The Future of Higher Education 2021
Online Event 27 April 2021, 9:00am - 29 April 2021, 2:00pm
Day 1
9:00am
Online Registration
9:30am
Chair’s Welcome Address
Dr Paul Marshall, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Careers & Enterprise, University of East London
9:40am
Special Address: The Future Of Higher Education Post Covid-19
- Funding: the cost implications of stabilising the sector in the short and medium-term
- Using government funding to increase R&D and upgrade research facilities
- The future of delivering courses using a blended learning approach
- The importance of student wellbeing and diversity and inclusion
Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice Chancellor, University of East London
10:00am
Keynote Address: Flexible Futures: Higher Education Quality Post-Pandemic
- The impact of the pandemic on quality assurance in higher education
- The post-pandemic demand for flexible learning pathways and alternative modes of delivery
- The importance of flexible quality assurance within diverse systems – both within the UK and internationally
- Partnerships and collaboration between higher and further education
Douglas Blackstock, Chief Executive Officer, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
10:20am
Preparing For The Pandemic: Keeping Students Safe During An Unsettled Term
- Maintaining a close relationship between neighbouring universities and working in partnership with the local police force, NHS trusts, councils and colleges
- Taking a whole community approach to focus on mental health and wellbeing around transition periods in higher education
- Prioritising the availability, speed and capacity to offer reliable testing
- Reducing occupancy in halls of residence and restricting students from mixing households indoors
- Understanding the impact of the pandemic on students’ mental health and tailoring support
Dr Greg Walker, Chief Executive Officer, MillionPlus
10:40am
Questions And Answers Session
11:05am
Break and Networking
11:35am
Higher Education After COVID: Assessing The Impact And Considering The Changes That May Occur
- Recognising that COVID is not the only big change affecting higher education: the impact of Brexit
- Considering the many changes that have affected higher education over the last five years
- The impact of the crisis in further weakening institutions that were previously financially weak
- The reduction in money for teaching each student and the change in student expectations for their higher education experience
- The effect on the residential model and the student accommodation market
Nick Hillman, Director, Higher Education Policy Institute
11:55am
Navigating the Changing Higher Education Landscape Through Innovation
Ben Nelson, Founder, Minerva Project
12:15pm
Higher Education: The Risk Landscape
- The impact of the pandemic on how HEIs manage risk;
- Updating your risk profile;
- What the future holds;
Phil Webster, Executive Director, Gallagher
12:35pm
Questions And Answers Session
1:00pm
Chairs Summary and Close
Day 2
9:00am
Online Registration
9:30am
Chair’s Welcome Address
John Macklin, Director of Careers & Enterprise & Programme Leader in HE Teaching and Learning, University of East London
9:40am
Keynote Address: Maximising Universities’ Contribution To The Economy, Communities And Post Virus Recovery
- The need for investment from government to protect the student interest, maintain research capacity and ensure that universities can play a central role in the UK’s economic and social recovery following the crisis
- Providing stability to UK students entering in 2020-21 by introducing a one-year stability measure
- Mitigating the impact on the supply of highly skilled employees and preserving student choice
- Maximising value to the taxpayer and meeting the skills need of the economy
Chris Hale, Director of Policy, Universities UK
10:00am
Keynote: Identifying The Best Technology-Enabled Learning, Teaching And Assessment And Building And Expanding Them For 2021-22 And Beyond
- Developing a hybrid, blended learning model for students to enable flexibility for students
- Embedding technological practice effectively and sustainable at scale to build a solid base to thrive in the future
- Bringing the sector together and using the collective experience gained during lockdown to set out a roadmap for the use of digital technologies
- Ensuring that universities have strong leadership and culture to change the way they operate
Paul Feldman, Chief Executive, Jisc
10:20am
Case Study: Working With Industry To Collaboratively Turn Expertise And Business Ideas Into Innovative Products, Services And Processes
Professor Marc Davis, Visiting Associate Professor of Practice, University of East London
10:40am
Questions And Answers Session
11:05am
Break and Networking
11:35am
A Model for Embedding Employability into the Curriculum - How to Make Students Employable
- The importance of forming the right teaching team, supplemented with specialist industry input
- Supporting the students’ journey through focussed tutoring, self-directed progression and reflection
- Designing a future facing curriculum that prepares students for the world, as it will be, rather than as it has been, to include assessment outputs to wow industry
- Unconventional classrooms, take the learning opportunities to the industry
Maria Malone, Principal Lecturer for Fashion Business, Manchester Metropolitan University
11:55am
Case Study: Developing The NTU Student Dashboard As A Learning Analytics Resource Used By Students And Staff
- Measuring students’ engagement with their course by calculating scores from VLE access, library usage, card swipes and assignment submissions
- Prompting tutors to contact students when their engagement drops off
- Developing the dashboard to achieve key institutional objectives
- Reducing ethical concerns about the use of student data through transparency and a close partnership approach
- Extending the culture of data-driven decision making across the university
David Woolley, Director of Student and Community Engagement, Nottingham Trent University
12:15pm
The Impact of Covid on Transnational Education and the Move to On-line Learning
- The situation
- The challenge
- Some resolution
- Underlying questions
Rebecca Page-Tickell, Director of Education and Experience, University of East London
12:35pm
Questions And Answers Session
1:00pm
Chairs Summary and Close
Day 3
9:00am
Online Registration
9:30am
Chair’s Welcome Address
John Macklin, Director of Careers & Enterprise & Programme Leader in HE Teaching and Learning, University of East London
9:40am
Keynote Address: Analysing The Impact Of Covid-19 On University Admissions In The UK And The Outlook For The Future
- The increase in the number of undergraduate students from outside the UK and the EU and the outlook post Brexit
- Observing record numbers of first-year students coming from disadvantage areas in the UK
- Setting a new record for the overall proportion of the UK’s 18-year-olds entering higher education following three years of falling enrolments
- Increasing access to lifelong learning and managing the future impact of COVID-19
- Analysing patterns and trends in demographics to predict future admissions patterns
Clare Marchant, Chief Executive, UCAS
10:00am
The Future Face of Student Recruitment in a (Post-Covid) Changing Landscape
- The immediate impact of Covid on the UK Higher Education market
- The shift from traditional markets to a more dynamic and diverse product offer
- The impact of the policy and regulatory landscape
- The challenges facing Student Recruitment in a changing environment
- Opportunities for universities in a post-Covid world
- Highlights of Teesside University’s response to the changing landscape
David Hudson, Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing, Teeside University
10:20am
Keynote Address: Creating a Sustainable Future in Higher Education Through Leadership
Alison Johns, Chief Executive Officer, Advance HE
10:40am
Questions And Answers Session
11:05am
Break and Networking
11:35am
Beyond Beer and Circus on the Front Porch: The Role of Sport and Physical Intelligence in 21st Century Student Experiences
- Engagement in sport, physical activity and active lifestyles has much to offer today’s students
- Yet…levels of participation (and therefore benefit to students) are influenced by a range of social and structural factors and universities need to work hard to ensure that opportunities are relevant and inclusive to all
- In particular, the role of ‘the physical’ in learning and development needs to be foregrounded as an enabler for personal fulfilment and student outcomes
- This presentation includes examples of work at UEL within the ground breaking “East London Global Sport Strategy” and provides food for thought for those looking to utilise sport as a vehicle for both institutional and student enhancement.
Dr Ian Pickup, Pro Vice Chancellor (Education & Experience) and Chief Operating Officer, University of East London
11:55am
Developing A New Model Of Higher Education Based On Public-Private Partnerships And Investment In Student-Centric Outcomes
Rajay Naik, Chief Executive Officer, Skillled Education
12:15pm
Case Study: Developing Student Accommodation Arrangements To Support Students Living And Studying Together During The Pandemic
- Ensuring that students can be kept in small groups of regular interaction and reducing the number of students living in student accommodation
- Waiving final-term accommodation fees for students who chose to return to their family homes and reducing fees for those who chose to stay
- Working together with the Students’ Union to support private sector student tenants and signpost relevant advice and support services
- Working with contractors and liaising with private landlords to manage essential repairs and maintenance and deal with queries related to student finances
- Organising virtual events and activities for students living on campus or near the university
Liz Barnes, Vice Chancellor, Staffordshire University
12:35pm
Questions And Answers Session
1:00pm
Chairs Summary and Close
1:00pm
Consultation