HE Connect 25 conference program

Let’s make digital in higher education better

The conference is tailored for digital leaders in higher education and features 2 packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities and world class facilitators, thought-provokers, speakers and session leads.

Unlike many other conferences, this one is not about speakers talking endlessly about their own work. Rather than being talked at, this is your conference for active participation and connecting with your peers with the goal to move things forward.

Program

Tuesday, September 23

8:30 - 9:30: Breakfast and registration

Join us early, get the conversation started, make some new friends and enjoy some freshly brewed coffee and tea.

9:30 - 9:45: Welcome & Opening

by our host Janus Boye, Boye & Co

Our institutional digital governance and best practices are continually evolving. These days, this evolution includes establishing guidelines for using GenAI. Taking steps to ensure our community members are using GenAI in ways that are beneficial and positive.

Besides the obvious challenge of producing concrete guidelines for a rapidly evolving technology, we've encountered several other notable challenges and questions, including:

How do we foster a community of practice around a topic where technical and emotional comfort levels vary?

How do we ensure consistency in institutional policies and guidelines produced by different units for diverse audience groups?

What built-in safeguards do we need to support our digital governance in the age of GenAI?

As universities ask more of their digital teams – from global campaigns to going viral – we’re often working with structures built for another era.

This session explores how Oxford has rethought roles, priorities and ways of working within digital and research communications teams, building a more agile, cross-functional set up ready to meet strategic needs.

It will share practical lessons from embedding content strategy, aligning our work with institutional goals, and making space for deep and modern storytelling amidst the business as usual chaos.

11.00 - 11:20 Coffee & networking

In this changing world of higher education, connection and collaboration matter more than ever. If we're not putting our institutions on the map then who is? And how do we use all our channels and audiences to tell a story that truly distil what they are and mean to the world?

At Leeds we took a leap of faith last year. How did we take Leeds to China with only 3 months to get senior colleagues on board, train colleagues in a whole new world of digital channels, and recruit over 120+ alumni ambassadors to join our cause? The answer: with many bumps along the way!

Kicking off with some candid lessons and reflections, this session will inspire you to think globally and challenge you to uncover innovative ways to navigate the uncharted new territory we find ourselves in.

A university’s website has become more than a digital presence, it’s the shop front which shares innovation and success stories, promotes opportunities to study, research and engage, and helps a variety of audiences navigate the large maze of a, way wider than a single website, web estate.

This presentation will explore strategies on how to develop appropriate governance, policies and guidance aimed to a devolved university web publishing community managing a very large and diverse web estate; ensuring accessibility, data privacy, resilience, and digital sustainability goals are met in a shifting environment of policies, regulations and shifting student needs.

12:30 - 1.30 Lunch

1:30 - 2.30 Roundtables

Come join 2 x 25 minutes of informal roundtable discussions to get answers on your specific questions or help others by sharing your expert knowledge.
Each table has no more than 10 attendees and is assigned a specific topic and moderator.
First come first served: you don’t get to see who’s at the table until you get there.

After the initial 25 minutes are up, you get to pick another table for the next 25 minutes of discussion.

Tables:

1. Accessibility thought further with Jens Krumm

2. Digital sustainability with Stratos Filiathis

3. more coming soon

2:30 - 3:00 Coffee & networking

We often invest heavily in marketing in attracting new students, but once they’re enrolled, they’re sometimes met with outdated or hard-to-use platforms — whether it's the LMS, student support tools, ticketing systems, certificate portals, or payment platforms.

Using KPIs, you will see how these tools are just as critical as the early steps in the student journey. They directly impact perceived prestige and NPS — both key factors in a prospective student's decision-making process.

The end of your course is only the beginning of your Imperial journey.

How does Imperial College London help students maintain a sense of belonging and connection as they become alumni? What are the key ingredients of a successful alumni onboarding strategy, and how do we know when we’ve succeeded?

This session explores the journey from final-year student to new graduate, covering the lead-up to graduation, the big day itself, and the critical weeks and months that follow.

We’ll look at the tools and strategies Imperial uses to meet the needs of its newest alumni and ensure graduates feel seen, supported, and excited about their next chapter.

4:30 - 5:00 Coffee & networking

5:00 - 6:00 Lightning Talks

As the name suggests, lightning talks give speakers a limited amount of time to make their presentation – around 10 minutes. They may or may not include slides.

Because lightning talks are brief, it requires the speaker to make their point clearly and rid the presentation of non-critical information. This, in turn, helps keep the attention of the audience. It also means many ideas can be presented in a short amount of time.

Talks:
* coming soon

6:30 - 10:00 Social event

Join us for an informal networking dinner. Everyone is welcome. Venue: TBD.

Wednesday, September 24

7:00 Morning Run

We meet in front of the Marriott for a relaxed 25 minute run.

8:30 - 9:30 Breakfast and networking

Join us early, get the conversation started, reflect on what you’ve already learned and enjoy some freshly brewed coffee and tea.

9:30 - 9:45: Morning welcome

A brief welcome by Janus Boye and perhaps a bonus lightning talk

“If the coffee shop chain Costa can remember my oat latte with an extra shot, we can remember a student’s last support request”

We’ve spent years thinking about the student experience in silos. This session is about imagining it properly: joined-up, intuitive, and almost effortless. I’ll share how we designed a strategy for an omni-channel approach, how we got people on board (mostly), and what the future could look like if universities start thinking more like the high street.

Expect candid stories, honest lessons, and a vision for services that actually feel like they belong in the 21st century.

10:45 - 11:00 Coffee & networking

More details coming soon

In this session, Jens will share five insights from higher education projects on the continent. Join and hear what he has learned when it comes to:

• Student marketing

• Navigation concepts for the key content areas

• Digital assets - can we have too many websites&social media channels?

• Content personalisation and smart user guidance

• AI and the future of search

12:30 - 1:30 Lunch

A brief interactive wrap-up of the two days. Join us for key lessons learned, big questions for 2025, perhaps a few answers and what happens next.

2.45 - 3:00 Goodbyes and see you next year!

Thanks for joining us. Continue the conversation over a cup of coffee or tea before leaving Manchester