Event Agenda Day 2

Coffee & Networking Break

Student Experience and Retention - using digital tools

This session will discuss how to use digital tools to support students that need it. Wrexham Glyndwr University work with a private partner who have a mental toughness tool which tests how resilient and robust students are. By using these indicators the correct support, advice and guidance can be given to the correct people.

STREAM ONE - Taking a Strategic View in Times of Short-term Adversity

In the current climate, we seem to be surrounded by a range of potential threats to the way that we do business within the higher education sector. The ensuing uncertainty can lead university executives and governing bodies to batten down the hatches and prepare to ride out the forecasted storm. In doing so, are they missing the chance without being reckless to take opportunities that will position their institutions to succeed in the longer-term and in line with their institutional strategic goals? Much depends on the institutional risk appetite, but history has at times shown us that the potential exists to take a considered view of the nature of any impending crisis to use the prevailing conditions to medium and long-term advantage.

STREAM TWO - A New Financial Reporting Mechanism for Colleges

The Education and Skills Funding Agency allocates and pays public money to all colleges in England. With a new Insolvency framework coming into force and the ending of Exceptional Financial Support, the agency is placing greater emphasis on risk assessment and prevention of financial distress. In this session, representatives of the ESFA will outline a project to overhaul existing financial reporting structures and systems to make them more insightful, timely and resistant to change. We will cover the user research, design, testing and deployment of elements and what is planned for the future.

Facilitating Personalised Ubiquitous Learning Using Smart Digital Technologies – A 2030 preview

Personalised education recognises that “no one size fits all”. A Personalised learning environment can be seen as an entirety with people and physical, technological, psychological, social and cultural resources. Within such an environment learning emerges through a process of enquiry and reflection. The NMC 2015 Horizon report categorised ‘Personalised Learning’ as a difficult challenge as it was not adequately supported by technology or pedagogical practices in 2015 and was impeded by nascent scientific and data driven approaches to facilitate personalisation. In his presentation, Dr Chatterjee will explore and try to unbundle the complexities around personalisation. He will share current evidence to demonstrate if techno- pedagogical advances have indeed translated to provide meaningful personalised educational journey for learners in 2019. He will also share insights on how University of Plymouth is redefining its digital education strategy in preparation for the learners of 2030 and beyond.

Solution Provider Case Study

Solution Provider Case Study - Stream 1/2/3/4

Efficiency Brunch

Topic led roundtables around efficiency challenges in your organisation

Business Meetings

Moving to Digital by Default - paper-light ways of working at the University of Bristol

Historically based from a single central campus, the University of Bristol now operates from multiple locations across the city, to accommodate rapidly increasing staff and student numbers. Achieving this transformation required changes in working practices and organisation culture, enabled by new digital technologies.

Bristol selected Microsoft Office 365 to provide an integrated technology suite and launched an ambitious Digital Workspace Programme to enable staff and students to work and study any time, any place, on any device.

Bristol have achieved a culture where all staff, academic and professional, freely share full details of calendar appointments with each other. Professional services staff now operate from laptops from any location, replacing previous offices and fixed desks. The changes in working practices provided the largest challenges, but also the greatest benefits. Nick Skelton lead
the Digital Workspace Programme at University of Bristol and now advises other institutions on their digital transformations. He will share what worked, what didn’t work, and the learning from this journey.

Listening to the Student Voice

What do we mean when we talk about the Student Voice? Typically, universities run Student Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs) and elect or appoint Student Representatives. Often, attendance at SSLCs is patchy; often, students reps feel unsupported or misinterpret their role. At De Montfort University, they are working on turning up the volume of the Student Voice by redefining the ‘rep’ role as a consultant role, seeing their students as able to provide first-hand expertise in what it means to be a student today and how to then develop their offer for the students of tomorrow.

Panel Session - Recognising and Rewarding Teaching Excellence

Teaching and learning is the bedrock of every higher education (HE) provider. This core academic activity has received renewed focus recently as a consequence of significant changes to the HE landscape, including the introduction of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) and the establishment of the Office for Students. This session will consider the valuable contribution of teaching and learning to the success of a university, describe ways in which we can measure success and impact of teaching and learning, and provide an analysis of the advantages and challenges of the TEF, including subject-level TEF, for UK HE.

Chair’s closing remarks

Coffee & Networking Break

Lunch