On Wednesday 18 November, we return to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP London) for the UK's only annual conference dedicated to independent higher education providers.
With thanks to our Conference Partner and Conference Sponsors
What to expect
Join us for a full day of insight, discussion and collaboration as we explore the key challenges and opportunities facing the independent higher education sector today. Through keynote addresses, panel discussions and breakout sessions, the conference brings together leading voices from across the sector to share insights on skills policy, regulation and quality, financial sustainability, lifelong learning, student recruitment and sponsorship, workforce reskilling, disability support, and the student voice in an age of choice.
You'll leave with:
- expert insight into the latest policy and regulatory developments
- practical perspectives on financial sustainability, quality, compliance and student success
- fresh ideas and approaches you can apply within your own organisation
- a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities shaping higher education
- valuable connections with peers, sector leaders and exhibitors (find out who's exhibiting below)
Timings
This is a full-day event, followed by an evening drinks reception and the IHE Awards 2026 ceremony.
Booking information
Your ticket includes access to the full conference programme, networking opportunities, drinks reception and awards ceremony.
This event is open to anyone to attend, with bookings made via TicketTailor.
IHE Members and Launchpad subscribers: £400+VAT
Non-members: £450+VAT
Conference programme
Download the programme below and revisit highlights from last year.
Confirmed speakers
Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith
Minister for Skills, Department for Education
Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne
Chief Executives, Office for Students
Naomi Abayasekara
Policy Advisor, Universities UK
Professor Paul Ashwin
Professor of Higher Education and Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Arts, Humanities, Management and Social Sciences, Lancaster University
Rebecca Bouckley
Student Support and Engagement Manager, Tavistock Education and Training
Lil Bremermann-Richard
Group Chief Executive Officer, Oxford International
Suzanne Carrie
Head of Equality and Welfare, Office for Students
Bishan Chapman
Former member of the IHE Student Advisory Board (2025/26) and graduate of the University of the Built Environment
James Coe
Senior Partner and Director, Counterculture Partnership LLP
Will Dent
Head of Financial Analysis, Office for Students
Professor Wendy Finlay BSc (Hons) PGCert PhD FAHEP
Pro Vice Chancellor Education and Students, University of the Built Environment
George Hastings
Co-Host, Get There One Day Podcast
Peter Hendy
Chief Executive Officer, Independent Higher Education Australia
Dr Peter Kay
Associate Dean of Academic Engagement and Partnerships, ASU London
David Kernohan
Deputy Editor, Wonkhe
Aaliyah Likuluta
Founder, LiyahTalks
Ronnie McAulay
Business Manager, Work, Study, Family & Ukraine Services, Home Office
Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, University of Derby
Nick Miller
Chief Commercial Officer, QA Higher Education
Professor Ian Palmer
Principal, Escape Studios
Nimmi Patel
Associate Director – Skills & Talent Policy, techUK
Jack Rose
Study Service Manager, Work, Study, Marriage & Citizenship, Home Office
Professor Lynette Ryals OBE
Vice-Chancellor, University of Buckingham
Joanne Roxburgh
Director, OMNES Education
Sophie Scott
Vice Apprentice Chair, South East Apprenticeship Ambassador Network
Michelle Smyth
Head of Government & External Affairs, The Open University
Alice Stapleton
Career Change Coach & Coach Supervisor
Imran Tahir
Senior Economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Charlie Wasley
Co-Host, Get There One Day Podcast
Watch 2025 highlights
What did last year's delegates say?
“I’ve worked around the independent sector for years, but days like this sharpen your understanding of the challenges - and the opportunities. Independent Higher Education is well-placed to lead on skills, innovation and lifelong learning - if the system lets it.”
“I had a brilliant afternoon at the Independent Higher Education conference. Learning from some of the sector's brightest brains, collaborating on new ideas.”
“A valuable opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the sector and reflect on the evolving landscape of higher education. The day was also a fantastic chance to network with informed and forward-thinking peers, sharing perspectives on the challenges and opportunities ahead for our institutions and the students we serve. A huge thank you to IHE for bringing the sector together for such an energising and thought-provoking event.”
Meet our exhibitors
TechnologyOne | Conference Partner
TechnologyOne is a global Software as a Service (SaaS) provider delivering enterprise solutions that simplify and transform operations. With offices across six countries, our deeply integrated SaaS platform supports over 1,300 organisations worldwide.
Our solution provides deep functionality for the markets we serve, including local government and higher education in the UK. We leverage our unique domain experience and our unwavering commitment to the industries we serve by taking complete responsibility to deliver outcomes with our best-in-class SaaS ERP. With SaaS Plus, TechnologyOne takes full responsibility for the complete outcome of the solution experience, not just the software.
Jisc | Conference 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 2,000 members, sharing threat intelligence and insights.
Perlego | Conference Sponsor
Perlego is a digital learning platform that improves the learning experience for students and empowers educators with unlimited access to over 1.5 million academic and professional books from 9,000+ leading publishers.
Alkhemy Group Ltd
Alkhemy is a social impact company dedicated to supporting organisations that represent and engage students and young people. We champion authentic student voice and place accessibility at the heart of everything we do. Alongside our consultancy and development work, we provide high-quality, independent student advice services, ensuring students can access impartial, expert support when they need it most. With deep experience across education and the charity sector, we bring both credibility and a respectfully disruptive approach to challenging and improving existing practices
Bevan Brittan LLP
Bevan Brittan is an award-winning UK top 100 national law firm. We have an exceptional team of 40+ specialist higher education lawyers. Many of our team have joined from in-house positions, enabling us to provide well informed, pragmatic legal solutions and value for money. We work with independent Higher Education Institutions, universities and colleges, providing a full range of legal services, including: education law (including public law, student disciplinary and academic misconduct processes) student welfare and complaints, corporate (including M&A, joint ventures and partnerships), commercial, employment, immigration and pensions, litigation, regulatory, IT and data protection/information law (including AI) and procurement and subsidy advice.
Celcat
Trusted by 200+ higher education providers and colleges across 30+ countries, Celcat delivers intelligent, student-centred timetabling built for a new age.
Celcat AI is the first agentic, AI-native timetabling platform, a powerful evolution of Celcat Timetabler. Cloud-native and built to integrate with your existing systems, it scales with your institution's ambitions from day one. It automatically adapts to late-stage changes, freeing your team from scheduling headaches to focus on strategy.
Our mission: redefine timetabling through intelligent automation and empower institutions to thrive in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.
EventMAP
EventMAP is an independent software and services provider specialising in optimisation, scheduling and resource management for education. Since 2002, we have partnered with institutions of all sizes, including specialist and niche providers, delivering flexible solutions tailored to their unique operational needs. Our AI-powered Optime suite helps institutions streamline planning, improve efficiency and make better use of resources. Key solutions include Timetabler for academic scheduling, Exam for assessment and invigilation management, Booker for intelligent resource booking, and Ceremonies for end-to-end graduation event management and Estate for optimising provision and usage. We combine innovative technology with a collaborative, customer-focused approach.
GatenbySanderson
GatenbySanderson is the UK’s leading people advisory firm across public services, not for profit and education. We work within complex, challenging and highly scrutinised environments to deliver executive search, interim, leadership development and consultancy.
Jobs.ac.uk
jobs.ac.uk is the UK's leading higher education job board. We connect academics, researchers, and HE professional staff with the latest career opportunities across Higher and Further Education. Advertising for 1,400+ employers and most of the world’s leading universities, jobs.ac.uk is at the leading edge of academic recruitment. We combine our experience with the latest analytical data to create advertising solutions that connect and deliver.
Whether you're an established higher education provider or new to the sector, jobs.ac.uk has the skills and experience to create engaging recruitment communications that connect. Email [email protected] and one of our sector managers will be in touch.
ParentPay Group - CEDAR
See every learner. Act at the right moment. From attendance patterns to engagement signals, CEDAR gives your team a single, clear view of what's happening across your college. So now you can intervene early to help your learners stay on track and get better outcomes with confidence.
Meet the complex demands of large student populations, diverse course structures, increased compliance needs, and the pressure to deliver efficient services and excellent learner outcomes.
Pearson
Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, helping people realise the life they imagine through learning. Pearson Test of English (PTE) is a globally recognised English language test, widely accepted by universities and colleges across the UK. It is recognised by the UK, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand governments as a secure test for visa applications. The test is computer-based, is available in over 500 test centres around the world and results are typically available within 48 hours.
Pinsent Masons
We help businesses move fast, adapt and seize opportunity. Legal expertise is our foundation, but today’s world demands more, insight, innovation and agility. We challenge convention, rethink processes and invest in technology to create smarter services and solutions. With deep multisector knowledge and global reach, we deliver practical, outcome‑focused advice clients trust. Operating as one connected international business, collaboration drives everything we do, enabling better conversations and exceptional results. With 4,000+ people, 2,200 lawyers and 30 locations across four continents, we combine global capability with local insight to shape change, not just respond to it.
QAA
QAA is a world-leading agency with over 25 years’ experience of quality assurance and enhancement. Our range of specially designed services give you access to our unmatched expertise and knowledge, helping you to ensure that students and learners have the highest possible quality of education. Higher education providers in the UK and internationally can also choose to become a QAA Member. QAA Membership delivers inspiring, innovative and developmental activities and resources for your staff and students, and can empower your institution to stand out in the UK and international higher education arenas.
Student Voice Plus
Student Voice Plus helps higher education providers turn student feedback into meaningful change. We specialise in bespoke student voice research, insight and consultancy for independent and specialist providers - helping you improve student satisfaction, strengthen retention and make confident, evidence-based decisions. From surveys and focus groups to NSS deep-dives, student voice audits and strategic reviews, we provide practical insight tailored to your size, context and budget.
Flexible, approachable and highly experienced, we help smaller, agile providers uncover what matters most to students, and act on it with confidence.
TimeEdit
Earlier this year, Simac IDS joined TimeEdit. Together, we work with UK higher education institutions to strengthen student engagement, support and continuation throughout the student journey.
The TimeEdit Academic Operations Platform brings together four connected areas: Curriculum, Workload, Scheduling and Engagement. It helps institutions plan, resource and deliver teaching more effectively, while keeping students at the centre.
Within Engagement, our Engage solution helps universities build meaningful connections with students, encourage active participation and identify those who may need additional support at an early stage. Alongside Engage, EngageChippo offers an innovative, contactless way for students to check in to teaching sessions. Whether on or off campus, EngageChippo makes attendance simple while supporting a positive and inclusive experience.
Trusted by higher education providers across the UK, TimeEdit combines sector insight with practical technology to help students stay engaged, supported and on track to succeed.
Tribal Group
Tribal provides technology and services that help independent higher education institutions manage the entire student lifecycle. From recruitment and admissions through to student records, engagement, wellbeing and reporting, our solutions support providers in delivering outstanding student experiences while improving operational capability.
Combining sector expertise with connected technology, Tribal helps institutions reduce administrative burden, gain valuable insight from their data, strengthen reporting and compliance processes, and make more informed decisions. Working with education providers across the UK, we enable organisations to adapt to change, support long-term growth and fulfil their strategic goals.
VWV
At VWV, through our expert team of lawyers and the partnerships we build, we put our clients at the forefront. Providing connected teams which are invested in client success; providing fresh perspectives to complex challenges- enabling our clients to make clear and confident decisions. We believe the way that we interact and work together enables us to build an even more warm and genuine and lasting relationships with our clients. We are not just responding to today’s legal challenges. We are anticipating tomorrow’s needs. And that is what makes us different.
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.