05 May 2026 - UCISA26 Gareth Brown Reflections
First and foremost, I would like to thank UCISA for offering me the opportunity to attend the conference on the plus 1 basis this year. I attended previous UCISA leadership conferences in Manchester and Edinburgh and found them to be excellent and invaluable resources in my development as a leader. The content and interactions at these events has undoubtedly benefited the University in my actions and influence.
What were you looking forward to about UCISA26?
There are many great attributes to a UCISA leadership conference. I was looking forward to the networking opportunities with both my peers and suppliers. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience at the conference and it is an ideal opportunity to step back from the day to day and observe, learn and benchmark.
What were your first impressions?
The organisation of the conference is second to none. Having previously worked in events, I fully appreciate the effort and attention to detail that make the conference run like clockwork and allows us to maximise our enjoyment of the event. There was even a video of the walk from the train station to the venue and, as a first time visitor to Liverpool, I found it really useful to navigate my walk to the venue through the city centre.
The ACC venue was great and had excellent facilities, with plenty of good food and drinks to keep us going. As a bonus, the venue has such an impressive riverside location to enjoy. I was equally impressed with the accommodation allocated to me at the Pullman, and how close it was to the venue. My room had a stunning view up the Mersey.
The Suppliers stalls are first class and it is surprising how many of them OBU is involved with currently, in the past, or will be in the near future. In our times of video conferencing, it is refreshing to be able to meet in person and reserve a bit of time to get to know them properly.
What were your top three key takeaways having attended?
The panel session ‘Money Talks - Can we still afford IT?’ was a real highlight for me. How did Mark at Glasgow get rid of capital and revenue discussions and just focus on cash? Inspiring. I am looking forward to his webinar he promised about it.
The session about the Common Student Data Model was truly fascinating. I feel like I understand the data challenge, and the ideas behind common data models, far more now than I did with the analogy about music notation. I sing in a choir, and the oddities of the language of music are very familiar to me.
Big thanks to Swansea University for their session on Enterprise Service Management. I caught a session a few years back where they discussed an ambition for using ServiceNow as their tool of choice for the job. We are on a similar journey, but it was fascinating to hear the heartbreaking story of the challenges at their institution, and how the technology actually presented opportunities to manage workloads for their reduced staffing levels. Their method of using the restructures to gain funding for app developments and licensing was an interesting and a possible approach at OBU.
Top recommendations for someone attending for the first time?
- Don’t miss the Awards evening! The venue this year, Liverpool Cathedral, was absolutely stunning. The food was great, the friends we made at our table were very interesting and I really enjoyed the entertainment. I didn’t catch the name of the band, and I haven’t been able to find their name in the documents, it would be good to hear them again.
- Don’t forget the suppliers! In addition to your regular suppliers, it is well worth visiting and talking to some of the fringe players. They will challenge your world outlook with new ideas and concepts. Get in amongst them and add to your understanding of the sector and where it is headed.
- Get in as many opportunities as you can for networking. The attendees have the best stories and insights that might just help you with your day to day job, and maybe change the way you think about things.
