International student recruitment conference 2025

Jamie was appointed Director of Universities UK International (UUKi) in November 2022. Prior to taking on this role, Jamie led Universities UK’s research and innovation policy programme (2014-2017) before becoming Assistant Director for Policy Engagement at UUKi (2017-2022).  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. 

Emily leads UUK's work to influence the political environment for universities and make sure parliamentarians know about the vital work members do. She started her career working in politics, and has spent the past couple of decades running public affairs, campaigns and communications work in a range of sectors including housing, health and social care. She loves being in a position where she and her team can create change and give a voice to a whole sector, and believes universities have an incredible story for us to tell. 

Mark Coates is International Student Services Manager at De Montfort University, where he leads on UKVI compliance, risk management, and student experience for a diverse international cohort. With over a decade in higher education, Mark has developed expertise in immigration policy, operational leadership, and process improvement, previously holding senior roles at Keele and Anglia Ruskin University. He is co-secretary of the UKVI ARC Group and an active member of AHEP, contributing to sector-wide best practice and regulatory guidance. Mark is passionate about creating a welcoming environment for international students while ensuring robust compliance and institutional excellence.
 

Dr Donaldson joined Universities Scotland as a Senior Policy Officer in 2022.  Since taking on this role, Dr Donaldson has worked with universities and Scottish Government, supporting the launch of a Scottish Education Exchange Programme, the Scottish Government’s International Education Strategy and the “Come to Study. Find Scotland” international student recruitment” campaign. Prior to joining Universities Scotland, Dr Donaldson spent 13 years in life sciences research at the Universities of Edinburgh and Bristol. He obtained his PhD from the University of Bristol and holds degrees from the University of Nottingham and the University of Edinburgh.

Simon Emmett is the chief executive officer of IDP UK and a highly experienced international education services and technology leader. He joined the sector and the Hotcourses Group 20 years ago, first building university and college strategic partnerships and then leading commercial teams in the UK and North America.  

In 2011, Simon progressed to lead a business unit focusing on UK domestic student marketing and recruitment, scaling the audience, brand awareness and commercial outcomes for Whatuni.com and acquiring The Complete University Guide. He then led the growth of the international division including the Hotcourses International websites, before becoming Hotcourses Group, CEO in 2015. In 2017, Simon led the Hotcourses Group to join IDP Education and build the world’s leading platform and connected community to support and guide students in achieving their learning goals. Simon is part of the IDP Global Leadership Team and leads the IDP partners business unit in a global role responsible for government, sector engagement, client data insights, marketing and recruitment services.  

She has been actively involved in sector bodies such as UKCISA in many roles. For example training coordinator of the Association of International Student Advisers  (AISA) Executive 2011 – 2017; co-chair of the Immigration Compliance Network (ICN) from 2017 – 2024. As part of the latter was a member of UKVI Education Advisory Group, which met monthly to discuss UKVI Student Policy and operations. She has presented at conferences on UKVI compliance and international student experience at conferences nationally and internationally such as UKCISA, UCAS, National association for College Admissions counselling (NACAC) and Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA).  

Naheeda currently heads the Visa Support Team at the University of Bradford, responsible for all aspects of the international student journey, pre-arrival to graduation.  The team is focused on delivering a bespoke service to applicants that is responsive and agile as we work in a changing environment and enables students to make informed choices. The team have consistently been in the top 3 in the UK of the International Student Barometer for visa advice and student support and a PIE finalist for international student support.
 

Catriona is the British Council's Global Head of Student Mobility and Internationalisation of UK Education, leading on three of the British Council's six global programmes within Education. She joined the British Council in November 2024, having spent more than two decades leading on global strategies, engagement, and operations within the HE sector.   
During that time, she also served as Vice Chair and then Chair of the British Universities International Liaison Association, and was the organisation's first Chair to come from one of the devolved nations.  

Catriona has served on several sector-specific advisory boards and is also a Non-Exec Director at Ireland’s largest overseas aid charity.  

Suraj Modhvadiya leads on international student and staff recruitment, compliance and immigration policy. He engages with members, government departments and sector bodies to shape policy positions, align priorities and deliver coordinated advocacy. His background spans membership bodies, advocacy groups and research organisations, and he specialises in using data and evidence to inform policy, tackle challenges and champion the UK’s global education offer.

Abtisam Mohamed MP has been serving as the Labour MP for Sheffield Central since July 2024. Prior to entering Parliament, Ms. Mohamed was a Labour councillor (2016-2024) and cabinet member for Education (2019-2021) on Sheffield City Council where she worked to expand remote learning, reduce exclusions and set up the Sheffield Race Equality Commission. Outside of politics, she worked full time in community development for 17 years, qualifying as a teacher before moving on to practice as a solicitor for the last 10 years.

Stephanie Pitticas serves as Vice‑Principal (Internationalisation) at the University of the West of Scotland, where she leads a university-wide strategy to enhance global impact and spearheads a new Transnational Education (TNE) strategy. Previously, she was Director of Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions and Director of the London campus at Glasgow Caledonian University, overseeing international partnerships and student services. Earlier, she held the position of Head of Admissions at Regent’s University London, improving recruitment and applicant experience. With a career rooted in international student recruitment, admissions and international partnerships, Stephanie focusses on integrating internationalisation throughout the student journey and across the University. 

Oliver Quinn Palmer is Head of Client Partnerships at IDP UK and works across intelligence, data consultancy, marketing and student recruitment. Ollie leads IDP UK’s Client Partnership team to work closely with UK and Irish universities to develop and implement sustainable recruitment strategies. Ollie has been at IDP for nine years, having previously worked for The Independent and The Guardian.

Charley works in UUKI’s policy and global engagement team leading up our work on our international student recruitment and outward student mobility programmes. Prior to joining UUKi she has worked extensively in the UK higher education sector, in roles heading up international student recruitment, partnerships, scholarships and outward student mobility teams. 

Emma Skelton is currently Head of Client Success, UK and Europe at IDP Connect. Her team is responsible for ensuring UK and Ireland institutions achieve the best results across IDP’s products and services. Prior to her role at IDP, Emma worked at the British Council where she worked with the UK parliament and sector bodies on international education issues, including mobility and student recruitment.

Tom Woodward is Assistant Director at Universities Wales. He oversees the Global Wales programme, a partnership collaboration promoting Wales internationally.

Tom was the Welsh Government’s Special Adviser for education for seven years where he oversaw the introduction of the most generous student maintenance grants in the UK, the roll-out of a new school curriculum, and helped lead the government’s response to the covid pandemic. He later worked directly to the First Minister in key priority policy areas.

Tom was previously the Director of Communications for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.