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.
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.
International recruitment, reputation management and the need for global perspectives have never been more critical.
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
Institutions
(Re)thinking structure, strategy and sustainability in higher education
Date: 16 June 2026
Time: 14:30-16:00 GMT
Higher education institutions are under increasing pressure to rethink how they are organised, governed and sustained. This session explores how institutional models must evolve in response to financial constraints, technological disruption, and changing expectations from students, staff and regulators.
Through provocations from sector leaders, participants will examine:
- The future shape and purpose of the university as an institution
- New organisational and governance models to support agility and resilience
- How institutions can balance financial sustainability with educational quality and mission
- The role of partnerships, globalisation and diversification in institutional strategy
The session will combine insight, peer exchange and structured reflection to support leaders in reimagining institutional design over the next 3-5 years.
Workforce
Making deliberate but good organisational choices in conditions of constraint
Took place on 18 March 2026
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
Student Needs: (Re)thinking support, success and belonging in higher education
Took place on 21 January 2026.
Higher education is experiencing significant shifts in who students are, what they need, and how they experience learning and institutional life. This session invites institutional leaders and practitioners to step back and critically reflect on how well current approaches are aligned with today’s realities.
The session will include short provocations from senior sector leaders, offering perspectives on:
- The changing nature of student need and expectation
- Persistent challenges around access, wellbeing, belonging and progression
- Where sector responses may need to evolve over the next 3–5 years
The format is highly interactive, combining expert insight, peer discussion and applied reflection to support strategic thinking and institutional learning.
Speakers:
- Jim Dickinson
- Dr Sammy Li
Speakers
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.
Dr 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.
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.
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.
