Matthew Abley, Access and Participation Plan Programme Manager, University of Westminster

Matthew’s career has centred upon widening participation and fair access. Through teaching into the third sector, during his time at TASO and now at the University of Westminster, Matthew’s focus has been evaluation and transformation to encourage equity and parity of experience. His roles have focused on driving the delivery of strategic priorities through evidence-informed insights and the running of programmes to enable impactful action that benefits underrepresented and disadvantaged cohorts. He now leads on the delivery of the University of Westminster’s APP.

Anna Artemyeva, Google for Education Higher Education Lead EMEA & APAC

Anna Artemyeva leads Google for Education’s strategic initiatives across the EMEA and APAC regions, specialising in institutional-level digital transformation and the pedagogical integration of AI. With 15 years dedicated exclusively to educational technology within a two-decade tech career, Anna partners with university leaders to fundamentally modernise the academic ecosystem. Her work focuses on bringing cutting-edge AI capabilities, anchored by Google's Gemini, directly to students, professors, administrators, and researchers. By aligning technological innovation with institutional strategy, Anna champions initiatives that enhance instructional design, elevate student learning outcomes, equip educators with robust professional development, and streamline administrative and research infrastructure globally.

Roger Adams, Head of Planning and Policy, Cardiff University

Roger is Head of Planning and Policy at Cardiff University, where he leads the team responsible for the University’s planning and budgeting process, monitoring progress in delivering its strategy, and responding to the evolving regulatory environment for tertiary education in Wales. He previously worked as a business analyst and has held a range of planning roles within Welsh higher education.

Ruby Adams, Strategy and Programme Manager, Harper Adams University 

Ruby Adams has over 12 years' experience in higher education across England and Wales, leading strategic initiatives and complex programmes. As Strategy and Programme Manager at Harper Adams University, she co-leads the Harper Transform programme, a university-wide initiative focused on delivering sustainable, meaningful change through digital transformation, process improvement, and organisational development. Passionate about people-centred change, Ruby works with academic and professional service teams to embed new ways of working that enhance the staff and student experience while supporting the University's long-term strategic ambitions.

Charlotte Armstrong, Student Education Operations Manager, Student Curriculum and Operations, University of Leeds

Charlotte is an experienced leader specialising in student education, online learning, and strategic and operational transformation. She focuses on translating institutional strategy into effective and sustainable operating models through service redesign, collaborative partnerships, workforce development and continuous improvement. Leading student education operations for Online Learning, she drives the delivery of flexible provision while ensuring services and people remain aligned with institutional priorities. Charlotte has a particular interest in creating cultures that enhance organisational effectiveness and student outcomes. She leads the AHEP Digital Special Interest Group and is a qualified professional coach and mentor.

Tim Bedford, Associate Principal Research and Innovation, University of Strathclyde, UK

Professor Tim Bedford is Associate Principal of the University of Strathclyde, leading the Research and Innovation portfolio in the University Executive Team. This includes developing collaboration with industrial and societal partners, relationships with UKRI and other government research and innovation funders, and international research, as well as working with Glasgow and Government agencies to develop the Glasgow City Innovation District and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland. 

He is Vice President of CESAER, the European Association of Universities of Science and Technology, and co-chairs its Taskforce Innovation.  He currently a member of the UK Higher Education Security Forum (HESF), and has previously chaired other sector bodies such as the JISC Research Pro-Vice Chancellors Committee, and Chair of the UK Committee of Professors of Operational Research

Professor Bedford is a researcher in Risk Analysis and Decision Making, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

Helen Beecroft, Senior Project Manager, Transformation Office, University of Leeds

Helen has over 11 years’ experience of working on change programmes and projects in both the Health and Education Sectors. A Senior Project Manager in the University of Leeds’ Transformation Office, Helen has worked on several change initiatives across the University including Online Learning, Virtual Visit Days, Research IT, and the LASER project. Stakeholder engagement is a key element for delivering transformational change, Helen strives to successfully engage stakeholders, connect colleagues from different areas of the University, encourage and facilitate collaboration, and adapt ways of working to enable projects to deliver agreed outputs and achieve a shared vision.

Henry Blackman, Director of IT, Harper Adams University

Henry Blackman is an experienced technology leader with a proven track record of 30 years in the sector, driving digital transformation, organisational change, and service innovation within complex environments. He combines strong technical expertise with track record of operational excellence, leading with a pragmatic, people-focused style to deliver sustainable business outcomes.

Henry excels at aligning technology investments with organisational objectives, leading high-performing teams, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. He is passionate about enabling digital capability, modernising business processes, and leveraging emerging technologies, including AI and Microsoft 365 solutions, to enhance productivity, efficiency, and user experience across the organisation.

John Blake, Director, The Post-18 Project, and Professor of Social Innovation and Public Policy, University of Salford

John Blake is Director of The Post-18 Project, the think tank from Thesis, publisher of Wonkhe, and Professor of Social Innovation and Public Policy at the University of Salford. From 2022 to 2025 he was Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students, where he built the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and reformed access and participation plans. His work argues that England's higher education settlement is incoherent and needs replacing, not repairing, and Whitehall is not built to govern post-18 education well. He spent fifteen years as a teacher and school leader before moving into policy.

Ruth Burchell, Quality and Standards Specialist, QAA  

Ruth has worked across the UK higher education sector for more than 30 years, building extensive networks through roles in a wide range of HE providers and sector organisations. During her career she has undertaken many activities, including the design of national guidance and training, establishment of student representation systems, and enhancement of higher education administrative processes. This breadth of experience gives her a distinctive perspective on UK higher education at both institutional and sector-wide levels. Ruth has a strong professional interest in fostering a culture of quality that enhances the student experience. Her areas of expertise include quality enhancement, student engagement, student experience, higher education administration and programme coordination, and admissions. Most recently, she led the redevelopment of the 2024 UK Quality Code and has led on development of parts of the underpinning advice and guidance. She graduated with an MA in Student Engagement from the University of Winchester in 2024.

Scott Davidson, Deputy Director of Social Responsibility and Sustainability, and Head of Sustainability, University of Edinburgh

Scott joined the University of Edinburgh in 2022 as Deputy Director for Social Responsibility and Sustainability, and Head of Sustainability. Scott is responsible for the development and delivery of one of the University’s “big four” strategies – the Regenerative Sustainability strategy. This strategy includes ambitious commitments to supporting and engaging with our people in delivery of the strategy; to ensuring all students, regardless of degree studied have access to meaningful education on climate and nature; to a trebling of research undertaken in climate and nature; and to Net Negative Carbon on all of our emissions; ecologically regenerating an area of land five times our campus footprint; and to a step change in action on chemical pollution and water. Prior to joining the University, Scott held various senior management roles in the sustainable consultancy and charity sector. Scott is a social psychologist by trade, a published author and award-winning researcher in the fields of behaviour change and sustainability. 

Kevin Donovan, Workplace Health and Wellbeing Manager, University of Strathclyde 

Kevin Donovan is Workplace Health and Wellbeing Manager at the University of Strathclyde, where he leads the University’s strategic approach to staff wellbeing. His work brings together Culture of Care, workplace mental health, psychological safety, staff voice and prevention, with a focus on ensuring wellbeing is experienced in everyday working life rather than only accessed when people are struggling.

Kevin has developed Strathclyde’s Flourish workplace wellbeing approach, including the Five Drivers model, departmental Wellbeing Reviews and a developing Wellbeing Standards Framework. Before joining the University, he worked across nursing, community mental health, social work and facilities management. He is particularly interested in how organisations turn values into practical, consistent experiences for colleagues.

Aya Ferguson, Director of Consulting, SUMS Consulting

Aya has spent over 15 years leading teams to deliver complex change across a breadth of sectors, specialising in Higher Education. Aya recently joined SUMS as Head of Consulting after several senior roles in UK universities including Head of Change Management at King’s College London, Transformation Director at University College London and most recently Director of Change and Improvement at University of East London. Examples of the change Aya has delivered include: 

•    Projects within UCL’s multi-million pound Transforming Our Professional Services programme 
•    Change management for the £100m Bush House programme at King’s College London, which included significant changes to ways of working for academics and professional services staff 
•    Change Management functions and services at King’s College London, University College London and University of East London. 

Aya is passionate about supporting leaders, managers and employees through change and delivering people-related return on investment for institutions. 

Jacqueline Freeland, Statutory Returns Analyst, University of Edinburgh

Jacqueline joined the University of Edinburgh in 2024, following several years in emergency services. With over a decade of experience across different sectors, she excels in analysing and enhancing data to deliver high-quality insights for strategic planning and resource management. Passionate about data quality and governance, Jacqueline is committed to optimising data as the University and sector transition to in-year reporting.

Clare Foyle, Director of Strategic Planning, UCL

Clare is the Director of Strategic Planning at University College London. She leads on strategic planning, and oversees the integrated strategic planning framework. This links UCL’s strategy and ambition to planning at all levels of the institution.

Prior to her current role, Clare worked in planning roles at the University of Derby, Coventry University and De Montfort University. 

Outside of work she chairs a school Local Academy Committee and is a trustee at Derby Museums and Art Gallery. She is also trained in human-centred design and prototyping and is a Brownie Leader (meaning she is always on hand with coloured pens and sticky notes).

Dan Isaac, Data Literacy & Training Lead

Building on his comprehensive experience working in Business Intelligence and Finance roles at the University of Exeter, Dan’s role is now dedicated to building the culture and resources required to develop AI & data literacy across the University. He has also been teaching Data Visualisation for more than a decade (www.getdataconfident.com). As well as teaching within the University’s Business School, his training has been completed by more than 800 people across various higher education, NHS and private sector organisations.

Smita Jamdar, Partner & Head of Education, Shakespeare Martineau LLP

Smita leads the team at Shakespeare Martineau Solicitors that works to shape the universities and colleges of the future by providing strategic advice and sector-specific insight across all their legal needs.  Smita is a recognised leader in her field, specialising in constitutional, governance and regulatory advice which helps educational institutions thrive in a rapidly changing landscape. She gave evidence to the Parliamentary Bill Committee on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act and worked with Universities UK in producing its guidance to the sector on preparing for the new Act. Smita has also been recognised in this year’s Legal 500, and Chambers and Partners, as a leading individual in Education. She holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick and Lincoln and an honorary fellowship from University of Worcester for her services to higher education.

Mark Jeynes, Partner, Education Practice

Mark is a Partner at CIL and leads our Education & Training practice. He has over 20 years’ experience as a strategy consultant, with deep expertise across the global education sector.

Mark has worked with investors and education providers around the world, covering a broad range of segments including nursery (pre-K), K-12, higher education, vocational learning, and professional training. His international experience spans the UK, Western Europe, the US, India, Asia, Australia, and Africa.

Previously, Mark was a Director of Inspiring Futures Ltd, the owner of Bishopstrow College and Padworth College, and served as a Non-Executive Director of ISC Research. Mark holds a BSc (Hons) in Banking and Finance from Loughborough University of Technology and an MBA from London Business School.
 

Per Michael Johansen, Rector, Aalborg University

Per Michael Johansen is Rector and Professor at Aalborg University, which he has led since 2014. A physicist and engineer by background, he has extensive experience in academic leadership, research and innovation. His leadership focuses on institutional resilience: enabling universities to adapt proactively to technological, societal and geopolitical change while remaining true to their academic purpose and values.  

Previously, Per Michael Johansen served as Dean of Engineering at the University of Southern Denmark and Managing Director of Svendborg International Maritime Academy. He is actively engaged in European university cooperation, innovation and strengthening universities’ capacity to navigate transformation and shape societal change. 

Louise Jones, Head of Strategic Projects Portfolio and Delivery, Manchester Metropolitan University

Motivated by a passion for improving outcomes through collaboration, strategic thinking, and effective delivery, Louise is committed to turning ambitious goals into tangible results. She enjoys bringing people together around a shared vision and creating the structure, clarity, and momentum needed to achieve lasting impact. As Head of Portfolio at Manchester Met, she has played a key role in implementing University Education and Research strategies, helping to shape priorities and ensure alignment across programmes and stakeholders.

Dr Estelle King, Head of Planning and Returns, Nottingham Trent University 

Following 20 years experience as an academic and a professional service colleague, I am now leading the planning, performance and return services at NTU. I enjoy helping my colleagues in the sector to make their voices heard and build a community of practitioners.

Patric Kirchner, Partner & Global Head of Pricing

Patric is a Partner and Global Head of Pricing & Commercial Excellence at CIL Pearson Ham. He brings over 20 years of experience in strategy, management consulting, and commercial implementation across a wide range of sectors, including Higher Education.

Patric has held leadership roles at Boehringer Ingelheim, Accenture, PwC, and Simon-Kucher & Partners. He combines strategic thinking with practical delivery, helping institutions translate commercial strategy into tangible outcomes. His project work spans over 17 countries, giving him a genuinely global perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing organisations today.

Patric holds a Diploma in Business Administration (equivalent to an MSc) from the WFI – Ingolstadt School of Management and understands first-hand the value of rigorous academic grounding in driving real-world impact.

Outside of work, he is a proud father of three boys who keep him happily busy, from football matches and musicals to having the perfect excuse to play LEGO with his youngest.

Riina Koivuranta, Head of Responsibility & Wellbeing, University of Helsinki

Riina Koivuranta is the Head of Responsibility & Wellbeing at the University of Helsinki. In her work, she leads the sustainable wellbeing unit, being responsible for the goal-oriented development of the university’s responsibility, sustainability, and wellbeing efforts. In her work, she emphasises a whole institution approach as well as collaboration on national, transnational, and organisational levels. Previously, she has acted as the vice-chair of the national Finn-Arma Sustainability group, as well as the secretary of the sustainability working group under UNIFI, Universities Finland, a cooperative organisation for Finnish universities. The work done in the Unifi working group has resulted in 12 theses on sustainable development and responsibility, which represent the Finnish universities’ shared ambition and will to drive change that has a global impact.

Andreea Lupu, Strategic Projects Communications and Information Officer, Manchester Metropolitan University

Andreea drives communications across Manchester Met's strategic projects portfolio, working closely with stakeholders and communications professionals to drive engagement and collaboration. As a champion for the PMO Centre of Excellence and the Project & Change Community of Practice, she helps build dynamic professional development programs and best-practice networks. Passionate about quality and continuous improvement, Andreea delivers impactful communications that support successful project and change outcomes.

Sadie Lynch, Principal Analyst and Futures Lead, College of Policing

Sadie Lynch is Principal Analyst and Futures Lead at the College of Policing. With over 20 years' experience working across operational and strategic policing environments, Sadie brings a unique blend of practical policing insight and futures expertise. Her role involves exploring the trends, drivers of change, and uncertainties that could shape the future of policing and public safety. She works with colleagues across policing, government, academia, and other sectors to identify emerging issues, develop future scenarios, and support strategic thinking. Sadie is particularly passionate about helping organisations move from reacting to change to proactively preparing for it, enabling more resilient and informed decision-making in an increasingly uncertain world.

Vincenzo Raimo, International Higher Education Consultant

Enzo is an experienced higher education strategist with more than 25 years’ experience leading international engagement, recruitment, and transnational education initiatives.

He is the former Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) at the University of Reading and previously Director of the International Office at the University of Nottingham. Enzo now advises universities, governments, and investors on sustainable international education strategies.

He has published widely on international student recruitment, the role of agents, and sustainable models of global engagement.

Dr Melanie Rimmer, Data Analysis & Reporting Manager, Cardiff University

Dr Melanie Rimmer has worked as a data analyst at Cardiff University since 2014 since transitioning from a post-doctoral research position. Since 2022 she has managed the Analysis and Insight team within Strategic Planning, which provides performance data, analysis and institutional research to support the university in the achievement of its strategic goals. She is also a member of the steering group for the HESPA Data, Evaluation and Visualisation Special Interest Group.

Rebecca Robinson, Data Analyst, QAA

Rebecca has over 15 years’ experience in data roles across local government and higher education. She currently works for the QAA in the UK, supporting the agency by providing analysis of data from across the tertiary education sector and creating dashboards to enhance colleagues’ use of data. Prior to this she spent 7 years in various roles at Lancaster University, developing dashboards, conducting analysis and producing reports to support senior management in making evidence-based decisions.

Dr Liz Rogers, Head of Risk and Resilience, University of Strathclyde, Chair of HEBCoN

Dr Liz Rogers is Head of Risk and Resilience at the University of Strathclyde, where she provides institutional leadership on risk, business continuity and incident management. She is a member of the Steering Group for the Risk Management Special Interest Group. With over ten years’ experience in Higher Education, Liz is committed to building practical, values-led approaches to resilience that protect people, strengthen governance and support confident strategic decision-making across the organisation. Liz is also the Chair of the Higher Education Business Continuity Network (HEBCoN). 

Dr Katya Samoylova, Head of Business Information and Strategic Insights (BISI), University of Cambridge

Katya has worked for the University of Cambridge since 2011 in data reporting and analysis roles. Currently she is leading the team responsible for preparation and submission of student data returns to statutory bodies, provision of internal business information and management of student number planning and fee setting processes. She enjoys solving challenging analytical problems and delivering information and reporting solutions that help people make informed decisions. Prior to joining the University, she was a Reader in Phonetics at Newcastle University following a DPhil in Linguistics and Phonetics at Oxford, which still comes useful in all the language debates in the data governance and management space.

Robert Strick, Head of Data Engineering and AI, UCL 

At UCL I provide strategic leadership in developing UCL's future capabilities in AI and machine learning within Data & Insight. I also specialise in the technical development of analytical tools via SQL and Python to enable more advanced insight generation. I've worked at UCL for five and a half years now, prior to this I worked at the University of Brighton in the Evaluation and Policy Department. Prior to this and after the completion of my PhD, I flew drones over rivers building 3D models to better understand the complexities of sediment transport. 

Anna Tinkler, Registry Academic Data Governance Lead, University of Sunderland

Anna Tinkler is Registry Academic Data Governance Lead at the University of Sunderland, with almost 20 years’ experience in higher education. Starting her career in programme administration and faculty support, she has since led projects spanning HESA reporting, data governance and digital transformation. Today, Anna leads the Registry Academic Data Governance Unit, championing data as a strategic business asset and a catalyst for better decisions and services. She is passionate about making complex requirements accessible, driving continuous improvement and empowering colleagues with the confidence, digital capability and technological skills needed to navigate change and shape the future of higher education. 

Ben Toogood, Head of Risk and Resilience, King's College, London, Vice-chair of HEBCoN

Ben Toogood is Head of Risk and Resilience at King's College, London and is responsible for developing and embedding a more resilient, risk aware culture across the university. Ben moved into the HE sector nearly a decade ago having developed extensive experience in similar roles within local government and is passionate about building more resilient communities. Ben is also a member of the HESPA Risk SIG Steering Group and Vice-Chair of HEBCoN.

Sarah Turner, Deputy Enterprise Architect, University of Leeds

Sarah is a Deputy Enterprise Architect at The University of Leeds with over 13 years’ working in the digital sector. She has a plethora of experience in driving technical analysis, change impacting and supporting the delivery of services in a variety of IT roles spanning across government, the commercial sector and academia. Sarah's passion lies in user-centric ways of working, she is a digital inclusion advocate, strives to create more accessible services and endeavours to support digital services and experiences that truly meet user and business needs.

Adam Van Coevorden, Head of Collection Operations (HESA), Jisc

Adam Van Coevorden is Head of Collection Operations at HESA, part of Jisc, where he is heavily involved in delivering HESA's statutory data collections and leading the Liaison team, supporting providers throughout the collection cycle. During almost 14 years at HESA/Jisc, Adam has worked across and been involved in provider engagement, training, guidance, collection development, business change and operational leadership. He previously worked in and managed the Liaison team and has played a key role in major sector initiatives, including Data Futures. His focus is on ensuring collections are delivered effectively, on time, and in partnership with providers, helping institutions submit high-quality data with confidence.

Dan Wood, Chief People Officer, University of the West of England

Dan Wood is Chief People Officer at UWE Bristol, leading the university’s people and culture strategy for more than 4,000 staff and 40,000 students. He champions an inclusive, values-led culture built on trust, accountability, and purposeful leadership. With over 20 years’ experience across higher education, healthcare and policing, Dan is recognised for his principled and people-centred approach. He serves as Chair of The Scout Association and has previously been a trustee of the National Fire Chiefs Council and Quartet Community Foundation. A Fellow of several professional bodies, he is also a speaker, mentor, and advocate for integrity, equity and leadership.