Programme Outline

Wednesday 1 July

19:00–21:00 - Complimentary Pre-Conference Dinner
Conference Aston, Aston Street, B4 7ET

With thanks to our event sponsor, SMRS.

Thursday 2 July

John Cadbury House, 190 Corporation Street, Birmingham, B4 6QD

09:00–09:30 - Arrival and Refreshments

09:30–10:00 - Opening Plenary
Charlotte Renwick — Director of Marketing, Communications and Student Recruitment, Aston University 
Raman Sarpal — Deputy Director Marketing, Anglia Ruskin University

10:00–10:45 - From Audience Insight to Strategy in Practice
Speakers from SMRS
An interactive session to unpack how to turn audience insight into something you can actually use. Explore how to sharpen thinking, guide choices, and build a more coherent approach to strategy.

10:45–11:00 - Action Planning / Comfort Break

11:00–12:00 - Career Progression – Developing Your Personal Brand and Developing the Skills You Need to Progress
Dan Barcroft — Director of Marketing, Admissions, Recruitment and Communications, University of Sheffield
Laura-Jane Gould — Director of Marketing, Manchester Metropolitan University 
Rebecca Hollington — Director of Student Recruitment, Birmingham Newman University
Carolyn Senior – Director of Communications, Northumbria University

12:00–12:45 - Lunch

12:45–14:00 - 30 Sparks of Inspiration
Jim Tudor — Founder, Future Index
A fast-paced, visual, and energetic look at examples of benchmark marketing from around the world, from both universities and the wider world. Each spark will be chosen to stimulate the ‘what if’, and to encourage a new wave of brave, creative thinking and leadership in the university world. Jim will go old-school for this session with a return of the fabled Future Index sticker voting! We’ll get a chance to see just what really inspired the room. 

14:00–14:20 - Comfort Break

14:20–15:00 - AI & Automation in Practice – What Worked For Us and What Didn’t!
Amy Soper — Campaigns Manager, University of Southampton 
Emma T. — Deputy Director Marketing and Recruitment, Aston University 
Mat Gostelow — Campaigns and Marketing Manager, Aston University 
Tired of hearing what you could do with AI? Hear from the University of Southampton and Aston University marketing teams on how they are embedding AI skills and practices into their teams and what they’ve learned along the way.

15:00–15:30 - Team Activity

15:30–16:15 - It's Who You Know: Leveraging Stakeholder Relationships in Higher Education 
Vicky Hayhurst — Founder, Hayhurst & Co
Imagine a world where your internal stakeholders not only follow your advice but they proactively ask for it before they make a decision that could impact your work; a world where you and your team are positively spoken about, even when you're not in the room; a world where the people above you support your every move and give you the space and development you need to thrive. We know that these worlds exist, but not for everyone and not in every institution. In this session, using a range of tried and tested tools, sector knowledge, and a lifetime of experience, Vicky will move you towards making these worlds a reality for you.

16:15–16:30 - Closing Remarks