AHEP Regional Symposium 2024

Considering the bigger picture: The importance of Higher Education Policy for Professional Services

Delivered by Liam Conway, Hugh Baird College and Martin Lowe, The University of Central Lancashire. Understanding the context of a changing policy landscape, in any role within the sector, can give you the insight to contribute, innovate and progress further with your career. 

This session will present the benefits of regularly keeping up to date with higher education policy changes, and how a deeper understanding of where key developments come from, and where they are heading to next, can lead to higher fulfilment within your current role and increase opportunities throughout your career.

We Don’t Need No (Secondary/Further) Education? 

Delivered by Jake Harding, Manchester Metropolitan University. This workshop will explore applying lessons learnt from the post-pandemic secondary/further student experience to higher education. The session will also facilitate engaging with the wider context of the education sector and working together to understand the pressures on secondary/further students and colleagues, see how this translates as emerging trends in higher education and how we can collaborate as a wider community to address national issues and support the student experience.

Focus: insight into the developing crises in schools/colleges in terms of absence, attainment, funding, recruitment, retention and wellbeing, further exacerbated by the pandemic period, and the consequential impacts on higher education.

It’s not location, location, location: moving to a remote matrix management model

Delivered by Felicity Morley, Coventry University. In December 2020 CU Group Registry (part of Coventry University) moved from a site-based model of support for Registry activity to one that was not dependent on location. In this session we will present how we managed this process, how it has affected stakeholders, the challenges we’ve faced and the biggest wins along the way, as well as our reflections 4 years on. 

Areas covered: Background and context , Biggest wins, Biggest challenges, What we didn’t expect, Reflections as individuals . There will also be the opportunity for colleagues to ask any questions they may have should this be something they are considering implementing at their own institutions. 

Autistic Voices: considering the view of neurodivergent students.

Delivered by Kelly Jeffery, Keele University. The key focus of this session will be to highlight some of the key areas in which autistic students feel they need further support and to increase awareness of some of the difficulties autistic people face on a daily basis.  This session will therefore better equip people to support their neurodivergent colleagues, friends, members of their team and students.  It will also allow for better awareness of autism within policy writing. 

From Records to Revolutions!

Delivered by Hannah McAuliffe – Project Transform Programme Manager – Edge Hill University. The Transform team recognise the importance of Community and Collaboration in achieving project success. Acknowledging that everything that happens within Universities is a process or a series of processes, which may be contained within one department, cross-functional or university-wide and that success will be determined by how well these processes work/ work together, the team are taking a Lean Agile transformational approach, underpinned by the belief that single methodologies cannot be effective alone.

Colleagues will be recommended to join this session to discover how the Lean Agile method compliments Community and Collaboration and supports Project Transform colleagues achieve their goals.

The Case for Data Devolution

Delivered by George Aird, Edge Hill University. This session will ask, what can be gained from giving staff more autonomy, and better access to data? It encourages professional support to think, outside of headline regulatory metrics (withdrawal; recruitment; B3) and consider what data is being collected and recorded by their team. Following the exploration of what data sharing can mean in 2024, it will also give some practical examples about how local data has can be used.

Nurturing the Next Generation: Supporting Young Professionals in Higher Education .

Delivered by Jennifer Thompson – MARS Project Administrator Lancaster University. Objectives: 
– exploring the challenges faced by young professionals.  
– sharing strategies and resources for professional development, career advancement and work life balance, both for young professionals and those experienced in higher education.  
– discuss the role of universities and higher education bodies in fostering a supportive environment for young professionals.  
– facilitate networking between young professionals and experienced mentors, bringing a sense of community and collaboration