How do you make an institutional strategy feel relevant, accessible and important to an alumni community who may feel far away, both in terms of distance and years? In this interactive discussion session, Jenn will share examples of how Imperial has engaged its global alumni community with its new Science for Humanity strategy through communications, events and networks, and will invite you to share your own successes, and learning points from the experiments that didn’t go so well. This is a safe space to float ideas and be open about the barriers and hurdles we all face, so we can collectively come up with practical next steps, and answer the question “why should alumni care?”

From fundraising to social media, student recruitment campaigns to alumni profiles, how are we curating and creating the best content we can? How can we harness authentic voices and experiences to tell the story of our universities and build brand consistently? What content performs best? And how can we maximise the content we have across different channels and purposes?

Endowment fundraising can feel daunting, yet it is one of the most powerful ways to secure long-term financial sustainability for your institution. In this interactive campfire conversation, join Liz Lyle (Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford) and Helen McIlveen (CCS Fundraising) as they share sector trends, practical examples, and tested approaches to identifying and inspiring endowment giving prospects. This session will be a collaborative space for sharing successes, swapping strategies, and learning from each other’s experiences. Together, we’ll explore what works, what doesn’t, and how to craft approaches that resonate with prospective donors. Attendees will leave with practical actions to take back to their own contexts.

Success stories start with a strategy. It might be called a dream or a vision, but added to it must be inspiration, solid thinking and a plan. And you need power, oomph and persistence to make your story stick. This session will cover how this has played out for brands Daryl knows like the back of her hand, like Dove, Cadbury and Vodafone, plus other world class examples. It will stress the importance of creating something lasting, built on solid foundations, with a laser like focus on stakeholder insight, relevance, differentiation and a connection to the wider world combining to create an overarching and memorable theme. She will also demonstrate how she has landed this thinking powerfully with external and internal audiences.  

Join Blackbaud leaders for an open, forward-looking conversation designed for advancement leaders shaping the future of fundraising, engagement, and technology. This interactive Q&A session invites you to bring your questions, challenges, and ideas to the table. Explore how Blackbaud Solutions are transforming advancement strategy and hear directly from Blackbaud experts about what’s next. This is your space to connect and learn.

Advancement teams are under pressure to do more with less: personalize outreach, deepen alumni relationships, and drive philanthropy with limited time and resources. At the same time, AI, automation, and new digital tools are reshaping how institutions approach engagement. This roundtable invites a candid, peer-to-peer conversation about the realities of modern fundraising and donor relations. Drawing inspiration from findings in Gravyty’s State of Advancement Report, participants will explore: (a) how teams are balancing personalization with scale; (b) Practical ways to integrate AI into fundraising and stewardship workflows; (c) What’s working (and what’s not) in donor communication and data strategy; (d) How to build staff confidence and buy-in around new technology. Whether you’re experimenting with AI-driven outreach, automating donor stewardship, or simply exploring what’s next, this session will provide space to share challenges, lessons learned, and emerging best practices. Participants will leave with actionable insights to improve efficiency, enhance donor experience, and advance their institution’s long-term goals.

Go through a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ type of thought exercise where you can put yourselves in the shoes of a prospective international student. With the help of an interactive booklet, the session will go through a short exercise to then open up discussions to the table around how native language and cultural transcreation can help us form connections on a deeper level with our target audiences.

In an era where authenticity drives engagement, user-generated content (UGC) has become one of the most powerful tools for connecting with prospective students. This campfire session will explore how institutions can leverage student voices, stories, and experiences to build trust and foster genuine connections online. Join this campfire session to discuss with colleagues how you can turn your current students into effective social media ambassadors.