05 May 2026 - UCISA26 Wade Cason Reflections
First and foremost, I would like to thank the UCISA team for awarding me the PlusOne bursary and the opportunity to attend the Leadership Summit in the beautiful city of Liverpool. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Ian McCracken, who first introduced me to the UCISA Support Services Group (SSG). Having attended SSG events in Newcastle and Birmingham, I found the curated sessions enormously valuable — particularly the practical takeaways applicable to the Service Operations/Customer Experience space. My experiences gave me a high regard for UCISA and the professionalism that goes into making their events so successful.
Having since moved into a leadership role as Assistant Director of Digital Experience and Service Operations, under the leadership of Matt Scott, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, attending this year's conference felt like a natural next step for my professional development. Matt, who is relatively new to the Higher Education sector, was keen for me to attend, recognising the value it would bring.
Having previously experienced the SSG events, I was genuinely looking forward to understanding the core differences the Leadership Summit would offer and how those insights would support me in my new role. In particular, I was eager to engage with strategic-level discussions — both during presentations and peer-group roundtable sessions — to understand what other leaders across the sector were thinking, doing and saying, especially in the context of navigating the challenging financial landscape that many universities currently face.
My first impressions were striking in their contrast. On one hand, many universities appeared to be struggling to keep pace with the rate of change; on the other, there were institutions that were clearly progressing confidently with transformational projects. It was evident that these forward-moving universities had little or no significant technical debt, which was enabling their transformation. It also indicated that they had made sound technology investments during more favourable financial periods.
One notable difference from the SSG events was the dynamic among attendees. At Leadership summit, I sometimes found it challenging to engage due to pre-formed groups that were difficult to break into. At the SSG events, however, I sensed considerably more energy, openness, and a genuine willingness to collaborate — which made the experience far more accessible and rewarding from the outset.
Some key take aways -
Financial pressures driving strategic prioritisation — The financial backdrop facing universities is creating a broad range of challenges, particularly around investment in remediating technical debt. This is not simply a technology issue; it is a strategic one that requires careful prioritisation to drive organisational outcomes for example, improving the teaching and learning experience.
Customer-centric technology development — There were several high-quality presentations relevant to present-day technologies, but the most important theme was the need to engage with the business and ensure that technology is developed with the customer firmly in mind. Solutions built in isolation from end users risk compounding existing problems rather than solving them.
The value of the supplier ecosystem — There was a strong presence from vendors and suppliers, with SoftCat standing out as particularly engaging with a broad catalogue of services to offer.
My top recommendation would be to come with an open mind and a clear sense of what challenges you are currently facing in your organisation. The roundtable sessions and informal conversations are where the real value lies — do not underestimate them. Resist the temptation to stay within familiar circles; instead, actively seek out peers from different institutions and sectors. The diversity of experience in the room is remarkable, and some of the most useful insights will come not from the formal agenda, but from candid conversations over coffee. Come prepared to share as much as you listen
Special thanks to the UCISA team for yet another quality event.
