Consulting

Has REF gone woke? Research culture and research excellence

Collaboration space | 12:00pm - 13:00pm

Has REF gone woke? Research culture and research excellence

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 13:00
Location: Collaboration space

REF 2028 is an explicit move toward rewarding research as a team sport which recognises that good culture makes for good research and good research needs everyone to be able to fulfil their potential. However, the much discussed people, culture, and environment strand, has led some to question if the new system prioritises a series of nice things that can’t be measured over quality research outputs. In this panel we’ll ask just what is good research culture? How do you measure it? And does all of this come at the expenses of the core purpose of all of this; good research?

Chair

James Coe

Associate editor

Wonkhe

Speakers

Dinah Birch

Emeritus professor

University of Liverpool

Helen Cross

Director of Research and Innovation

Scottish Funding Council

Does the HE sector need a student support excellence framework?

Collaboration space | 09:30am - 10:30am

Does the HE sector need a student support excellence framework?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 09:30 – 10:30
Location: Collaboration space

There’s an excellence framework for everything these days, so why not student support? Universities are grappling with more complex welfare and academic support needs from a more diverse student body – and while there’s no doubt that good practice exists everywhere, can students really be confident that good-quality support will be there when they need it? Our panel debates what support students need and how best to ensure they get it.

Speakers

Emily McIntosh

Director of student success

University of the West of Scotland

Chris Shelley

Director of Student Experience

Queen Mary University of London

Closing words

Main stage | 17:15pm - 17:30pm

Closing words

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 17:15 – 17:30
Location: Main stage

Do we need (yet) another major HE review?

Main stage | 16:15pm - 17:15pm

Do we need (yet) another major HE review?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 16:15 – 17:15
Location: Main stage

With funding challenges for universities across the UK, the drawn out and limited implementation of the Augar review, and new challenges on the horizon around skills and economic growth, is higher education in need of a significant reset in the next parliament?

Chair

Mark Leach

Founder and editor in chief

Wonkhe

Speakers

Vivienne Stern

Chief executive

Universities UK

Claire Callender

Professor of higher education policy at UCL Institute of Education and Birkbeck University

David Eastwood

Former VC and member of the Browne Review

Joe Holmes

Vice President Education

Essex SU

In conversation: Anjana Ahuja

Main stage | 15:15pm - 16:00pm

In conversation: Anjana Ahuja

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 15:15 – 16:00
Location: Main stage

Contributing writer at the Financial Times Anjana Ahuja joins us to chat about what the public wants to know about science and research, and how universities and the people working in them can be more engaged and influential in the public conversation.

Chair

Debbie McVitty

Editor

Wonkhe

Speakers

Anjana Ahuja

Journalist and contributing writer on science at the Financial Times

Live recording: The Power Test – universities

Main stage | 14:00pm - 15:00pm

Live recording: The Power Test – universities

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 14:00 – 15:00
Location: Main stage

The Power Test is a new political podcast exploring what a future Labour government can and should do to change Britain for the better. It’s hosted by two of Britain’s sharpest political thinkers, Sam Freedman, policy expert and former advisor to Michael Gove, and Ayesha Hazarika, broadcaster and former advisor to Ed Miliband. For this special live recording of the podcast Ayesha and Sam will be joined by a panel of expert guests to discuss the key policy and political challenges facing an incoming administration on higher education and what choices it needs to take to strengthen UK universities.

Sponsor

Speakers

Ayesha Hazarika

Columnist, broadcaster and co-host of The Power Test

Sam Freedman

Senior fellow at the Institute for Government and co-host of The Power Test

Mark Leach

Founder and editor in chief

Wonkhe

Vivienne Stern

Chief executive

Universities UK

James Purnell

President and vice chancellor

University of the Arts London

Registration and refreshments

08:30am - 09:45am

Registration and refreshments

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 08:30 – 09:45
Location:

Lunch

13:15pm - 14:15pm

Lunch

Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 13:15 – 14:15
Location:

Looking outward: the changing people needs of higher education

Main stage | 09:30am - 10:30am

Looking outward: the changing people needs of higher education

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 09:30 – 10:30
Location: Main stage

New research by Wonkhe for Advance HE suggests that as universities across the globe seek to make a difference to the wider world the skills needed from university staff and expectations of effective ways of working are also changing. We’ll share the findings of in-depth interviews with heads of institution and think through the implications for how universities build working cultures in which their people can thrive.

Speakers

Ken Sloan

Vice chancellor

Harper Adams University

Alison Johns

Chief executive

Advance HE

Shân Wareing

Deputy vice chancellor

University of Northampton

Rita Akushie

Pro Vice-Chancellor Finance and Operations

University of London

In conversation: David Aaronovitch

Main stage | 11:00am - 11:45am

In conversation: David Aaronovitch

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 11:00 – 11:45
Location: Main stage

Influential author, former must-read Times weekly columnist (and ex-NUS president) David Aaronovitch joins us to discuss the state of politics, journalism, culture wars – and what universities might do to improve the public conversation.

Chair

Mark Leach

Founder and editor in chief

Wonkhe

Speakers

David Aaronovitch

Journalist, television presenter and author

Has internationalising higher education worked? How can universities respond to international challenges?

Main stage | 12:00pm - 13:00pm

Has internationalising higher education worked? How can universities respond to international challenges?

Date: November 8, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 13:00
Location: Main stage

UK universities have very successfully grown their international student numbers, international partnerships and global footprint, however, the international education landscape continues to change with many challenges to face. How might universities adapt to tackle the pressures of climate change, global economic turmoil, security risks, ethical challenges and increased HE capacity and investment outside the UK? Is the increase in international students and internationalisation of universities good for students and communities? This panel will assess the health of the international education landscape and explore the opportunities for UK universities seeking to grow or reimagine their international education portfolios.

Chair

Mary Stiasny

Pro vice chancellor international, learning and teaching

University of London

Speakers

Jamie Arrowsmith

Director

Universities UK International

Joanna Newman

Provost

SOAS, University of London

Bobby Mehta

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement)

University of Portsmouth

Day 1

November 7, 2023

Day 2

November 8, 2023

  • VIEW ALL
  • Main stage
  • Collaboration space
  • Wonks' stage
  • Senate Room
  • VIEW ALL
  • Main stage
  • Collaboration space
  • Wonks' stage
  • Senate Room