24 April 2026 - UCISA26 William Western Reflections
I was delighted to receive an invitation to the UCISA 2026 conference and the opportunity to network with people in the education industry. I’ve engaged with various attendees I met at UCISA since the conference, and we’ve shared our experience of working with different technology products that serve our students. This has been rewarding, offering up the opportunity to talk about what has/ hasn’t worked well so that we can apply these lessons to how we serve our students.
Unexpectedly, I ended up being a presenter on stage 11 to cover for a colleague that was unable to attend. The presentation was about the University of London’s new microcredential product offering and the technology that sits behind it. The audience provided an excellent level of engagement and were keen to speak with us afterwards. The level of enthusiasm to learn more about what we were delivering was very encouraging.
Away from the conference, I was really impressed with the evening meal and award ceremony at Liverpool cathedral; one of the most incredible buildings I have stepped foot in. It presented a very welcoming environment to engage with new people, and the food was delicious. We ended up staying out with new friends until about 02:00, for better or worse!
A particular highlight of mine occurred on the final day when a former Director General of MI5 turned up to give a speech. Not only was she very entertaining, but she was also hugely knowledgeable and provided fascinating insights into her experience of leadership. It was a brilliant way to sign-off from the conference before getting the train back down to London.
I’d certainly recommend attending UCISA, whether for the first time or as a regular. If I was to pass on one piece of advice, I would suggest coming to conference with a good idea of what you’d like to get out of it. My particular focus was to leave with a better understanding of the various ways that AI technology is beginning to add value to the student experience, and whether there is a good case to be made for trialling them.
