UCISA25 Leadership Conference
Primary Sponsor
Date
18 March 2025
19 March 2025
20 March 2025
Book Before
11 March 2025
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About the Event
The illustrious city of Brighton and Hove will be the destination of our flagship event the UCISA25 Leadership Conference.
We hope that fresh sea air, inspiring speakers, thought provoking content, and the opportunity to network with your peers will provide just the tonic we all need to face the future with confidence.
With it's majestic Regency squares and crescents, iconic Royal Pavilion and famous piers, Brighton is welcoming and diverse city with a passion for culture, creativity and sustainability as it is for its historic landmarks.
We can not wait to get there and are very much looking forward to seeing you all in Brighton!
Want to know why you should attend, quotes from UCISA24 bursary recipients explain just that!
"New to Higher Education, I knew UCISA24 could provide that invaluable context across the full breadth of the sector....The diversity of the programme for UCISA24 and the high quality of speakers and presenters gave me an accelerated learning experience. I came away feeling like I was no longer an imposter and could speak with authority on the collective priorities and challenges that are facing us in HE. "
"First impressions were of an event which demonstrated immense value for money and pitched just perfectly. Long enough to be able to really immerse yourself in the conference to add real value but equally just long enough to grant time back in the office to continue with the day job. It was immediately clear that the event had been exceptionally well thought through, with high attention to detail throughout. "
"The conference itself was a great example of bringing together people from across the industry to discuss and explore common challenges. I was able to talk to other attendees about some of my personal challenges and build a valuable network of contacts that I will use in the future. Overall, I left the conference feeling motivated, inspired, challenged, and with a sense of ‘we’re not alone’ and we can overcome this together. "
Event Schedule
Tuesday
Chair: Emma Woodcock, CIO York St John University
Exhibition opens
Registration opens
Pre-conference session with Axians
Network Observability as a Service (NOaaS): Transforming Campus Networks into Strategic Assets
(In Syndicate Room 4)
Carlos Delgado, Head of Service Design and Chris Gilmour, CTO, Axians UK
Newcomers session
Iain McCracken, Director of IT Service Delivery, The London School of Economics and Political Science
If this is your first UCISA conference, or your first for awhile, please join us for an informative session to discover how to make the most of your experience at the conference and meet other first-time attendees.
In Syndicate room 2
Lunch
in the ExhibitionWelcome and introductions
Emma Woodcock, CIO York St John University and UCISA Chair and Deborah Green, CEO, UCISAMeet the exhibitors - Buzzer Session
Celebrity Service
Geoff Ramm, Inspirational Keynote Speaker, Author & Creator of Celebrity ServicePrimary sponsor welcome
Valerie Singer, General Manager, AWS Global EducationDelivering Student Equity with a Next-Generation Campus
- Chrisina Jayne, Dean, School of Computing and Digital Technologies, Teesside University
- Andrew Gill, Deputy Director IT & Digital Services, Teesside University
- Andrew Proctor, Executive Lead, UK Higher Education, Amazon Web Services & Visiting Professor of Digital Innovation, Staffordshire University
Refreshments
including sessions on the Demo Stage
hosted by Will Allen, Deputy Director Engagement and Major Accounts, Jisc
- 14:30 - Jisc
Jisc learning analytics: the next chapter
James Hodgkin, Head of Analytics at Jisc - 14:45 - Galvia AI
Smart, Scalable Student Support: The AI Demo You Can't Miss
John Clancy, CEO, Galvia AI - 15:00 - CGI
The Future of Higher Education Runs on Enterprise Service Management
Sonja Browning-Page, HE Director Consulting Expert, CGI
Institutional showcases
- From projects to services: Getting the foundations in place
Elliot Boakes and Imogen Morten-Spencer, University of the Arts London
(in Syndicate Room 3) -
Macro and micro transformations - making digital happen
Fraser Muir and Tricia Moscati, Heriot-Watt University
(the Auditorium) -
Making HE more user-centred through the power of community – lessons learned from the UCISA UX Group
Emma Horrell, University of Edinburgh and Joseph Talbot, University of Oxford
(in Syndicate 2)
Travel time
Partner showcases
- TechnologyOne
EdTech scepticism and change fatigue – overcoming legacies to drive meaningful and positive change. How the journey really feels!
- Alex Jones, Director of Academic Services, University of Lincoln
- Cheryl Watson, VP Education, TechnologyOne
- John Drew, Industry Director, TechnologyOne
- Olivia Roberts, General Manager Student Management
- Michael Mercer, Registrar, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
- Stuart Hildyard, Chief Digital Officer, Victoria University
- Steve Bowden, Director of Learning and Information Services, University of Chester
- Trevor Powis, Director of Digital Transformation and Technology, University of Buckingham
- ServiceNow
Setting a new standard for Student Admissions at The Royal College of Art - The ServiceNow/EY Partnership
- Heather Akif, Chief Operating Officer, Royal College of Art
- James King, Director of Technology;, Royal College of Art
- Seema Kisnay, Deputy Director of Digital Products, Royal College of Art;
- Nicola Bamford, Local Public Services Partner and UK&I HE Consulting Lead, EY James Clarke, Higher Education Lead, ServiceNow
- TATA Consultancy Services
AI-driven Service Delivery Transformation at The University of Warwick
- Raja-Saleem Javaid, Chief Information & Transformation Officer, University of Warwick a
- Priyanka Sethi, Head of Education Strategy, TATA Consultancy Services
Travel time
Meet the exhibitors - Buzzer Session
What’s worth worrying about when leading technology
Sir Chris Husbands, Director, Higher Futures
Interviewed by
- Emma Woodcock, CIO, York St John University
- Adrian Ellison, Pro Vice-Chancellor (People and Digital), University of West London
Close of Day 1
Networking drink reception
in the Exhibition
sponsored by Qolcom
Close of networking drinks
Pre- Dinner Drinks Reception
at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange
Sponsored by Technology1
Informal dinner
at the Corn ExchangeWednesday
Morning Chair: Karen Bates. Deputy Chief Digital and Information Officer. London Business School
Afternoon Chair: Nick Gilbert, Chief Information Officer. London School of Economics
Breakfast session with TechnologyOne
Opportunity and Impact: Why the future of integrated academic operations will be game-changing.
(In Syndicate Room 2)
- Olivia Roberts – General Manager, Student Management – TechnologyOne
- Brian Clark – General Manager, Curriculum - CourseLoop
- Ben Rogers, Vice-Chair Academic Registrars’ Council
- Steve Bowden Director of Learning and Information Services, University of Chester
Welcome to Day 2
Meet the exhibitors - Buzzer session
Refreshments
including sessions on the Demo Stage- 10:05 - TechnologyOne
Coherent Compliance with TechnologyOne's Student Management
Sarah Cassidy, Senior Presales Consultant and Chris Hart, Product Presales Manager - 10:20 - ManageEngine
From Legacy to a 360° transformation of IT infrastructure in Education Sector
Padmanabhan K alias Paddy, Technical Consultant, ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corporation - 10:35 - SEAtS Software
Smart Campus in Action: Seamless Space, Attendance & Asset Management with SEAtS ONE & Juniper Mist
Cal O'Donovan, Head of Business Development, SEAtS ONE; and Jami
Partner showcases
- Acquia/manifesto
Tech (Might) Save Us: A Low Carbon Approach to Digital in Higher Education
Ant Hadley, Digital Strategist and Paul Peet Business Design Director, manifesto
(In Syndicate Room 3) - CGI
Creating Lasting Value through meaningful a Partnership
Claire Taylor, Director of Information Services, Edinburgh Napier University; and Tom Runge, Consulting Director, CGI
(in the Auditorium) - Google
Driving Academic Innovation with Google Technology
Anna Artemyeva, Head of Education - UK, Ireland, Italy, DACH, Central Asia, Google and James King, Director of Technology, Royal College of Art
(in Syndicate Room 4)
Travel time
Embedding an empowered values focused culture in order to support team workplace health and wellbeing
Alison Harding, Executive Head of Library and Learning Resources, University of Wales Trinity Saint DavidMeet the exhibitors - Buzzer Session
Lunch
including sessions on the Demo Stage- 12:15 - ICS.AI
AI-Powered Learning - A Live Demo of SMART: Teaching and Learning in Action
Sam Spencer, Business Analyst, ICS.AI - 12:30 - AWS
Beyond Physical Labs: Transforming Student Learning with AWS EUC
Nityanand Singh, Sr EUC Solutions Architect, AWS - 12:45 - Academic Software
Streamlining Digital Access in Education
Andreas Van Assche, Solutions Architect - 13:00 - DTP Group
Simplify multicloud management with self-service provisioning and unified control with DTP and HPE Morpheus
Sam Barry, HE Account Manager, DTP Group
Lessons from a University Merger in Australia: Putting curriculum management first
- Professor Carol Miles, Project Lead, Curriculum Management System Implementation, Adelaide University (Australia)
- Clare Forde, Senior Project Manager, Curriculum Management System Implementation, Adelaide University (Australia)
What's happening in UK higher education, and what does it mean for IT professionals?
David Kernohan, Deputy Editor, WonkHETravel time
Institutional showcases
- How to set up your Student Information System Implementation Project on the right footing
Kristiane Kronsbein and Jo Corbett, University of Sussex
(Auditorium 1) - How CIOs Can Lead Digital Transformation and Foster Innovation
Nick Leake and John Butterworth, King's College London
(Syndicate 2) - UCISA Digital Research Community
Henrik Brogger, Director of Digital Operations and Service Delivery, University of Reading
(Syndicate 3) - Enterprise Architecture without borders: international collaboration to support higher education
UCISA Enterprise Architecture Committee
(Syndicate 4)
Refreshments
including sessions on the Demo Stage- 15:15 - Methods
Addressing research challenges with Bizdata platform
Ryan Payton, PhD, Account Technology Strategist – Research, Microsoft
In Conversation With....a COO Panel
Chaired by James Crooks, CIO, Durham University- Andrew Young, COO, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Peter Taylor, COO, University of Greenwich
- Rob Hickey, COO, York St John University
- Heather Akif, Chief Operating Officer, Royal College of Art
- Eileen Schofield, Chief Operating Officer, University of Stirling
Thought Leadership Roundtable Discussion
Chaired by Emma Woodcock, CIO, York St John University-
Boosting productivity through AI
Led by Dan Roberts, CIO, SOAS, University of London - Shared services – innovation or erosion of independence?
Led by Russell Boyatt, Director of Enterprise Architecture & Innovation, University of Warwick - Are collaboration and AI the route to Lifelong learning?
Led by Richard Michel, Chief Information & Digital Officer, University of London - Sector in crisis – what's the way out?
Led by Adrian Ellison, Pro Vice-Chancellor (People and Digital), UWL - AI in Academia – menace, nuisance and opportunity
Led by Paul Westmore, CDIO, Swansea University
Close of Day 2
Conference dinner drinks reception
Conference dinner followed by the UCISA25 Awards Ceremony
at the Brighton CentreThursday
Chair: James Crooks, Chief Information Officer, Durham University
Welcome of Day 3
Get Future-Ready: Building a Digitally Mature Workforce at Your University
Tracey Jessup, Chief Transformation and Resources Officer; and Melanie Fowler, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, De Montfort UniversityUCISA Dragon's Den
Chaired by David Skyers, Director of Enterprise Applications, SOAS University of London- Budding entrepreneurs
Alma Shala, Associate Director of Digital Technologies, Goldsmiths University
John Harris, Director of Products and Supplier Engagement, King's College London
Daniel Roberts, Chief Information Officer, SOAS University of London - Dragons
David Telford, Executive Director of Information Services, University of Stirling
Adrian Ellison, Pro Vice-Chancellor (People and Digital), University of West London
Claire Lanario, Head of IT Governance & Business Partnering, SOAS University of London
Cultivating collaboration for strategic change using Jisc’s framework and maturity model for digital transformation
Chair: Sarah Knight, head of learning and teaching transformation, Jisc
- Martin Whiteside, Pro Vice Chancellor Digital Transformation, University of Worcester
- Rachael Johnson-Duval, CIO, Bath Spa University
- Paul Sinnock, Interim Director Information Services, University of Kent
- Baba Sheba, Director of Digital Transformation, City St George’s, University of London
Refreshments
How to Survive a Cyber Incident - Panel Session
Chaired by James Smith, CIO, Middlesex University- Simon Corbett, CIO Northumbria University
- Mat Flower, (Interim) Deputy Director and Head of Digital Architecture & Information Security, University of Wolverhampton
- Nathalie Czechowski CIO University of South Wales
- Suraj K Uturaju, Director of IT Services, University of West London
Change your team’s behaviours to accelerate digital transformation
Simon Hill, Senior Executive Partner, GartnerLeadership for the future, not for the now
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBEClosing remarks
Conference close followed by lunch and networking
Other Sponsors
Other Info
Prices - Why attend UCISA25
- Business justification letter
- Venues and travel
- Walkthrough of the venue
- Pre-conference sessions
- Day 1 plenary sessions
- Demo stage
- Day 1 institutional abstracts
- Day 1 partner showcases
- Breakfast session
- Day 2 partner showcases
- Day 2 plenary abstracts
- Day 2 institutional abstracts
- Day 3 plenary abstracts
- PlusOne Bursary Scheme
Exhibitor Information
UCISA Group
- UCISA Board of Trustees
- UCISA
