Access, participation and student success conference 2026

I work as a Policy Adviser at Universities UUK, primarily supporting our policy work in university admissions and widening access to higher education as well as student experience issues.

Prior to joining UUK, I worked at a charity focused on reducing barriers to academia for BAME students and staff. At university, I read Classics at the University of St Andrews and the University of Cambridge.

I enjoy working alongside passionate colleagues to broaden access to the opportunities that higher education can offer, helping to transform lives.

Claire Bannister is an experienced Senior Policy Officer at Universities Scotland, where her policy areas span learning and teaching, widening access, admissions, skills and health. She previously spent much of her career in university administration, specialising in undergraduate admissions and teaching administration, and brings a practical understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing higher education.

David is Director of Inclusion & Governance at Advance HE, with executive responsibility across its inclusion and higher education governance portfolios. His work spans equality, diversity and inclusion, effective governance, leadership accountability and institutional culture change. David leads Advance HE’s work on freedom of speech, academic freedom and inclusion.

Annie is Associate Director, Higher Education, at Public First. She has spent over ten years working to influence higher education policy at the National Union of Students, Universities UK International and University Alliance. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Times Higher Education and more. 
 
Annie has worked on campaigns that influenced key moments in higher education, including the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the 2019 International Education Strategy and higher education policy surrounding the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
 

John Blake is Director of The Post-18 Project, the think tank from Thesis, publisher of Wonkhe, and Professor of Social Innovation and Public Policy at the University of Salford. From 2022 to 2025 he was Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students, where he built the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and reformed access and participation plans. His work argues that England’s higher education settlement is incoherent and needs replacing, not repairing, and Whitehall is not built to govern post-18 education well. He spent fifteen years as a teacher and school leader before moving into policy

Fiona is the Co-Director of the Unite Foundation, delivering a unique university accommodation scholarship, as well as advocating for a home at university for all care experienced and estranged students in the UK. Her career has focused mainly on the youth and charitable sectors. Previously Fiona was Director of Partnerships and Operations for Step Up To Serve, the organisation that ran the #iwill campaign, which included a secondment at the National Lottery Community Fund where she led the development of a £70million fund to support youth social action. In addition Fiona is the Chair of the Longleigh Foundation, a charitable foundation that supports social housing residents.

Dr Wendy Fowle is Associate Professor and Dean (Student Outcomes) at Oxford Brookes University. She is currently leading the University’s priorities around transitions, belonging and academic advising, ensuring that the teaching and learning environment supports students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds. As co-Chair and Trustee of the Forum for Access and Continuing Education (FACE) Wendy provides leadership to support its members in responding to regulatory requirements, sharing practice in relation to student success and student outcomes and influencing policy change through engagement with policymakers, mission groups and third sector organisations.

I lead our policy work on supporting access to higher education, enhancing the student experience, and how universities contribute to the skills agenda.

I joined Universities UK in 2020. Before this I worked in widening participation and admissions at Oxford Brookes University.

I enjoy engaging with enthusiastic policy minds across the sector to drive change and celebrate the importance of higher education.

Dr Steph Harris is currently the Director of Policy at Universities UK (UUK), the representative body for UK universities where she has worked for 8 years. The focus of Steph’s career has been higher education policy and influencing, first as an SU sabbatical officer then as a Policy Officer to the Vice-Chancellor at Bath Spa University and finally at UUK. Steph is a current trustee at Bristol Students’ Union

Dr Omar Khan joined TASO in June 2020.

Omar has led TASO’s transition into an independent charity, developing its team and strategy to widen participation in higher education and eliminate equality gaps between students. His research and professional background has focused on equality and social mobility, particularly in education and the labour market, and he regularly speaks on these topics in the UK and globally.

Omar holds several board advisory positions, including chair of the board of trustees of Trust for London, trustee of the Political Studies Association. Omar has previously been a board or advisory group member at the University of East London, the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Financial Inclusion Commission, the Department for Work and Pensions, the 2021 REF and 2014 REF assessments, and a 2012 Clore Social Leadership Fellow.

Omar joined TASO from race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, where he had been Director since 2014, growing the organisation and increasing its profile. He completed a doctorate in political science from the University of Oxford in 2008.

With over 25 years of partnership management experience, Graeme Kirk is a Partnership Development Lead at Studiosity. Drawing on a diverse career spanning the BBC, NHS, SaaS, and international tech sectors, he brings a robust cross-industry perspective to higher education. Most recently, Graeme served as Head of Commercial for leading university business and edtech news platforms before joining Studiosity in 2023. Dedicated to Studiosity’s mission of increasing life chances for all learners, Graeme champions ethical, ‘pedagogical-first’ AI solutions that empower the future student, driving equity and long-term academic success.

Chris is a policy officer at Universities Wales and has worked in the sector for 25 years, mostly around quality assurance, admissions, participation, skills, and student administration.

Chris previously served as the OfS’s first Director for Fair Access and Participation between 2018 and 2021, returning to the role on an interim basis in 2025.

He is Professor of Practice in Education Policy at the University of Birmingham, where he conducts research, teaching and public engagement on higher education policy and practice. Chris held senior roles at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, including Director of Policy, overseeing initiatives such as the Teaching Excellence Framework, the National Student Survey and Uni Connect.

He is a trustee and fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, a trustee of the Society for Research into Higher Education, a Marshall Scholarships Commissioner, and a board member of Medr, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales.

Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL is Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby, providing strategic leadership for the University’s vision, growth and impact. A health and behavioural psychologist by background, she is a nationally recognised advocate for social mobility and the transformative power of education. Kathryn chairs the Department for Education’s Higher Education Access and Participation Task and Finish Group and the Universities UK International Mobility Advisory Group. She has contributed to major national reviews and is renowned for her research in Alzheimer’s disease and chronic conditions. Kathryn is a Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire and was awarded a CBE in 2022.

Professor Karen O’Brien has been Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University since January 2022. As chief executive, she leads the University’s education and research mission and has overseen strategic renewal, research growth, improvements in student access and expanded international partnerships. Under her leadership, Durham was named The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year 2025–26 and has maintained a QS world top 100 position. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at the Universities of Oxford, King’s College London and Birmingham, and remains active in national higher education policy. She also chaired the UUK–UCAS–Sutton Trust Contextual Admissions Advisory Group.
 

As Head of UK Student Recruitment, Widening Access and Outreach at the University of Bath, Andrew leads the University's Access and Participation Plan and the delivery of widening access work. As a Trustee of social mobility charity Brightside and a Trustee and Treasurer of FACE, Andrew also supports leaders through peer learning across the sector and contributes to the national conversation about access and participation. Originally from a deprived area of Derby and the first in his family to go to university, Andrew completed a degree and PhD in Chemistry at Sheffield before joining the world of widening participation.

Favour Alexander Samuel is the NUS England President and the first international student to hold this role, representing millions of students across England. A human rights lawyer by training, she completed her postgraduate studies in International Human Rights Law at the University of Nottingham, where she also served as Students' Union President.

Born in Nigeria and raised in South Africa, Favour brings a global perspective and lived experience to her advocacy. Her career has been defined by fighting for those whose rights have been violated and whose voices have been silenced: from marginalised communities to students facing exploitation and discrimination. As NUS England President, her mandate is rooted in respecting, protecting and fulfilling student's rights, with a commitment to ensuring every student has access to a dignified education void of any barrier to its full realisation.