UCISA24 Leadership Conference

...
Booking Closed

Primary Sponsor

Date

13 March 2024

14 March 2024

15 March 2024

Book Before

6 March 2024

Venue

EICC, Edinburgh

About the Event

UCISA24 Leadership Conference

We are returning to the iconic City of Edinburgh for the 2024 UCISA Leadership Conference.

Having nurtured some of the greatest minds in subjects such as philosophy, architecture and literature for centuries, Edinburgh is a city renowned for inspiration and innovation. Often referred to as the ‘Festival City’, Edinburgh offers a year-round programme of arts and cultural events.

Be sure to save the dates and bookmark this page for updates on our flagship conference over the next few months!

Want to know why you should attend then watch this video recorded at UCISA22

 

 

 

 

Speakers

Person smiling at the camera

Maggie Alphonsi

person holding a mic talking into it

Dr Eleanor Drage

Senior Research Fellow

University of Cambridge

person smiling at the camera

Kate Swanborg

SVP, Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances

Dreamworks

person smiling at the camera

Linnea Williams

Director of Communications Technology

Stanford University

person looking at the camera

Penny Mallory

former British Rally Championship driver

More Info

Penny Mallory is a former Rally Champion and the first and only woman in the world to drive a World Rally Car for Ford. Although her interest began with automotive performance, her passion quickly shifted to human performance and Mental Toughness.

Now, as a leading Authority on Mental Toughness, Penny is a TEDX speaker, and delivers keynotes, webinars and workshops to help individuals, teams and organisations to develop their confidence, commitment, focus and determination.

As a troubled, runaway homeless teenager, she hit rock bottom in London. Against all the odds, she turned her life around and made the impossible possible to become a Champion Rally Driver. Her own life experience means she is well equipped to work inside and alongside many world class teams (including F1) to develop the qualities a high performing team needs to succeed.

Penny has presented many TV shows including Driven, Used Car Roadshow, World Rally Championship and has hosted hundreds of events. She continues to challenge what conventional thinking says she simply can’t - from competing in multiple marathons, enter the boxing ring twice, conquering two of the world’s highest mountains….and now she is preparing to row the Atlantic in Dec 2023.

person looking at the camera

Jason Oliver

Chief Digital Transformation Officer

University of Sussex

More Info

Jason Oliver joined University of Sussex in September 2018 as Director of IT and was tasked with shaping the strategic leadership and direction of IT Services. His remit has since grown to cover wider transformation initiatives including the creation of Sussex Projects which covers all capital investment across the institution, forming and embedding the University’s sustainability team leading Sussex to a top 4% global ranking in its first THE Impact submission, and by becoming a Board Member at Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF) – the University’s total facilities management (TFM) joint venture with Mitie.

Prior to this he was Director of IT at the Science Museum Group, where he built a sector-leading team and delivered a large-scale transformation agenda and step-change in organisational culture. Before this he was at Royal Opera House, where he helped to deliver their biggest ever technology modernisation programme.

In each of the past 5 years, Jason has been named one of CIO UK’s top 100, celebrating the UK’s most disruptive and transformative technology leaders, he is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, and he is a Governor at a local primary school.

Man with beard and glasses smiling

David Goddard

Head of Digital Student Experience (Information Services Division)

University College London

More Info

David Goddard, Head of Digital Student Experience at UCL. David has 20 years experience working in the HE sector and his goal is to improve the life and learning outcomes of all students using digital technology.

person looking at the camera

Margo Urban

Head of Application Development and Support

London Business School

More Info

A servant leader experienced in application development and product management, with almost a decade of experience at notable organisations like London Business School and Anthony Nolan. Skilled in strategic thinking, team leadership, and quality assurance, with a proven track record of driving innovation and excellence in technology-focused roles.

decorative

David Conway

Deputy Technical Director

University of Sunderland

More Info

David has been at Sunderland for over 24 years and, has the responsibility for technical support comprising University IT, Academic Technical Support, Information Governance, Cyber Security, Business Resilience, and Programme Management Office.

person smiling at the camera

Emma Horrell

User Experience Manager

University of Edinburgh

More Info

Emma co-chairs the UCISA UX Group and heads up the UX Service within Learning, Teaching and Web Services at the University of Edinburgh. She’s interested in helping colleagues understand the positive impact UX can have and encouraging the holistic adoption of user-centred practices and approaches within Higher Education.

black and white head and shoulders shot of a man

Ben Watson

Head of Digital Accessibility

UCL

More Info

Ben Watson, Head of Digital Accessibility at UCL. He has experience of working with all UK education sectors (primary, secondary, further and higher education) and many years experience of working to improve both the physical and digital accessibility of education organisations.

person looking at camera

Andy Smith

CIO

University College London

More Info

Andy Smith Joined UCL in May 2020 as CIO and before that he was the Global CIO for Arm from 2014 to 2019. Arm is one the world’s leading technology companies with its processor designs in more than 150 billion chips including almost every phone in the world. Prior to this Andy spent 5 years as a Government CIO working for one of the agencies in the defence sector. Before that he worked for 20 years with BP in a variety of roles and locations around the world including 6 years in Alaska. Andy lives in Cambridge with his wife and two daughters. He is a keen sportsman who has recently discovered the game of Real Tennis.

person looking at the camera

Simon Corbett

CIO

Northumbria University

More Info

Simon’s core day job is to provide strategic leadership and management of the University’s IT Service. He is also responsible for the vision and delivery of the IT Strategy and acts as an advisor and advocate with key stakeholders, to maximise opportunities for innovation and technology change across the University. Simon is responsible for all the technology infrastructure across the University, including the network, storage, servers, and end user computers ensuring that these are resilient, reliable and secure for all staff and students. He is responsible for the technical customer support, to provide a responsive customer-focused service to all staff and students and the delivery of multiple technical change programmes to support the University strategy and vision.

Simon is responsible for defining and delivering the IT Strategy and service that will deliver the technology elements of the business outcomes set within the wider University strategy. At University Executive, Simon supports colleagues as to how technology can support achievement of organisational wide ambitions, providing resilient infrastructure enabling business outcomes around teaching, research, and Knowledge Exchange.

person smiling at the camera

James Crooks

Chief Information Officer

Durham University

colour head shot of a woman smiling

Deborah Green

CEO

UCISA

More Info

Deborah joined UCISA as CEO in May of 2019, bringing with her a wealth of marketing and Higher Education experience, most recently as Director of Student Recruitment at the University of Hull following five years as Chief Executive of Marketing Leeds and 5 years at Leeds Beckett University, where she was a member of the Executive Board. She is no stranger to leading member organisations, having led the Law Society’s regional team earlier in her career, supporting 14,500 solicitors in Yorkshire and the North East and introducing a wealth of new initiatives and services, resulting in her receiving the Yorkshire Enterprise Award and being recognised as Yorkshire Lawyer of the year in 2007 for her services to the profession.

person looking at the camera

Matt Searles

Vice President, Europe & Asia Pacific

Ellucian

More Info

Matt Searles is a Vice President and responsible for Ellucian’s business in Europe and Asia Pacific. Matt is passionate about enabling digital transformation and student success, having worked in the technology industry for 25 years primarily in the Higher Education sector.

woman with blonde hair smiling

Emma Jane Woodcock

CIO

York St John University

man wearing glasses smiling

John Butterworth

Director, Office of the CIO

King's College London

More Info

John has led King’s approach to operating models and frameworks to professionalise IT. This has been key to our transformation and journey towards service excellence. Now BTS and HERM are here, King’s no longer “build our own” but we adopt frameworks supporting collaboration and accelerated service excellence within King’s and across the HE sector.

person smiling at the camera

Karen Bates

Deputy Chief Digital and Information Officer

London Business School

More Info

Karen joined London Business School as Director of IT, Delivery Capability in Autumn 2021 to ensure successful delivery of their Digital Transformation. Prior to that Karen spent 7 years with the University of Portsmouth leading their technology portfolio. The first 20 Years of my career was across Local Government, latterly leading Business and Digital Transformation. 

man in glasses smiling at the camera

Adrian Ellison

Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Information Officer

University of West London

More Info

Adrian Ellison is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor and CIO at the University West London, where he is a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive and responsible for Academic Administration, Academic Registry, Academic Quality and Standards, Library and IT services and the Institute for Policing Studies. He has been in UK higher education for 24 years at four universities. Adrian has written about and spoken widely on the use of technology and analytics in the HE sector.

person facing the camera

Gareth Davies

Stakeholder Engagement Manager

RNIB

More Info

Gareth Davies, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at RNIB. Gareth has worked for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) for over 7 years. He has held several roles focused on improving the accessibility of physical and digital environments for blind and partially sighted people in sectors such as health, retail, sport, and transport. Gareth was registered blind himself ten years ago and brings his lived experience to the projects he is involved in.

person smiling at the camera

Fraser Muir

Global Director of Information Services

Heriot-Watt University

More Info

Fraser Muir is Global Director of Information Services at Heriot-Watt University and leads the provision of a converged information service provision to the University's 5 campuses. This includes library, technology support, infrastructure, network, security, research support and technology enhanced learning. Fraser also leads the University digital strategy and digital transformation initiatives.

person looking at the camera

Nick Condon

Managing Director

Squiz

More Info

Nick is a seasoned leader in the technology industry, bringing a unique understanding of digital from senior roles across government, media, higher education, and private enterprise. As a former Chief Digital Officer for the South Australian Government, Nick drove the development of the government's digital strategy, digital inclusion commitment and led its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Managing Director for Squiz, Nick leads a team of dedicated digital specialists, transforming the online experience of customers, citizens, and students for leading organizations across the UK and Europe.

person smiling at the camera

Yasir Rafi

Head of IT Service Delivery

Nottingham College

More Info

Yasir has nearly 20 years’ experience of working across a variety of industries and market sectors with particular specialty in Higher and Further Education. He is known as a technological leader who can bring true value to teaching and learning environment and digital transformation through changes in core network infrastructure, audio video configurations and customer services skills to bring the best & secure experience for end users and stakeholders.

With a background in electronics and electrical engineering and Information Systems, Yasir earned his way up the ladder from a technician to technical lead, Audio Video Architect and Campus End User Manager at Kingston University London. He has been featured on number of AV channels and magazines for his achievements. Currently Yasir is heading the IT service delivery team at Nottingham College, supporting 25k+ students and 1.5k+ staff spread across complex and multi-campus environment.

person smiling at the camera

Manash Ray

Customer Success

ManageEngine

More Info

As the lead for Business Development and Customer Success in the UK at ManageEngine, I specialize in advancing our IAM and SIEM product suite. My expertise lies in fostering growth and ensuring exceptional service, cultivating strong client relationships, and steering innovative solutions in the tech landscape.

decorative picture

Dan C

NCSC

person with long hair looking at the camera

Priyanka Sethi

Head of Sales and Strategy - Education

Tata Consultancy Services

More Info

Priyanka leads strategy and sales, across all Education sectors. Priyanka builds high performing, and diverse global teams, to accelerate delivery of digital and business transformations. Passionate about education and development, Priyanka co-founded the Good Growth Community, was instrumental in driving the TCS Sustainathon, and actively promotes STEM through Founders4Schools and Maths4Girls.

person smiling at the camera

Professor Alison Honour

Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Canterbury Christ Church University

More Info

Professor Alison Honour has been the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) since 2021. Prior to this, she held two Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of Faculty roles at Birmingham City University and De Montfort University.At CCCU, Alison's leadership priorities are focused on the successful implementation of the university's new Strategic Framework Vision 2030 and driving key initiatives to deliver an outstanding student experience and outstanding student outcomes. Alison's role includes reviewing the systems and processes to improve how the curriculum is developed, managed and monitored with the university's new partnership with CourseLoop and the rollout of its end to end Curriculum Management Platform.

person looking at the camera

Harry Gooding

Solutions Director

Hays

More Info

Harry is a Solutions Director at Hays, and leads Hays Skills, a new business in the Hays portfolio, supporting our customer network to develop skills development programmes that open up employment opportunities to ‘undiscovered talent’ communities. After beginning his career in recruitment, he then worked in VC backed start-ups and scale-ups for six years across two different portfolios before joining Hays.

person smiling at the camera

Amanda Whicher

Director UK&I Public Services Technology

Hays

More Info

With over 15 years’ experience specialising in Technology recruitment across public services with a focus on Higher Education, Amanda has been fundamental in establishing the national Higher Education Technology business at Hays. Amanda has worked in partnership with a large number of CIOs across the sector to understand the challenges and work with universities to develop solutions that enable them better access to technology talent in a competitive landscape.

person looking at camera

Alex Goffe

Associate Director Technology

University of Manchester

More Info

Alex Goffe is Associate Director Technology at the University of Manchester.

person smiling at the camera

Arthur Clune

CTO

University of Sheffield

More Info

Arthur is CTO at the University of Sheffield where his role covers architecture, strategy, development, cloud and digital transformation. He has previously worked in Cyber Security, Research IT and Infrastructure within UK HE

person smiling at the camera

Tom Crummey

Director of IT Service and Operations

University College London

More Info

Dr Tom Crummey is the Director of IT Service and Operations at University College London, looking after the main centrally provided Digital Platforms and Services (including Infrastructure and Enterprise Applications). Tom has been at UCL for 27 years working both in an Academic Department (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) and in Central Services. As part UCL's Modernise, Digitize and Differentiate strategy, Tom has led on the implementation of Agile ways of working in Service and Operations and also on migrating critical services to Cloud, whether as Software as a Service or Infrastructure as a Service.

Gavin McLachlan

Vice-Principal and Chief Information Officer, and Librarian to the University

University of Edinburgh

More Info

Gavin is a Computer Science Graduate from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia and he also holds an MBA from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California with a major in international business.

For the past ten years Gavin has held senior IT posts in the UK Higher Education sector. Since February 2015 Gavin has held the post of Chief Information Officer and Librarian to the University of Edinburgh. At the University of Edinburgh he is responsible for the strategic development and efficient delivery of a wide range of services, including IT infrastructure, library collections, digital curation, and learning & teaching services. In addition, he plays a crucial role in ensuring that the University remains at the forefront of technological innovations that promote a world-class user experience for staff and students including a major University wide Digital Transformation programme; a replacement of all the core enterprise business systems and a University wide distance learning programme.

Gavin is also active as an advisor to Scottish government, acting as the co-chair to the Scottish Funding Council’s Higher and Further Education Sector ICT advisory group; as a member of the Scottish Digital Directorate’s Digital Public Services Sponsor group; and as the chair of the Scottish Government expert group on the Online Identity Assurance programme.

Previously, Mr McLachlan has worked at University College London (UCL) as Deputy Divisional Director for the Information Services Division and Director of Technology and Research IT Services.

Prior to working at UCL, he held a number of senior IT management positions in private sector organisations across the IT managed service, educational IT service, insurance and apparel industries spanning a 30 year career.

person looking at camera

Lex Wilkinson

Enterprise Solutions Architect

Sheffield Hallam University

person looking at the camera

Louw Labuschagne

Business Architect

Newcastle University

More Info

Louw Labuschagne is a Chartered IT Professional (MBCS) specialising in Business Architecture. With over two decades of experience in Enterprise Architecture, Louw brings a wealth of knowledge from diverse sectors including Mining, Banking & Insurance, Utilities, and the Public Sector across Southern Africa and the Middle East. Since joining Newcastle University's architecture team in 2022, he has been instrumental in applying his expertise to the Higher Education sector in the UK. Louw's commitment to the field extends beyond his role at the university; he actively contributes to the EA community through his involvement with the UCISA EA Group, HERM working group, and the Architecture Exchange community forum. His previous contributions to the TOGAF standard and various industry forums underscore his dedication to advancing the field of Enterprise Architecture.

woman with long hair smiling

Rosie Coffey

Head of Enterprise Applications Group

University College Cork

person smiling at the camera

Paul Harness

Former CIO

Lancaster University

More Info

Paul Harness retired as CIO of Lancaster University in 2022 and now spends his time travelling, playing golf, and enjoying time with his granddaughter. Paul has continued to undertake a few consultancy projects including this work for UCISA.

Person looking at the camera

Dieter Kraftner

Chief Digital & Information Officer

Anglia Ruskin University

More Info

Dieter has been CIO for nearly 20 years, including 3 Universities. Joining ARU in 2017 his focus has been on transforming the IT Organisation into a strategic partner focusing on Digital Strategy, Transformation/Automation and Product Management in addition to Business Continuity, Cyber Security, Cloud adoption and modernisation of the digital workplace.

person looking at the camera

Mat Flower

(Interim) Deputy Director & Head of Digital Infrastructure/Information Security

University of Wolverhampton

More Info

Mat is (Interim) Deputy Director & Head of Digital Infrastructure/Information Security at the University of Wolverhampton, where he is responsible for shaping and planning the University’s digital architecture encompassing core infrastructure and information security. Mat is also UCISA Secretary and a Director of USL.

person smiling at the camera

Stephen Booth

Director of Digital Services

Coventry University

More Info

Director of Digital Services, Stephen is responsible for the IT- enterprise strategy of the Coventry University Group. With more than 20 years of experience in higher education, he's always strived to deliver connected and connecting experiences for students, employees and external parties alike and enable operational efficiencies at scale through digital transformation.

person smiling at the camera

Mark Johnston

Director of IT Services

University of Glasgow

person looking at the camera

Krish Pilicudale

Director of Digital Information

University of Huddersfield

More Info

As Director of Digital Information, Krish is responsible for the Computing and Library Services delivering a range of services to the University including central IT function and library services. He has led the development of University’s Digital Strategy 2019-2025 and is responsible for delivering the Digital Strategy initiatives improving student experience, efficiencies through streamlined business processes with robust technical and architectural foundation.

person looking at the camera

Paul Westmore

Chief Digital & Information Officer

Swansea University

person looking at the camera

Peter Langley

Principal Digital Architect

Swansea University

person smiling at the camera

Greg Sawyet

CEO

CAUDIT

More Info

Greg has over 20 years’ experience in the Higher Education. Prior to this he completed 11 years in the Army including operation service in Cambodia with the United Nations.

person looking at the camera

John O'Brien

CEO

EDUCAUSE

More Info

John O’Brien serves as the president and CEO of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit organization seeking to inspire the transformation of higher education in service to a greater good EDUCAUSE serves over 2,000 member colleges, universities, and organizations from 41 countries who themselves collectively serve over 14 million students.  He speaks and writes on a variety of topics related to higher education, technology, and the crucial intersection where the two meet. Throughout his career in higher education, John has served as an academic, technology, and institutional leader, from professor to provost and president—and deputy CIO in the mix as well.

person smiling at the camera

Lindsay Sill

Executive Director

CUCCIO

More Info

Lindsay is an Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the information/digital technology and services industry. She's held various leadership roles and directorships at digital technology companies and in academia supporting the higher ed ecosystem. After her decade long career at WestGrid, supporting the HPC research community, she was appointed as the inaugural ED & COO for the Quantum Algorithms Institute, where she worked closely with the Board of Directors to build BC’s quantum ecosystem. Early in her career, Lindsay worked as a Laboratory Manager where she did research on gene therapy and immunology, which eventually led to a publication in Nature. Lindsay was an Advisory Board member of the first international and Canadian chapter of Women in HPC, which works to improve the gender balance in HPC. Lindsay serves on several boards and advisory boards. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and recently received her designation from the Director’s Education Program through the Institute of Corporate Directors. She was the recipient of the 2022 Women of Inspiration Award. She lives in BC, Canada with her husband and two sons.

person smiling at the camera

Mathieu Giguère

Director of IT

Université Laval

More Info

With a career in public service management, now leads Université Laval's IT Department, emphasizing a people-first, Lean-Agile strategy for a sustainable tech ecosystem.

person looking at the camera

Val Theron

General Manager

HEITSA

More Info

Val Theron is General Manager of HEITSA since the inception of the association in 2010. She is responsible for implementing strategy, day to day operations and coordinating and managing various projects and activities that are of benefit to the Higher Education Information Technology sector in South Africa.

Her Information Technology career started in 1989 as a developer, and she worked in the insurance sector before entering into the higher education space in 1998. She has managed SMEs in the sector and consulted directly with a number of universities. She represents the twenty-six public universities of South Africa on various forums and committees.

person looking at the camera

Gill Ferrell

Partnership Manager

EUNIS

More Info

Gill has extensive senior management experience in HE and has led and advised on the implementation of IT to support all areas of teaching, research and administration. Her expertise includes areas such as technology-enhanced learning, curriculum design, assessment and feedback and the design of learning spaces as well as good practice guidance in strategic planning and the project and change management needed to deliver enhancements in learning, teaching and research. She has directed projects in support of the strategic goals of the English and Scottish HE funding councils and advised on the development of e-learning strategies for England and Wales.

Gill is the author of a number of reference works widely used in the UK HE and FE sectors and has published a number of major reports, journal articles and peer reviewed papers on themes relating to technology enhanced learning, curriculum design, assessment and feedback and lifelong learning as well as information management and business processes improvement for the education sector. She has been an invited keynote speaker at many UK and international conferences and is currently the leader of the EUNIS e-Learning Task Force.

person smiling at the camera

Zoe Kleinman

BBC Technology Editor

More Info

Zoe Kleinman is the BBC’s first ever Technology Editor, appointed to the role in 2021. With over 20 years broadcasting experience, Zoe has spent most of her career as a specialist presenter and reporter covering all areas of the tech agenda. She has also presented BBC Radio 4's PM Programme.

From gadgets and games to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, she makes tech news accessible to a mainstream audience of millions across national and international BBC Radio, TV and online outlets including Radio 4’s Today programme, BBC World TV and the UK’s most watched news shows.

Zoe has raced drones in the Nevada desert, taken a backseat drive in a driverless car, spent the night in a house full of robots and climbed Mount Everest in Virtual Reality. In 2023 she led the BBC’s coverage of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit. Apple CEO Tim Cook is among the global technology leaders she has interviewed. She’s also reported on Elon Musk’s controversial takeover at Twitter, the volatile world of cryptocurrency, the gender bias in Silicon Valley, Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, and her exclusive reports about the parents whose children accidentally spend thousands of pounds inside video and mobile games was discussed by politicians and led to a parliamentary committee hearing on gaming and gambling.

Zoe’s wider journalistic skills are hugely respected across the BBC and in 2020 Zoe was asked to work as a senior journalist on the BBC News team covering the Covid-19 pandemic.

A confident and entertaining speaker who is in demand as a host, chair, panellist and lecturer, Zoe’s expertise and knowledge of the tech sector is brought to life by her engaging style. Her networking skills and ability to engage with people from all walks of life ensure many repeat bookings.

person smiling at the camera

Claire Dugan

AI Centre of Excellence Programme Manager

Microsoft UK

More Info

Claire works at the intersection of business analysis and customer success, integrating responsible AI innovation with tangible positive outcomes for businesses. She is a Cloud Business Analyst and Responsible AI Centre of Excellence Programme Manager at Microsoft UK. Claire holds a graduate degree in AI Ethics and Society from the University of Cambridge, specialising in researching the socio-technical dynamics of AI systems and human-computer interaction.

side view of a person face

Dr Crispin Bloomfield

Senior Education Architect (EMEA)

Microsoft

More Info

Dr Cris Bloomfield is a Senior Industry Architect within Microsoft who works with Higher Education institutions across Europe, Middle East and Africa. With past roles in the financial services and retail industries, he is also former academic researcher and lecturer who went on to leadership roles in IT Services at a number of Russell Group universities. He has over 25 years of broad experience working in Education and has led large scale infrastructure modernization, digital innovation initiatives and new build projects across a wide range of technologies. Cris is currently supporting a number of current digital transformation initiatives that are looking to leverage generative AI capabilities in both teaching and learning and professional services contexts.

person smiling at the camera

Iain McCracken

Director of Service Delivery

London School of Economics and Political Science

Event Schedule

Wednesday

Chair: James Crooks, CIO, Durham University

10:00

Exhibition opens

in the Lennox Suite
10:00

Registration open

10:30

Pre Conference session with AvePoint: Creating a data foundation for Microsoft 365 Copilot whilst mitigating upcoming storage challenges and risks of oversharing

In Menteith

Registration required

11:15

Newcomers session

Iain McCracken, Assistant Director, University of Sussex

If this is your first UCISA conference, or your first for a while, please join us for a session describing how to make the most of the Conference. Hear about UCISA's resources, events, and working groups, as well as networking with your colleagues.

11:45

Lunch

in the Exhibition
12:45

Introduction and welcome

Deborah Green, CEO, UCISA and Emma Woodcock, CIO, York St John University and Chair of UCISA
12:55

AI Today: Myths, politics and visions for the future

Dr Eleanor Drage, Senior Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
13:40

Primary sponsor welcome

Alan Crawford, Modern workplace Specialist, Microsoft
13:45
14:30

Refreshments

in the Exhibition
15:15

Institutional showcases

15:45

Travel time

15:55

Partner showcases

16:25

Travel time

17:15

Close of day 1

James Crooks, CIO, Durham University.
17:15

Networking and drinks reception

in the Exhibition
19:00

Drinks reception

at the National Museum Scotland
20:00

Dinner

at the National Museum Scotland

Thursday

Morning sessions Chair: Karen Bates, Deputy Chief Digital and Information Officer London Business School

Afternoon sessions Chair: Mark Johnston, Director of IT University of Glasgow

08:00

Breakfast session with Cognizant

Next-Level Student Engagement – how AI can enhance the physical and emotional student experience

(in Menteith)

  • Firoz Khan Pathan, Client Relationship Manager, Cognizant
  • Marcin Remarczyk, Education Consulting Director, Cognizant
  • Josephine Walsh, Head of Student Engagement, University of Galway
  • John Clancy, Founder and CEO, Galvia

Please register to attend

08:00

Breakfast session with ProofID

A Digital-First Future for Higher Education

(in Lammermuir 2)

  • Paul Heaney, CTO/CISO, ProofID
  • Stewart Cowie, Solution Engineering Manager, SailPoint

Please register to attend

08:00

Breakfast session with TechnologyOne

Navigating the Digital Horizon: SaaS vs Cloud Hosting - The Student-Centric View

(in Lammermuir 1)

  • Chris Green, Chief Digital Officer, University of Lincoln

Please register to attend

09:00

Welcome to Day 2

Karen Bates, Deputy Chief Digital and Information Officer London Business School
09:05

Talent Management – Doing Things Differently

Deborah Green, CEO, UCISA and Amanda Whicher and Harry Gooding, Hays
09:35

Elevating Digital Experiences: Creating an enterprise communications channel in a distributed organizational environment

Linnea Williams, Director of Communications Technology, Stanford University and Nick Condon, Managing Director, Squiz
10:15

Refreshments

in the Exhibition
11:00

Partner showcases

11:30

Travel time

11:35

International panel session

Chaired by Adrian Ellison, University of West London

  • Deborah Green, UCISA
  • Greg Sawyer, CAUDIT
  • Val Theron, HEITSA
  • John O’Brien, EDUCAUSE
  • Lindsay Sill, CUCCIO
  • Mathieu Giguere. CUCCIO
  • Gill Ferrell, EUNIS
12:15

Lunch

in the Exhibition
13:30

The Art of the Possible with DreamWorks Animation

Kate Swanborg, Senior Vice President of Technology Communication and Strategic Alliances, DreamWorks
14:10

This house believes....predictions for the future of Higher-Ed Tech

Dan Roberts, CIO and David Skyers, Director for Enterprise Apps, SOAS
14:40

Travel time

14:45

Institutional showcases

15:15

Refreshments

in the Exhibition
16:00

Why universities are increasingly seeing curriculum management as the foundation of agility, transformation and long-term success

Professor Alison Honour, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Canterbury Christ Church University
16:30

Emerging Tech Trends

Zoe Kleinman - BBC Technology Editor
17:15

Close of day 2

Mark Johnston, Director of IT University of Glasgow
19:00

Conference dinner drinks reception

Strathblane Hall, EICC
20:00

Conference dinner followed by the UCISA24 Awards Ceremony

Cromdale Hall, EICC

Friday

Chair: Emma Woodcock, CIO, York St John University

09:00

Welcome to Day 3

Emma Woodcock, CIO, York St John University
09:10

New Information Security Training for UCISA members

Paul Harness
09:35

Protecting the UK’s most sensitive research and innovation

NCSC Representative
10:20

Refreshments

10:50

Closed meeting - Institutional members only

Deborah Green, CEO, UCISA
11:30

Digital Strategy in a University Context

Thought Leadership session – led by Andy Smith, UCL
13:00

Creating a winning mindset

Maggie Alphonsi, MBE
13:40

Closing remarks

Emma Woodcock, CIO, York St John University
13:45

Conference close followed by lunch and networking