Programme

Universities are now facing the combination of a harsh present and unusually uncertain future. Getting strategic planning right matters more than ever. 
Good university strategy needs a view of what is really changing. Behind the day-to-day noise powerful forces are acting on the sector, some long-standing, some new. These forces give us a way to visualise the future.

This session looks at the data on these forces and what that suggests for the successful university of 2035. With high stakes and little margin for error, what can strategic planners do to help universities find the right path?

In a higher education sector defined by volatility and disruption, effective risk management is no longer a compliance function - it is a core strategic capability. This session shares the journey of the University of Sheffield, detailing how we have integrated the risk function into our Strategic Planning team over the last two years.

More information to follow.

Understanding the Student Experience

Student journeys through tertiary education can be complex and varied, and to improve outcomes we need to understand which are the most successful pathways. We will discuss some of the challenges for understanding and measuring those journeys, as well as the priorities for the sector.

What Does True Student Voice Look Like? A Sector Review into Course Representation Systems in Partnership with the QAA

Student engagement in the development of education through student voice activities, such as Academic Representation at course level is assumed as a sector norm. Since the professionalisation of students’ unions to develop student voice teams (Bols, 2020), all UK universities follow the Quality Code’s Student Engagement Theme (2018) (formerly Chapter B5, 2013) to embed student-staff engagement in voice activities across their provision (Bols, 2017). However, the often-assumed practice of democratically-elected student volunteers, which previously was cross-sector practice, has evolved at institutions, creating an unknown spread of varied practice across UK HEIs. To respond to the above developments, in 2025, the RAISE Network have led a sector audit of student engagement in student voice, student survey and student representation activities across UK Higher Education. This project gained responses from a wide range of students’ unions and universities, to gain a full sector assessment of current questions relating to electing vs selecting, rewarding vs volunteer, and balance of organising student engagement in voice, surveys and representation activities across modern HE Institutions. This presentation will disseminate the findings to support enhance locally and discussions nationally on the future of student voice practice.

Trying to plot your institutions course through the effects of changes in student numbers, government policy, delivery approaches and the myriad of other impacts facing the sector is more than challenging.
Simitive’s unique strategic resource and financial modelling lets you plan and visualise multiple scenarios and outcomes, helping you avoid the storms and ride the winds of change.

The session is intended to explore the strategic implications of professional services staff, who make up an estimated 40–60% of the higher education workforce but whose development and progression pathways are often less visible and less well supported than those of academic colleagues. From a planning, insight, and strategy perspective, this raises important questions for institutional resilience, delivery, and evidence informed decision making.

More information to follow.

In this session, Daniel and Bruce will:

(i) Outline the principles of how the machine learning AI works;
(ii) Explore the benefits and insights gained by KCL; and
(iii) Demonstrate insights generated through dashboards, narrative reports, and sector benchmark reports (NSS, PTES, and other course and module evaluation surveys).

More information to follow.

This session brings together senior policy experts from Scotland, Wales and England to explore how recent and emerging policy developments in the devolved nations may signal the future direction of travel for higher education across the UK. It will explore the evolving tertiary landscapes in Scotland and Wales, and how institutional leaders can prepare for potential shifts in expectations, regulation and funding.

Tracey Slaven (University of Cumbria), will provide an overview of the current English higher education context, outlining the regulatory change and shifting government priorities facing the sector. This frames how recent policy developments in Scotland and Wales may offer insights into emerging UK‑wide trends, highlighting areas such as tertiary integration, outcome‑based funding and skills‑focused reforms.

Following this, Jacqui Brasted (Scottish Funding Council) will speak to Scotland’s increasingly integrated tertiary approach. Jacqui will discuss the SFC’s frameworks for quality enhancement and assurance and explain how Scotland uses data—alongside institutional self‑evaluation and external review—to provide assurance on quality and standards, while retaining institutional flexibility on delivery of outcomes. Jacqui will also cover current areas of development, including reforms to governance and financial oversight following the Gillies investigation, the tertiary microcredentials framework, and learning from reform of the skills pathways landscape through Pathfinder projects and the Tertiary Education and Training Bill.

The third speaker, Harriet Barnes (Medr), will outline Wales’s experience of establishing a new, comprehensive tertiary funding and regulatory body. Harriet will reflect on the challenges and opportunities of bringing together diverse post‑16 providers under a single system, and the importance of partnership working during this transition. She will describe Medr’s new regulatory framework—spanning governance, financial sustainability, equality of opportunity, and staff and student welfare—and how it aims to balance compliance with continuous improvement supported by data. Harriet will also discuss Wales’s work to align tertiary provision with economic needs, including mapping provision and developing a new apprenticeship programme.

After the three presentations, the session will transition into an extended cross‑panel discussion and audience Q&A, offering delegates the opportunity to probe the implications of these national reforms and to reflect on what they may mean for the future of higher education across the UK.

Recently with Advance HE Wonkhe published Securing educational excellence at a time of change, a report that explored the macro trends shaping HE and their effect on institutional purpose and values. In this session Wonkhe editor Debbie McVitty will invite you to explore and discuss the political, economic, social and technological drivers of change in HE and their practical implications for strategic planning when the future is not predictable or certain.