Available to Advance HE Members only
Higher education is at a crossroads, student needs are evolving rapidly, technology is disrupting traditional models, and financial pressures demand innovative approaches.
Our (Re)Designing Higher Education programme connects you with global educational leaders through three focused sessions on students, workforce and institutions. You’ll gain access to cutting-edge case studies, evidence-based strategies, and opportunities to collaborate with peers to help your institution not just survive but thrive in this transformed landscape.
Bookings for the sessions are now open.
Higher education at a crossroads
The landscape is changing faster than ever.
Student needs and expectations are rapidly evolving. Digital natives demand personalised, flexible learning experiences that traditional models struggle to deliver.
AI and emerging technologies are challenging established assessment models while creating new opportunities for educational innovation.
Institutions must diversify income streams and improve efficiency while maintaining quality and regulatory compliance.
Changing job roles requires new approaches to workforce development and institutional capacity.
The imperative to improve student success rates directly impacts both financial sustainability and institutional reputation.
About the Programme
What You’ll Gain
Evidence-based strategies that deliver real results
- Global Perspectives – Learning from diverse approaches to common challenges.
- Evidence-Based Strategies – Move beyond gut instinct with actionable change to embed into educational excellence strategies.
- Peer Collaboration – Build lasting networks with education leaders who understand your challenges and share your vision.
- Resources – Access to a repository of case studies and recommendations informed by participating teams built from the sessions.
Key Programme Elements
Three Sessions, Three Transformations
Join global education leaders in reimagining the future.
Each session combines global case studies, expert insights, and collaborative planning opportunities with institutions facing similar challenges worldwide.
Sessions
Workforce: Making deliberate but good organisational choices in conditions of constraint
Date: 18 March 2026
Time: 14:30-16:00 GMT
Higher Education is facing unavoidable workforce trade-offs amid sustained financial and operational constraints. This session creates space for open discussion of the difficult design choices shaping roles, structures and institutional capacity across academic and professional services. Moving beyond incremental efficiency, it focuses on how deliberate workforce design can strengthen delivery, resilience and the ability to deliver the core mission. Participants will leave with clearer insight into how workforce configuration can better support institutional priorities amid ongoing reform.
Chair: Charles Knight
Speakers: Professor Sam Grogan, Lisa Mann and Emma Bates
Session 3: Institutions
Date: 16 June 2026
Time: 14:30-16:00 BST
Student Needs: (Re)thinking support, success and belonging in higher education
Took place on 21 January
Speakers
Dr Jummy Okoya
Associate Professor and Dean of the Office for Institutional Equity, University of East London
Jummy leads the University’s strategy for equity, inclusion and student success as a core driver of institutional sustainability and social justice.
Jim Dickinson
Associate Editor, Wonkhe
Jim Dickinson focuses on students, governance, and higher education regulation. Former NUS director and SU CEO, he also serves as a Governor and contributes to leadership programmes.
Sammy Li
Assistant Director, University of Birmingham
Dr Sammy Li is also an Executive Member of AMOSSHE. He oversees postgraduate student affairs and has a sector-wide profile on student EDI, widening participation, and inclusive education initiatives. Recently, he contributed to Advance HE’s guidance on freedom of speech.
Charles Knight
Director, Leadership, Governance & Management, Advance HE
Charles is an academic leader with a proven track record of delivery in the areas of learning teaching and enterprise. Before joining Advance HE, he was Associate Dean (Student Experience) at Salford Business School where he worked with colleagues to introduce a series of innovative practices including short technical qualifications, block teaching and an increased emphasis on the use of simulations and experimental learning.
Professor Sam Grogan
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience, University of Salford
As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience at the University of Salford, Sam holds oversight for quality and standards of the academic portfolio, executive responsibility for the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Centre within the university and executive responsibility for developing the learning philosophy underpinning the student journey.
Is this programme for you?
- Designed for educational leaders driving institutional transformation
- Institutional leadership teams
- Heads of Learning and Teaching, Workforce Development, and Digital Transformation
- Senior staff responsible for educational strategy, curriculum design, and student success
- Teams leading innovation or transformation projects in higher education.
