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Overview
Global universities, global responsibilities, global leadership
How can universities fulfil their global potential while tackling a deluge of complex challenges?
Universities play a crucial role in ensuring people and places are the best they can be around the world, but with their far-reaching roles come global responsibilities.
At the International Higher Education Forum (IHEF), held online, senior colleagues from across the sector will discuss and debate the role of universities as global leaders.
We’ll explore questions such as:
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How is the cost of living crisis and economic instability affecting students and institutions globally? How can universities tackle the challenge of financial sustainability?
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How are universities around the world balancing short-term needs with longer-term visions and strategies, such as around diversification of international student recruitment?
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What role should higher education play in responding to humanitarian crises, and how can we ensure that those that need support get it as quickly as possible?
Join us across two days for our longest-running international conference.
As always, specialist sessions will dive deeper into specific challenges with experts in their field – with topics ranging from the climate crisis to risk in internationalisation, transnational education to student mobility, research funding to student experience – we aim to cover the breadth of international higher education activity.
Online networking sessions will provide opportunities to connect with counterparts around the world.
About the International Higher Education Forum
The International Higher Education Forum is one of the largest annual events organised by Universities UK and Universities UK International. Now in its 11th year, the International higher education forum (IHEF) will return in 2023 to discuss some of the most pressing challenges in higher education. IHEF 2023 is a strategic forum designed for attendees to share best practice with senior leaders from across the world, bringing together hundreds of higher education professionals year on year.
The conference will be delivered fully online over two days on 28 February & 1 March 2023.
Speaker announcements to follow soon. Sign up to receive our 'international' newsletter updates to be kept up-to-date on IHEF23 as well as our other upcoming (online and in-person!) events.
See the 'group bookings' tab for more information on discounted group tickets.
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If you have any questions about this or any other of our events, please contact us on events@universitiesuk.ac.uk or 07500 441505.
We have a range of sponsorship opportunities available at this event. Please contact Jess Jackson, Marketing and Sponsorships Officer, for more information: jess.jackson@universitiesuk.ac.uk
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Day 1
Day 2
Speakers
Professor Adam Habib
Director
SOAS, University of London
Professor Adam Habib is an academic, activist, and public intellectual. He is Director of SOAS University of London and previously VC and Principal of University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa. He holds qualifications in Political Science from the University of Natal, Wits and the City University of New York.
Professor Habib is a co-founder of the African Research Universities Alliance, an affiliation of research-intensive universities on the continent. He has published numerous edited books and journal articles over the last three decades in the thematic areas of democratisation and its consolidation in South Africa, philanthropy, inequality, institutional reform, and South Africa's role in Africa and beyond.
Adam Jackson
Director - International Research and Innovation
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Adam Jackson is a Senior Civil Servant and currently Director – International Research and Innovation in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). He is a development economist by background, having in his 20s worked as an economic adviser to the Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone, and for the UK’s Department for International Development in Bangladesh. He subsequently worked in HM Treasury, the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Currently, he leads the Directorate that develops our international science partnerships, research establishments and infrastructures, research security, research talent, and the government’s work with the National Academies.
Alan Mackay
Deputy Vice-Principal International and Director Edinburgh Global
University of Edinburgh
Alan was appointed Deputy Vice-Principal International at the University of Edinburgh in 2012 after joining from the University of St Andrews. Alan provides strategic leadership on internationalisation and works with senior leaders to advance the University’s international ambition and partnerships. He directs the University’s international operations with over twenty-five years’ experience in international higher education.
He has an undergraduate degree in Public Policy and Management, Postgraduate Diploma in European Policy and Law and is an alumnus of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Institute for Educational Management. He is a member of the British Council Scotland Advisory Committee, British Council Higher Education Sector Group, Board member of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) and Council for At Risk Academics representative.
Andy Howells
Assistant Director for External Affairs
Universities UK International
Andy has been in post as Assistant Director for External Affairs at Universities UK International (UUKi) since 2019, and he leads UUKi’s campaigns, communications and events.
Andy is a judge for UKCISA’s #WeAreInternational student ambassador programme, sits on UniQuest’s international advisory board, and recently led his team to win ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ at the PIEoneer Awards 2021 for UUKi’s #WeAreTogether campaign.
Prior to his current post, Andy spent several years in senior marketing, student recruitment and alumni relations roles at the University of Southampton, and won a CASE Circle of Excellence Award in 2019 for an alumni engagement campaign he led.
Anne Marie Graham
Chief Executive
UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)
Anne Marie joined UKCISA in 2019 from the Association of Commonwealth Universities, where she was Director of Chevening, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s flagship global scholarship scheme.
Prior to that, Anne Marie led a range of educational programmes and projects promoting international mobility and intercultural exchange. At Universities UK International, she developed the first government-funded UK Strategy for Outward Mobility, and established the Go International programme to build capacity and influence institutional change in UK universities to increase the proportion of UK-domiciled students with international experience.
Annie Chan
#WeAreInternational Student Ambassador
UKCISA
Un Ieng (Annie) is in the fourth and final year of an integrated Master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh. Coming from Macau, China, Annie has realised that more support could be provided for students who come from less well-known places who may need help getting involved in different circles.
Annie is passionate about enhancing welfare support and cultural exchange between societies within her International Students’ Representative role at university, and she hopes to build more connections with representatives from other universities to create greater impact together for all the international students in the UK.
Professor Brad MacKay
Vice-Principal for International Strategy and External Relations and Senior Vice-Principal
University of St Andrews
Brad MacKay is the current Vice-Principal (International Strategy and External Relations) at St Andrews University. He has held this role since 2017.
Responsibilities of the Vice-Principal (International Strategy and External Relations) include:
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Oversight and development of the University’s international strategy in the post-Brexit era
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Development and management of practices and policies related to strategic relationships national and international
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Relations with government ministers, policy-makers and HE sector bodies as well as other Universities in order to raise the University’s profile and impact in the sector
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Managerial responsibility for the Development Office, the Admissions Unit, the Career Centre, the International Education Institute and the Global Office
Brad MacKay is Professor of Strategy in the University of St Andrews School of Management. He earned a BA in International Development Studies from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Canada, an MLitt (with Distinction) in Management, Economics and Politics (MEP) and a PhD in Strategy from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
Professor Cara Aitchison
President and Vice-Chancellor
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Cara was previously Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth Marjon University, Head of Moray House School of Education and Chair in Social and Environmental Justice at Edinburgh University, Dean of Education and Sport at Bedfordshire University and Professor in Human Geography at UWE.
Cara is committed to values-driven leadership and demonstrates this in her work, as well as through her involvement with external bodies, including serving as Chair of the UN-affiliated World Leisure Commission on Women and Gender (2002-2008), as Member of the Universities of Sanctuary Steering Group, and as the Chair of the UUK Staff-Student Sexual Misconduct Group.
Catriona Jackson
Chief Executive and Board Director
Universities Australia
Catriona Jackson has served as Chief Executive and Board Director of Universities Australia since 2018, blending a unique combination of extensive policy experience with her reputation as an outstanding communicator.
Under her leadership, Universities Australia champions policies that strengthen the ability of the university sector to provide the best education for students and develop impactful research for Australia’s future.
Celia Partridge
Assistant Director, Partnerships and Strategic Insight
Universities UK International
Celia joined UUKi in 2017 and leads on its external grants and contracts, as well as insight, PVCi engagement and climate change. Her international education experience includes the Royal College of Music and the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), where she led on the Prime Minister’s Initiative for International Education, launching projects that enhanced the international student experience.
She also has experience in the private sector including managing Barclays UK-wide flagship community investment programme on financial capability for young people. As a consultant, she worked on strategic reviews, programme development and sustainability strategy for a range of charities and private enterprises.
Dr Charlie Ball
Head of Labour Market Intelligence
Jisc
Charlie is the in-house specialist at Jisc on the graduate labour market. He researches and analyses post-18 employment, including regional economies, skills supply and demand and postgraduate issues, usually with a careers and employability perspective.
Charlie also sits on several steering and advisory groups - including the Graduate Outcomes steering group and advisory bodies for AGCAS and the Institute of Student Employers.
Charlie is Fellow of the National Institute of Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC) and a Visiting Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Chris Kirk
Director of UCAS International
UCAS
Chris joined UCAS as the new Director of UCAS International in June 2022, to further enhance UCAS’ role in helping the world connect with UK higher education. He has responsibility for driving the evolution of international undergraduate admissions services, as well as the growth and value in our recently launched Myriad by UCAS platform – a mobile-first tool to support international postgraduate students applying to study in the UK.
Rt. Hon Lord David Willets
President
Resolution Foundation
The Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS is the President of the Resolution Foundation. He served as the Member of Parliament for Havant (1992-2015), as Minister for Universities and Science (2010-2014) and previously worked at HM Treasury and the No. 10 Policy Unit.
Lord Willetts is a visiting Professor at King’s College London, a Board member of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a Board member of Surrey Satellites and of the Biotech Growth Trust. His book "A University Education" was published by Oxford University Press in 2017. A second edition of his book The Pinch, analysing the relationship between the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation and their younger counterparts, was published in November 2019.
Eduardo Ramos
Director of International and Professional Services
QAA
Eduardo is responsible for the portfolio of QAA’s international services, including the international membership services, accreditation, consultancy and QE-TNE (quality evaluation and enhancement of UK transnational education). He leads on international partnership building, ensuring the Agency continues to work with governments, agencies and institutions globally to benefit UK higher education and its international reputation.
Prior to this role, Eduardo worked on education internationalisation for Spanish agency ICEX-Invest in Spain, Audencia Business School in France, St George’s, University of London and Universities UK International. He holds degrees from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the UCL Institute of Education.
Frances Wood
International Director
UK Research and Innovation
Frances Wood is International Director at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and is responsible for delivering on the UKRI strategy through utilising international collaboration. She leads the UKRI international, including their four overseas offices (Indian, North American, China and Brussels), where she works on areas, including international funding, Horizon Europe Plan B Global and considering the geo-politics of our collaboration.
Frances was previously the Regional Director for the Science and Innovation Network (SIN), covering Europe, Russia, Turkey and Israel. SIN builds partnerships and collaborations on science and innovation with governments and research communities across topics including climate, global health, AI and research culture. Across her career at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Frances has led on research and innovation-related policies including as Economic Counsellor in South Korea, where she covered economics, science and climate and energy.
Frances is also passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), including chairing the 3,000 strong FCDO staff network for gender equality.
Professor Funmi Olonisakin
Vice-President International, Engagement and Service (IES)
King's College London
Professor ’Funmi Olonisakin is Vice-President International, Engagement and Service (IES) at King’s College London. She is also Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at the African Leadership Centre in the School of Global Affairs at King’s. She is committed to building inter-disciplinary and intersectoral collaboration, and sustaining equitable partnerships to realise positive and lasting impact within and beyond King’s.
Professor Olonisakin was educated at the University of Ife, Nigeria (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and King’s College London, graduating with a BSc. Honours in Political Science (Ife, 1984) and MSc and PhD in War Studies (King’s 1996) respectively. She was a post-doctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Sciences in UP in 1998.
Professor Olonisakin founded the African Leadership Centre (ALC) both at King’s and in Kenya, as a collaboration between King’s and the University of Nairobi in 2010. The ALC aims to develop a new community of leaders generating cutting edge-knowledge for peace, security and development in Africa. Professor Olonisakin positions her work to serve as a bridge between academia and the worlds of policy and practice. Her research has been shaped by her interest in deepening understanding of why civil wars relapse, and the drivers of youth vulnerability and exclusion in the developing world. More recently, she has sought to explore the interface between leadership, peace, and security as a basis to unpack and understand the big transnational problems that confront the world today.
Professor Olonisakin founded the African Leadership Centre (ALC) both at King’s and in Kenya, as a collaboration between King’s and the University of Nairobi in 2010. The ALC aims to develop a new community of leaders generating cutting edge-knowledge for peace, security and development in Africa.
University of Pretoria (UP), where she was appointed as an Extra-Ordinary Professor in 2016, conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (honoris causa) on Professor Olonisakin in May 2022 in recognition of her significant contributions to the promotion of peace, security, justice, and international solidarity in Africa, with special reference to women and youth.
Jake Foster
Chief Commercial Officer
AECC Global
Based in Melbourne Australia, Jake started with AECC Global in 2019. Jake has over a decade of business and leadership experience he brings to AECC Global and has been a key driver or major innovation and organisational change projects at our company. He has a strong focus on using technology to improve the student experience and to enhance the way our team process student applications. In his previous roles Jake has established a range of teams and business operations in Australia and other countries in South East Asia and China. He thoroughly enjoys travelling and meeting new people from different cultural backgrounds. Jake holds a Bachelors Of Commerce (Commercial law major) from Deakin University.
Jamie Arrowsmith
Director
Universities UK International
Jamie was appointed Director of Universities UK International (UUKi) in November 2022. Part of Universities UK (UUK), UUKi represent s our universities globally to help them meet their international aims.
rior to taking on this role, Jamie led UUK’s research and innovation policy programme (2014-2017) before becoming Assistant Director for Policy Engagement at UUKi (2017-2022). He has led major programmes of work on a diverse range of topics, including sector agency reform, research integrity, security and risk in internationalisation, and the UK international education strategy. Jamie also helped establish the Wales Innovation Network while on secondment as Executive Head of WIN (2021-2022).
In these roles, Jamie has built a reputation as an expert in research policy and international higher education, and has contributed to media including The Times, Financial Times, Times Higher Education, PIE News, Research Professional and WonkHE. He was the UK university representative on the Board of the UK Research Office in Brussels (2015-2018) and is currently on the Board of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators. He is a member of numerous advisory boards on international higher education.
Jamie is a passionate advocate for and believer in higher education. Before joining Universities UK in 2010, Jamie was a research associate and ESRC research fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Education and Social Research Institute where he worked on projects focussing on widening participation, teacher education and training, and evaluating the impact of third-sector community organisations. He has BA and MA degrees in History and Modern European History from the University of Manchester, and an MRes in Education & Society from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Jazreel Goh
Director
British Council Malaysia
Jazreel Goh was born in Malaysia and after completing her secondary school in Malaysia and senior secondary school in Singapore, left for further studies in Melbourne, Australia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and was awarded the Equity and Merit Scholarship by the Australian Government to undertake her Master of Artsin Applied Linguistics. She was awarded an MBE in 2017 for her services to UK education in China. Jazreel joined British Council China in June 2004 where she led on the UK’s largest education marketing and partnership initiatives in mainland China.
Jazreel Goh has worked in various organisations in Malaysia, Australia, and Hong Kong in the areas of brand management, corporate planning and investment, international education consultancy, as well as in intellectual property licensing.
In 2011 she set up British Council’s Education Intelligence Unit–the first e-marketing platform dedicated to international education research for the industry globally. In 2013, she led the development and launched the UK’s flagship outward mobility programme -Generation UK which has since led to a 104% growth in British students to China. During her tenure, the UK became one of the largest providers of transnational education in China and the first country to initiatea multi-lateral education collaboration platform bringing together institutional partners from UK, China, Sub-Saharan Africa and ASEAN countrieson co-funded projects.
Jazreel returned to Malaysia in September 2020 to take up the role as Director for British Council Malaysia.
Jennifer Dewar
Senior Director of Strategic Engagement
Duolingo English Test
Jennifer Dewar is the Senior Director of Strategic Engagement for the Duolingo English Test. Since 2018, she has led Duolingo’s Global Team supporting the recognition of the Duolingo English Test as a high stakes assessment for university admissions. Jennifer has worked in the higher education sector for more than two decades.
Prior to joining Duolingo, Jennifer was Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Washington University in St. Louis. She spent thirteen years in the admissions offices at Duke University and started her career at Connecticut College. During her admissions career, Jennifer recruited extensively in Europe, East and South Asia. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and Master’s degree from Duke University.
Professor Jennifer Watling
Pro Vice-Chancellor, International & Interim Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health & Education
Manchester Metropolitan University
Professor Jennifer Watling is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International and Chair of the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Board at Manchester Metropolitan University. She leads on developing and delivering the University’s International Strategy and the Inclusive and Diverse Culture Strategy.
Professor Watling is also a trustee for the Northern Consortium which promotes international education, Co-Chair of the Universities UK PVC International network, and sits on the International Advisory Board for Marketing Manchester. She has held leadership positions in universities in both the UK and Australia, and is a plant scientist with interests in plant responses to environmental stress, including climate change.
Juan Rayón
President
Erasmus Student Network AISBL
Juan Rayón comes from Asturias in northern Spain. He has a degree in Law from the University of Oviedo and is currently finishing two MAs in International Law and European Studies.
Juan did his Erasmus international study in Istanbul and also participated in the European Solidarity Corps in Padova, Italy, where he worked for the municipality's youth office. He joined ESN in 2016 and has been President of ESN Spain, as well as Liaison Officer for Inclusive Mobility. As President, he is responsible for the general coordination of the organisation, for external relations, policy, and advocacy. His main priorities include increasing participation in learning mobility and fostering civic engagement and participation of young people through Erasmus
Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng
Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor
Cranfield University
Karen’s engineering career spans industry and academia, beginning at Rolls-Royce (Aero) as an undergraduate engineering apprentice. This was followed by a role at AB Electronic Products. Karen then turned to pursuing an academic career where, during 31 years at Cardiff University, she served as DVC from 2017 – 2021, led the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering as the founding Pro Vice-Chancellor 2012 -2017 and prior to this was Head of the School of Engineering.
In 2018, Karen received a CBE for services to engineering and the advancement of women in engineering, and in 2019 she received the Suffrage Science award in Physical Sciences and Engineering. Karen has served as a Council member for UKRI STFC and a member of the ESPRC Strategic Advisory Network, having previously served as the external Chair of the EPSRC Engineering Strategic Advisory Team. In 2020, Karen took up the role of Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Committee.
Karen was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2015. In 2016 she was named as one of the top 50 most influential women engineers in the UK.
As Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor at Cranfield University, Karen serves on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc Leaders Group and Midlands Innovation University Partnership Board.
Since 2020 Karen have been a member of the National Physical Laboratory Science and Technology Advisory Council.
Khatera Naseri
Cara PhD Fellow
Bangor University
Khatera Naseri is from Afghanistan, and was Assistant Professor at the Economics Faculty of Herat University from 2014 - Aug 2021. After completing a BA in Business Administration, Khatera then began teaching in the same faculty in 2014 before getting a scholarship to study for their MA in Malaysia in 2018. After completing a master's degree, Khatera returned to Afghanistan with the intention of continuing a teaching career in 2020. Unfortunately, the political unrest caused Khatera to lose her role, and in March 2021, she arrived in the UK to begin a doctoral degree with Cara's support.
Laura Kaub
University Access Advisor
Duolingo English Test and UNHCR
Laura has nearly 15 years of experience in advising international students on how to access university admission and financial aid, particularly but not only in North America. Since her start in the international admissions office at Barnard College in New York City, she's worked primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and with high-need high school students. Most recently, Laura has focused on helping African, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern refugees access university in countries where they can resettle. She is an active member of InternationalACAC and a founding member of the HALI Access Network.
Laura Knox
Director of Planning
University of St Andrews
Laura is Director of Planning at the University of St Andrews. She joined the University in 2008 after holding a number of research, analytical and planning support roles within the public and HE sectors. Laura has a keen interest in strategy development, resource planning frameworks, business intelligence and analytics (with a particular interest in using these tools to engage senior management and facilitate strategic decision making). Laura is a member of the HESPA Executive, incoming chair of the HESPA Higher Education Data Insights Group, and a member of the HESPA Development Group and UUKi Monitoring and Evaluating Transnational Education Data Advisory Group. She was recently a participant in the OfS NSS Review Advisory Board
Mark Crossey
Assistant Director, Policy and Global Engagement
Universities UK International
Mark Crossey has been Interim Assistant Director, covering Policy and Global Engagement, at Universities UK International since September 2022. Prior to this he worked extensively on the British Council’s global network, most recently in Pakistan where he led on the 2022 Pakistan/UK ‘New Perspectives’ Season marking 75 years of Pakistan’s independence, as well as one of the UK’s largest bilateral education programmes globally. Also with the British Council he held directorship roles in Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Bahrain, as well as heading the British Council’s CEE/Chair’s office in London. Mark has published and presented widely on educational issues and is also an expert in international education security and risk management.
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer
Deputy Principal (Global Sustainability) and Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS)
Heriot-Watt University
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer (FRSE, FIChemE, FRSC, FRSA, FEI) is Champion and Director of the UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) focused on accelerating the transition to net-zero of the UK industrial clusters and establishing the first world net-zero industrial cluster. Mercedes is Deputy Principal (Global Sustainability) and Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Watt University. Her internationally recognised track record covers energy systems, CCUS, integration of hydrogen technologies and low-carbon fuels. She has over 550 publications, holds leading positions in professional societies and editorial boards and has received numerous international prizes and awards.
Michelle Stewart
Immediate Past President, EAIE and Director of Internationalisation (Humanities & Social Sciences)
University of Strathclyde
Michelle has worked in higher education for over twenty years. After graduating in Public Administration, she worked for four years in Spain where she developed executive education courses. When she returned to Scotland she was an adviser to the Lord Provost, Glasgow City Council.
Having worked in internationalisation for several years, Michelle has a strong commitment to partnership development and student mobility. At the University of Strathclyde, she established many overseas links including the Mexico UK Study Abroad Consortium in partnership with a number of UK universities. Michelle has served on external boards including: Operating Board Education UK Partnership; Chair, Scottish Universities International Group (SUIG); Chair, BUTEX (British Universities Transatlantic Exchange Association). She has an extensive network of colleagues across the UK and overseas.
Olena Kaniuka
Student (Product Design) and President of Ukrainian Society
Maynooth University
Olena Kaniuka was born in 2003 and lived in Kharkiv in Ukraine. In Ukraine, Olena was studying Computer Science but was not able to continue her education due to the war. Olena fled Kharkiv, leaving everything behind, and arrived in Ireland in March of 2022, seeking a safe place. Through the National Student and Researcher Helpdesk, Olena was supported to apply for a place in higher education in Ireland. Olena is now completing a degree in Product Design at Maynooth University and is also President of the newly established Ukrainian Society at the University.
Philip Landon
Chief Operating Officer
Universities Canada
Philip Landon is Chief Operating Officer at Universities Canada. He is responsible for the association’s corporate and governance framework, member service initiatives and serves as secretary to the Board of Directors. He also leads the publications (including University Affairs), and programs teams which include Scholarship Partners Canada and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships program.
Philip has over 25 years’ experience in the higher education, international development, and governance sectors. His work has focused on shaping organizations and partnerships to effectively deliver programs that create and share knowledge to improve lives.
Piet van Hove
President
European Association for International Education
Piet Van Hove is the President (2022-24) of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and Senior Policy Advisor for Internationalisation at the University of Antwerp, where he previously studied Law. He has been active in this field since 1995, dealing with university-wide policy formulation on different aspects of internationalisation, including student and staff mobility, North/South cooperation, services for international staff and students, collaborative international projects and strategic networking.
Piet has been active in the leadership of several professional associations and nonprofits at the national and international level for many years, such as the Flanders Knowledge Area, ACA, the NGO APOPO and the EAIE. He presents frequently on a wide range of topics related to international higher education.
Pieter Duisenberg
President of the Association
Universities of the Netherlands
Pieter Duisenberg has served as president of the Association of Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) since 2017.
Between 1992 and 2012, Duisenberg spent 20 years in the private sector, working for Shell, McKinsey & Company and Eneco. In 2012, he was elected to the Dutch House of Representatives as a member of the VVD party with responsibility for the Higher Education and Science portfolio, leaving the House in 2017.
Under his leadership, the UNL strives to be an association that promotes cooperation between its members in areas of common interest and on a common agenda increasing the room for talent, quality and impact of the university sector. The university sector aspires to be a force for advancing knowledge and collaboration both in the Netherlands and internationally. UNL’s initiatives in this regard include the promotion of closer cooperation at the regional level and with the public and private sectors to boost the impact of knowledge, of an open and innovative university sector and of an increased room for talent
Phil Baty
Chief Global Affairs Officer
Times Higher Education
Phil is an international authority on university performance and strategy, with over 25 years of experience in global higher education, including a decade (2009-2019) as Editor of the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and its derivative analyses. He is an award-winning journalist, a sought-after speaker, commentator and consultant and is the founder of the preeminent World Academic Summit and its related series of senior university leadership events. Phil currently leads external affairs and government relations activities at THE, the trusted global data and insights partner for the higher education sector.
Rachel Wilkes
Collections Development Manager
HESA
Rachel has been working in the higher education sector for over ten years. At HESA has been running record reviews and consultations to help shape the future changes to our data collections. This has included the major finance record review, establishing the Data Futures specification and now the Aggregate Offshore Record major review.
In her spare time, Rachel plays the flute in the Cheltenham Philharmonic Orchestra and has her own crochet business selling animal patterns with her sister.
Dr Rose Ryan
Director of Access, Maynooth University and Lead, National Student and Researcher Helpdesk
Dr Rose Ryan is Director of Access at Maynooth University with responsibility for leading strategic change in relation to widening participation in higher education in Ireland. Dr Ryan leads several strategic initiatives including the Turn to Teaching programme, the largest national initiative to diversify access to teacher education and College Connect, a regional partnership to support access to higher education.
Dr Ryan also led the development of the National Student and Researcher Helpdesk established in 2022 to provide a single national approach to support applications from students displaced from Ukraine seeking to access higher education opportunities in Ireland.
Professor Shitij Kapur
President and Principal
King’s College London
Professor Shitij Kapur is the President & Principal of King’s College London. He returned to lead King’s in June 2021, following more than four years at the University of Melbourne, where he was Dean and Assistant Vice Chancellor (Health) for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and interim Deputy Vice Chancellor (International).
Professor Kapur is well known at King’s having previously served, between 2007 to 2016, as Assistant Principal (Academic Performance), Dean and Head of School for the Institute of Psychiatry and the founding Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).
Professor Simon Marginson
Professor of Higher Education
University of Oxford
Simon Marginson is Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford, Director of the ESRC/RE Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE), Joint Editor-in-Chief of Higher Education, and a Professorial Associate of the Melbourne Centre for Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in UK and a member of Academia Europaea.
Simon’s research is focused primarily on global and international higher education, higher education in East Asia, global science, and higher education and the common good.
Stephen Isherwood
Chief Executive
Institute of Student Employers
Stephen was appointed Chief Executive of the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) in June 2013, following seven years as Head of Graduate Recruitment (UK & Ireland) at EY. His role at ISE is responsible for market intelligence and thought leadership, for expertise and analysis, for policy direction and guidance to help members develop their early talent strategies.
Stephen has managed graduate recruitment and development programmes in both the private and public sectors and has extensive experience in the recruitment and development of students. In addition to his current role, Stephen sits on several steering groups related to higher education and employment. Recently he was a commissioner for the Student Futures Commission and a special advisor to Dame Shirley Pearce’s TEF review. He is a member of the Jisc Student Services Advisory Board, a trustee of Ashorne Hill Management College, works with the charity Speakers for Schools and is the Enterprise Advisor for Roding Valley High School. He has presented to various committees in Parliament and often appears in national and local media.
Sir Steve Smith
UK Government International Education Champion
Sir Steve was the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter from October 2002 to August 2020. He was previously Professor of International Politics and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, as well as Head of the Department of International Politics, and Director of the Centre for Public Choice Studies at the University of East Anglia. He has also been awarded an Honorary DSc of the University of Southampton; an Honorary DEd at the University of the West of England; and is an Honorary Fellow of both Aberystwyth University and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
In June 2020, Professor Sir Steve Smith was appointed as the UK International Education Champion a new Government role aimed at boosting global education partnerships, He was also appointed as the Prime Ministers Special Representative for Education to Saudi Arabia in October 2020.
Professor Tim Bedford
Associate Principal Research and Innovation
University of Strathclyde
Professor Tim Bedford is Associate Principal of the University of Strathclyde, leading the Research and Innovation portfolio in the University Executive Team. This includes developing collaboration with industrial and societal partners, relationships with UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and other government research and innovation funders, and international research, as well as working with Glasgow and government agencies to develop the Glasgow City Innovation District and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of CESAER, the European Association of Universities of Science and Technology, and co-chairs its Taskforce Innovation. He was recently appointed the Chair of the Universities UK Global Research and Innovation Network and also chairs the JISC Research Pro-Vice Chancellors Committee.
Professor Bedford is a researcher in Risk Analysis and Decision Making, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Ula Tang-Plowman
Deputy Director, International
University of Nottingham
Being once an international student and the first university graduate in her family, Ula is a true advocate of the life change experience of UK Higher Education. As the deputy director of international student recruitment, Ula is responsible of the University of Nottingham’s international student recruitment, and partnerships development.
Outside of the day job, Ula is the founder of the British Universities’ China Association and the executive member of BUILA.
Xiaoxiao Hou
PhD student and #WeAreInternational Student Ambassador
University of Liverpool and UKCISA
Xiaoxiao is a PhD student in dementia research at the University of Liverpool. As a student ambassador and member of the EDI committee at her university, Xiaoxiao has been devoted to student experience – in particular, understanding and meeting the needs of international students.
Outside of her research, she is also an accomplished Chinese zither performer who has won many awards and performed in music halls across the UK. As a #WeAreInternational Student Ambassador, she wants to see more productive and progressive international student policies.
Yinghui Gilbert
Director for International Partnerships
InterGreat Education Group
Yinghui is a Board Member and the Director for International Partnerships at InterGreat Education Group (IEG).
Previously, Yinghui served senior positions in Coventry University and Loughborough University International Offices and her responsibilities included managing admissions where she liaised with UCAS and UK NARIC (ENIC) on a regular basis.
Group bookings
If you would like to make a group booking for four delegates for IHEF, please book using this link. You do not need to have all the names for your group at time of booking.
If you have already booked a group booking for four delegates and would like to book additional colleagues from your organisation or book groups larger than four delegates from your organisation, please email events@universitiesuk.ac.uk for a discount code for the additional delegates.
If you have already made an individual booking but want to change this to a group booking, please email us at events@universitiesuk.ac.uk.
Price (for 4 delegates):
- UUK/UUKi members fee: £700
- UUK/UUKi members fee applies to delegates from universities which are members of Universities UK or Universities UK International. You can see a list of UUK members, and additional UUKi members.
- Not-for-profit fee: £1,100
- Not-for-profit fee applies to delegates from all other universities, colleges, government departments, charities and not-for-profit organisations.
- Standard fee: £1,250
- Standard fee applies to all other delegates.
Please note, this event is exempt from VAT.
Who should attend?
This conference will be useful for staff who have responsibility for developing international strategies across student recruitment, transnational education, research and mobility. Specific sessions will examine internationalisation at small and specialist institutions. Job titles of past attendees include:
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International)
- Deputy Vice Principal/Director/Deputy Director of International/Europe/Recruitment
- Head or Assistant Head of Global Partnerships/Projects
- Director of Research Operations
- Director/Head of International Marketing & Student Recruitment
- Regional Director
- Head or Assistant Head of Study Abroad
- Research Development Manager
Sponsorship
We have a range of sponsorship opportunities available at this event. Please contact Jess Jackson, Marketing and Sponsorships Officer, for more information: jess.jackson@universitiesuk.ac.uk