The IHE Annual Conference 2025 will take place at our new conference venue, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP London Events).
With thanks to our sponsors
What to expect
Our conference programme features a variety of engaging keynote speakers, panel discussions and breakout sessions covering key areas of higher education policy and sector regulation. Delegates will have the opportunity to network with sector leaders and senior staff from independent higher education providers. Revisit our highlights from last year's conference.
Reflecting on the Government's Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, this year’s programme will explore some of the most pressing questions in higher education.
Our plenary sessions will explore:
- A strategy for tertiary education and skills
- Creative tech and industrial strategy: future skills for a revolutionary present
- Systems and sandboxes: regulating for innovation, collaboration and growth
- Engines of the economy: UK regions open to the world
Our breakout sessions will cover a broad range of themes:
- Who benefits from AI in education — and who risks being left behind?
- Should higher education institutions develop strategies to compete or collaborate?
- How can the Lifelong Learning Entitlement fulfil its potential?
- Why is culture so important for higher education governance?
- What next for academic partnerships?
- How can providers mitigate risks to student completion and success?
- What are the best approaches to support effective alignment of education and immigration policy?
- How do we ensure freedom of speech is meaningful and practical in today's higher education landscape?
Agenda
View our agenda for the day.
IHE Awards 2025
In the evening, we will be celebrating excellence and innovation in independent higher education, announcing this year's winners.
Confirmed speakers
Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith
Minister for Skills, Department for Education
Professor Edward Peck CBE
Chair, Office for Students
Dr Arif Ahmed MBE
Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom, Office for Students
Sir Peter Bazalgette
Industry Co-Chair, Creative Industries Council
Dr Eliza Kozman
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, TASO
Ben Jordan
Director of Strategy, UCAS
Helena Vine
Lead Policy Officer (England), QAA
Professor Ellen Hazelkorn
Joint Managing Partner, BH Associates
Sam Sanders
Head of Education, Skills & Productivity, KPMG UK
Joan Concannon
Chief Reputation & Stakeholder Relations Officer, University of York
Mary Curnock Cook CBE
Chair, Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology
Dr Adam Saunders
Director, Oxford Data Technologies Limited
Professor James Robson
Director of Oxford University Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE)
Valentina Vlasova
Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead, OMNES Education
Dr Yanyan Li
Project Lead, AI for Study Purposes, University of Warwick
Meifang Zhuo
PhD Candidate, Student Lead, AI for Study Purposes, University of Warwick
Dr Ailsa Crum
Independent Consultant
Neil Mosley
Online and Digital Education Consultant
Cheryl Watson
VP Education, TechnologyOne
Julia Roberts
Practice Lead, Education, GatenbySanderson
Poppy Short
Partner, Mills & Reeve
Vivi Friedgut
Founder and CEO, Blackbullion
Joan Concannon
Chief Reputation & Stakeholder Relations Officer, University of York
Dr Peter Kay
Associate Dean of Academic Engagement and Partnership, ASU London
Mike Ratcliffe
Interim Senior Advisor: Regulatory & Compliance, University of the West of England
Nichola Carter
Partner, Keystone Law
Anne Morrison
Chair, Escape Studios
Dr Josh Patel
Senior Education & Policy Researcher, Edge Foundation
Jane Harris
Co-Director of Student Welfare and Support Services and Head of Counselling, University of Oxford
Deepa Chadha
Policy Advisor, UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)
Liam Earney
Managing Director of Higher Education and Research, Jisc
Sharona Friedman
President & CEO, Global Institute of Sport
June Dennis
Executive Dean, LCK Academy
Simon Nelson
Chief Executive Officer, QA Higher Education
David Willetts
President, Resolution Foundation
Dan Tinkler
Governance Development Manager, Advance HE
Dr Peter Rae
Vice Principal (Academic Quality), Nazarene Theological College
Ada Zakrzewska
Labour Market Economist, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Dr Nasser Siabi OBE
CEO, Microlink PC (UK)
Dr Patrina Law, PFHEA, FRSA
Lifelong Learning Lead, The RSA
James Pitman
Managing Director, Higher Education UK and Europe, Study Group, and Chair of the Board, IHE
Steffan Davies
Chief Executive Officer, AD Education UK, and IHE Board Member
Rachel Nicholson
Head of Institution, Academy of Live Technology, and IHE Board Member
Phil Deans
President and Vice Chancellor, Richmond American University London, and Vice Chair of the IHE Board
Musa Raja
Student, The University of Buckingham, and Independent Student Board Member and Chair of the Student Advisory Board, IHE
Marion Lowe
Chief Executive Officer, SP Jain London School of Management, and IHE Board Member
Charlotte Blant
Founder and CEO, Tiro, and IHE Board Member
What did last year's delegates say?
“Your conference is truly a hidden gem with great ideas, experience and knowledge that the wider sector could really benefit from”.
“The sessions were jam-packed with insights into the challenges and opportunities facing independent providers”.
“A fascinating day and another powerful reminder of how this diverse group of specialist providers offers something important for the UK sector”.
“Another excellent Independent Higher Education conference. Fantastic speakers and a general sense of optimism arising from the agility of the IHE community”.
Timings
This in an all-day event followed by an evening drinks reception and the IHE Awards 2025.
Booking information
Meet our Exhibitors
TechnologyOne | Platinum Sponsor
TechnologyOne is a global Software as a Service (SaaS) company. Their enterprise SaaS solution transforms business and makes life simple for universities by providing powerful, deeply integrated enterprise software that is incredibly easy to use. The company takes complete responsibility to market, sell, implement, support and run solutions for customers, which reduce time, cost and risk.
OneEducation, its student-centric, end-to-end ERP SaaS solution for the higher education sector, is used by more than 50 per cent of the UK’s universities. The comprehensive and scalable software platform integrates seamlessly, providing a holistic approach to managing finance, student records management, human resources, procurement, payroll, asset management, and other key areas of university administration.
technology1.co.uk
@TechnologyOne
Jisc | Gold sponsor
Founded for the research and education community, Jisc is a non-profit that has spent 30 years serving and championing the education sector. As the UK’s digital, data and technology agency, our services have been designed to serve the needs of education, with tight budgets, sensitive data and a duty of care.
Via Jisc, IHE Members can now benefit from affordable connectivity and advanced cyber solutions through our Janet Network. We also support providers with digital skills and data maturity, and you can enjoy cost savings via our framework agreements. Additionally, we foster thriving communities, such as our cyber community of over 1,900 members, sharing threat intelligence and insights.
Barclays
Barclays is a leading banking partner to education providers across the UK. From local nurseries to global research universities we can help deliver outstanding student experience and outcomes. Supporting businesses turning over more than £6.5m pa, Barclays Corporate Banking has the banking excellence you’d expect with the data and insights you don’t. We look beyond banking to help you see what really matters.
Through our dedicated sector and regional specialists, and the power of the wider Barclays network, we can act on those insights together. We can provide you with innovative financing solutions that help you achieve a more expansive, better-connected future for your institution.
barclayscorporate.com
@Barclays Corporate Banking
Bevan Brittan
Bevan Brittan is an award-winning UK top 100 national law firm. We have an exceptional team of specialist higher education lawyers, including 14+ partners and 40+ lawyers. Many of our team have joined from in-house higher education positions, which enables us to provide well informed, pragmatic legal solutions, while delivering value for money.
We work with independent higher education institutions, universities and colleges, providing a full range of legal services, including: education law, student welfare and complaints, corporate, commercial, employment, immigration, pensions, litigation, regulatory, IT and data protection (including AI), and procurement and subsidy advice.
bevanbrittan.com
@Bevan Brittan LLP
Ding Learning
Ding is a creative learning design agency. We build courses for universities and training providers, and run a PGCert and Masters in Creative Teaching and Learning Design. We can provide strategic guidance about curriculum development, build or iterate your courses, and develop a programme of staff development support to help you achieve your specific objectives. And we’re always happy to chat about learning!
Falmouth University
Invest in your institution’s teaching expertise with a flexible, online PGCHE from one of the UK’s leading creative universities. Falmouth University has been re-thinking the shape of higher education for 120 years and delivering high-quality online teaching since 2016, ahead of the post-pandemic trend.
Our online PGCHE enables HE colleagues to achieve this internationally recognised qualification alongside their work commitments. Condensed into just two study blocks and utilising our award-winning Virtual Learning Environment, students are supported to gain the confidence, knowledge and pedagogical fluency to respond to the rapidly evolving sector and develop as a creative, competent and committed practitioner in higher education.
falmouth.ac.uk
@Falmouth University
GatenbySanderson
GatenbySanderson is the UK’s leading people advisory firm across public services, not for profit and education. Working within complex, challenging and highly scrutinised environments we deliver executive search, interim leadership and leadership development and consultancy. Our specialist education team is relentless in their commitment to placing and developing exceptional academic and professional services leaders and non-executives, who exemplify innovation, collegiality and transformation. Whether identifying the next Vice-Chancellor, placing interims, devising top team or board development programmes, creating more inclusive teams or driving through organisational change initiatives, we partner with organisations to provide future-ready leadership, improve board performance and accelerate change.
www.gatenbysanderson.com
@GatenbySanderson
Harding Hub
We understand the challenges of working in education, which is why Harding Hub offers comprehensive support for payroll, pension, and benefits, alongside holistic wellbeing services designed specifically for educational institutions. Our clients report higher staff satisfaction, reduced turnover, and improved recruitment due to the enhanced employee value proposition we deliver.
Our services also extend to student populations, supporting a positive environment for all. Partnering with us means your university, college, or school can focus on creating environments where people are happy, healthy, and financially secure—ensuring the best for your institution and its community.
hardinghub.co.uk
@Harding Hub
jobs.ac.uk
jobs.ac.uk is the leading job board for higher education and research roles within the UK. We advertise vacancies for academic, research and professional positions at universities across the world. From advertising a single vacancy to showcasing your employer brand, we offer products to help you attract the right candidates for your organisation. Through our experience and research, we have a strong understanding of jobseeker trends, key drivers, career paths and behaviour. We use this data to improve the success of your recruitment advertising, and with this in mind, adverts on jobs.ac.uk are relevant and targeted for our audience.
Microlink
Microlink now seeks to bring our 30 years of experience in the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) and higher education sector directly to higher education providers. We aim to help institutions become more inclusive for their disabled student populations, improving retention, enhancing compliance with inclusion and accessibility requirements, and delivering affordable, rapid solutions. Our model removes barriers quickly, at lower cost, while ensuring students receive the right tools, training, and support from day one. By working in partnership with providers, we can extend our proven expertise to create sustainable, scalable inclusion strategies that benefit both students and institutions.
microlinkpc.com
@Microlink PC (UK) Ltd
Pinsent Masons
Pinsent Masons has one of the most established higher education legal teams in the UK and a long-standing national reputation for providing market leading advice to the university and private higher education sector, which has been built up over more than 20 years. They are trusted advisers to over 70 higher education providers and are ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500 and Chambers.
pinsentmasons.com
@Pinsent Masons
QAA
QAA is a leader in quality assurance in the UK and internationally. We safeguard academic standards and help enhance quality, enabling institutions to thrive, adapt and lead, ensuring students receive the highest possible quality of education. Our flexible and collaborative services can help you to address key strategic or priority areas through targeted support and training.
We are experts in supporting providers with OfS registration and achieving Degree Awarding Powers. Our members share best practice, discuss challenges, develop knowledge and keep up to date with the latest developments affecting the higher education sector. To learn more, email us at [email protected].
Simac
Simac IDS delivers cloud-based student engagement management through its Presto platform, enabling rapid deployment and real-time attendance tracking, analytics, early intervention workflows, and seamless system integration. Built for scalability and privacy, Presto supports a range of collection methods, including PrestoChippo, for secure, sustainable engagement.
Our solutions support over 280,000 students across diverse institutions, with proven success at universities. With offices in the UK and the Netherlands, we combine local expertise with sector knowledge. Simac turns data into actionable insights to streamline operations, improve retention, and support student wellbeing—delivering real impact.
Student Voice Plus
Student Voice Plus helps higher education providers better understand their students. Every higher education leader wants to improve the student experience, but developing the insights, assessing the evidence and prioritising plans is not easy. By uncovering what matters most to your students, staff and Board, we provide clear evidence that supports robust decision-making, quality enhancement and student satisfaction.
Consultancy | deep-dive insights | strategic planning | team training | segmentation | market positioning | communication and marketing. Flexible, efficient and evidence-driven, we work within your budget, scale and context to deliver practical solutions and meaningful change, ideal for smaller, agile providers.
studentvoiceplus.com
@Student Voice Plus
Tribal
We provide the expertise, software and services required to underpin student success. From enquiry to enrolment and beyond – simplify every step of your student journey with smart tech solutions that let you deliver a great learning experience.
VWV
We are dedicated to supporting higher education providers to develop and grow through strategic insights, innovation and collaborative partnerships. With a deep understanding of the complexities within the higher education sector, we provide the legal expertise needed to navigate regulatory landscapes, support academic and teaching provision, and foster productive relationships.
IHE Consultancy
Experienced. Trusted. Expert. IHE Consultants are hand-picked for their deep understanding of the independent higher education sector and their proven ability to deliver project-based support, offering tailored solutions that meet your unique needs. With expertise spanning a wide range of areas, including:
- Office for Students (OfS) registration
- Degree Awarding Powers (DAPs)
- Academic and corporate governance
- International students
- Skills and apprenticeships
2024 highlights
Watch the highlights from last year's conference at One Great George Street for a taste of what's in store.