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Somayeh Aghnia, FBCS, Cofounder of London School of Innovation, Geeks and WordUp

Somayeh is a visionary changemaker at the intersection of technology, education, and business, working to shape a positive AI-powered future. As co-founder of London School of Innovation, UK's first tech specialised university, Geeks, an AI Adoption Consultancy and WordUp, an AI language-learning app, she is dedicated to cultivating leaders for our AI-powered tomorrow. Host of The Innovation Room podcast, she explores overlooked perspectives with industry leaders. Recognised with awards like the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation, Somayeh is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of technology through responsible leadership, often engaging in debates on education, work and of course dogs.

 

Dr Catherine Beeby-Mills, Director of Planning and Strategic Projects (Conference Host)

Catherine has worked in UK higher education for 17 years in a range of HE management roles, at a diverse set of universities (modern and research-intensive) and has been part of the wider strategic planning community for six years. 

In her current role as Director of Planning and Strategic Projects at the University of Roehampton, Catherine leads the planning, insight and project management services across the University. This includes leading Roehampton’s: business planning cycle, student number planning and strategic risk management; data and insight services – including statutory returns; and delivery of the University’s portfolio of strategic projects and the supporting project management services.

 

Emma Brookes, Strategic Projects & Research Manager, UHR

Emma brings nearly two decades of HR expertise to Universities Human Resources, with a career rooted in enhancing people strategies across the Higher and Further Education sectors. Since joining UHR in 2021, Emma has led a variety of impactful projects aimed at supporting members, with a particular focus on reward, engagement, ways of working, and wellbeing. Beyond her work at UHR, Emma is an active member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), currently serving as Chair of the CIPD Manchester Branch. Her work is driven by a commitment to building engaging, inclusive workplaces that support the needs and aspirations of all employees.

 

Carley Brown, Consultant, Strengthify 

Carley is an experienced Business Psychologist and Facilitator with over 15 years’ experience of supporting leaders and teams to foster workplace engagement through positive psychology and evidence-based practice. She has used applied psychology to drive behaviour and culture change within forensic settings, as well as the NHS, Royal Air Force and Higher Education. Driven by a passion for improving the workplace, she has dedicated her career to understanding the intersection of human behaviour and organisational success.

Holger Bollmann, Founder, Strengthify

With an extensive background spanning almost 25 years in the higher education sector, Holger has garnered valuable positive experiences by applying positive psychology and a strengths-based approach to engage, develop, and empower his teams. Motivated to extend the benefits of this methodology to the sector at large, he established Strengthify in 2023. Strengthify’s primary focus is on assisting managers and teams in enhancing engagement, productivity, and overall well-being. Through Strengthify, we aim to guide managers and staff in making incremental yet consistent improvements, fostering long-term benefits for sustained success.

Craig Chapman-Smith, Director of Strategy Implementation and Risk, University of Glasgow 

Craig has over 30 years’ experience in portfolio, programme and project management and has delivered major change in the retail, medical/pharmaceutical, government and health sectors. Craig has been at the University of Glasgow for over 6 years and has taken the lead in transforming risk, governance and portfolio management. His current role drives forward the implementation of the University and enabling strategies. Craig is the current Chair of the HESPA Specialist Interest Group for Strategy Development and Implementation as well as a member of the HESPA Higher Education Risk Management Network (HERMN).

 

Paul Clark, Strategy Consultant and Interim Director of Strategy, Risk, and Planning

Paul Clark has worked for over 30 years in the higher education sector. He has held senior leadership positions at University College London (as Vice-President for Strategy), the Higher Education Statistics Agency (as Chief Executive), and Universities UK (as Director of Policy). In all of these roles, he developed and implemented effective strategies, policies, and frameworks for planning, performance, organisational transformation, and data management.
 
Paul has particular expertise in data strategy, governance, and privacy regulation. He is passionate about supporting the advancement and innovation of the higher education sector and its contribution to society.

 

Dr Shane Crothers, Director of Business Intelligence and Planning, Ulster University 

Shane has 24 years’ experience in HE; spanning teaching, research, institutional planning and widening participation, as well as a decade of concurrent commercial experience in the private sector.

Over his career inside and outside of HE, he has been involved in everything from the development of atmospheric correction algorithms for space-based instruments to drafting institutional and subsidiary strategies, and from designing and building new homes to developing and delivering flagship educational outreach initiatives (and, of course, countless HESA returns).

Shane has a PhD in evidence-led decision-making, and, as Director of Business Intelligence and Planning, has sought to transform Ulster University’s capability, capacity and culture in respect of BI to enable and empower decision-making that is both action-orientated and evidence-led.

 

Shirley Dalziel, Director, Develop Global

Shirley is a founder and Director of Develop Global, specialising in consultancy and training in Business Partnering across Corporate Service Teams, including Finance, HR, IT, Supply Chain, Strategy etc. She has been a management consultant since 1993 and an academic from 1984. She is co-author of ‘The Business Partnering Toolkit’ (CIPD 2006) and ‘Transforming Professional Services’ (CIPFA 2018) as well as numerous articles and book chapters over the years. In addition to specialising in Business Partnering, she simplifies complexity and links psychology to business strategy. She has worked across the globe with clients in most business sectors, including numerous Universities.

 

Dominic Davis, Director of Strategy and Planning, City St George’s, University of London

Dominic is the Director of Strategy and Planning at City St George’s, University of London. Dominic’s role includes: strategy, academic planning, performance, market and business intelligence, data governance, risk management and business continuity.

Dominic moved to Strategy and Planning, having previously been Head of Admissions, and Head of Marketing and Recruitment at City. Before joining City in 2009, Dominic worked for the University of Nottingham.

Dominic studied Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and holds postgraduate qualifications in strategic marketing from the Open University and an MSc in Executive Leadership, from Bayes Business School.

 

Alaa Elaydi, Head of Academic Quality, Data and Risk, BPP University

Alaa Elaydi is Head of Academic Quality, Data and Risk at BPP University. With experience in policy, strategy, and business intelligence, she has previously held roles at Universities UK, the Scottish Funding Council and the National Union of Students.

 

Aya Ferguson, Head of Consulting, SUMS Group

Aya has spent over 15 years leading teams to deliver complex change across a breadth of sectors, specialising in Higher Education. Aya recently joined SUMS as Head of Consulting after several senior roles in UK universities including Head of Change Management at King’s College London, Transformation Director at University College London and most recently Director of Change and Improvement at University of East London.

Examples of the change Aya has delivered include: Projects within UCL’s multi-million pound Transforming Our Professional Services programme, Change management for the £100m Bush House programme at King’s College London, which included significant changes to ways of working for academics and professional services staff, and Change Management functions and services at King’s College London, University College London and University of East London.

Aya is passionate about supporting leaders, managers and employees through change and delivering people-related return on investment for institutions. 

 

Miriam Fernandez, Professor of Responsible AI, Open University

Professor Miriam Fernandez is a leading expert in Responsible Artificial Intelligence at the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi), Open University, UK. Her research focuses on aligning AI innovation with ethical and societal values, particularly in areas such as algorithmic transparency, fairness, and the societal impacts of AI. A prolific researcher with over 100 publications in top journals and conferences, Professor Fernandez has secured more than £2M in external funding. She leads OU Analyse, a pioneering initiative using machine learning to identify at-risk students, supporting the success of the Open University’s 200,000-strong student body. She also champions equality and diversity across KMi and the OU.

 

Dr Sarah Gordon, (Prof of Practice), Satarla

Dr Sarah Gordon is co-founder and CEO of Satarla sustainability and risk management. She is also co-founder of the not-for-profit Responsible Raw Materials and production company Critical Productions. Recently she also took on a part time role at Imperial College as Professor of Practice and Co-Director of the new Centre for Future Materials.

Having started her career as an exploration geologist before moving into risk management and sustainability, Sarah has always been passionate about ensuring that we make sustainability a reality. Sarah is regularly invited to advise organisations and governments on raw materials and is a member of the UK Government Expert Committee on Raw Materials. Sarah is also a Trustee of Geology for Global Development, Women in Mining UK, is an Industry Advisor to iCRAG, and the University of Leicester Institute for Environmental Futures.  

 

Catherine Hare, Professional Support Lawyer, Forbes Solicitors

Catherine qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and has specialised in employment law since that time. She has represented both Claimant's and Respondent's and worked both in private practice and inhouse. In her role as a professional support lawyer she undertakes many tasks, such as supporting the public sector employment law team by providing legal updates, providing in person and online training to Schools, Academy Trusts and Colleges on a range of legal issues, and drafting documents to ensure legal compliance in an ever evolving legal landscape. Catherine also assists with tenders and attends marketing events.

 

Julian Hughes, Portfolio Development, Falmouth University 

Julian has held a wide range of operational, leadership, executive, strategic and development roles throughout his career within international commercial organisations to local, SME’s. Julian has been involved in large, European-wide learning and development projects leading inception through to delivery and implementation. Having been at Falmouth University for 6 years; Julian has been been involved with both Academic and Professional Services, where he has acted as a central/operational hub to coordinate the implementation of new portfolio; generating a strong understanding of how Falmouth operates and perhaps more importantly, how the university can use the information they collect for common strategic goals.

 

Niamh Lamond, Registrar and Chief Operating Officer, Swansea University 

Niamh Lamond is the Registrar and Chief Operating Officer at Swansea University, overseeing professional services, including Faculty-specific, such as human resources, estates, strategic planning and transformation, marketing, recruitment and international, and digital. With a background in engineering from University College Dublin, and qualifications as a Chartered Management Accountant, Niamh has held senior roles across higher education, including the COO at Ulster University, and CEO of Falmouth Exter Plus (a joint venture partnership between Exeter University and Falmouth University). Niamh has led major campus developments and programmes of professional service redesign , fostering collaboration across teams, innovation, and transformation to enhance the student and staff experience across higher education institutions. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Chartered Director (IoD). 

 

Dr Julie Leeming, Director of Planning, St George’s School of Health and ­­Medical Sciences, City St George's (Conference Host)

Julie joined St George’s in September 2012 and was appointed to the role of Director of Planning at St George’s in September 2016. She provides advice on policy initiatives, rankings and performance. Her responsibilities include:

  • Horizon scanning for changes to higher education (HE)
  • Data assurance and risk of statutory returns
  • Analysis and modelling of data submit to external bodies e.g the TEF and B3 metrics
  • Coordination of the planning rounds
  • Scenario planning
  • Analysis of grant letters, including assessing impact of changing funding models
  • Monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) for strategic and operational planning.

Julie currently sits on a number of external groups including the CUG advisory board, HEDIG and the JISC student data forum. She is a member of the HESPA exec and in co-Chair of the London Higher Planners’ Group. In Aug 2024, City and St George’s Universities merged, to form City St George’s.

 

Laura C McHugh, Partner, Forbes Solicitors

Laura is a Partner with over fifteen years of experience in employment law. Having acted almost exclusively for clients in the Education sector for a number of those years, Laura is a trusted advisor to many Schools, Academy Trusts and Colleges (both FE and Sixth-Form). Laura also regularly acts for Local Authorities and Housing Associations, providing pragmatic and proactive advice together with a clear commercial strategy to clients with regards to all aspects of employment law.

 

Dr. Alba Morales-Tirado, Research Associate, Open University

Dr. Alba Morales Tirado is a postdoctoral researcher at the Knowledge Media Institute, Open University, currently leading work on the FairAI4EdTech project. She brings extensive expertise in AI development and privacy, overseeing technical, social, and policy challenges related to bias and fairness. Alba completed her PhD in 2022, focusing on data-driven support for Smart Cities, specifically using her "Health Condition Evolution Ontology (HECON)" to identify health information critical for emergency response. She has also worked as an Information Security Specialist, auditing Industrial Control Systems, and holds a master’s in Information Security from the University of Greenwich.

 

Dr. Paul Mulholland, Senior Research Fellow, Open University

Dr. Paul Mulholland is a Senior Research Fellow at the Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University. He has been a Principal or Co Investigator on 12 national and European funded projects, delivering outcomes including: innovative applications for museum staff and visitors; mobile applications for formal and informal learning; automated narrative generation tools; and semantic and knowledge technologies for school and work-based learning. He has published over 100 conference and journal articles. He is Deputy Editor of the International Journal of Human Computer Studies. 

 

Ramita Tejpal, Associate Professor and Dean of Academic Quality and Policy, BPP University

Ramita Tejpal is Associate Professor and Dean of Academic Quality and Policy at BPP University. With significant experience across both the higher and further education sectors, she has held advisory roles across the sectors on strategic, policy and governance matters, and worked closely with statutory and regulatory bodies as a reviewer and inspectorate.

 

Adrian Vickers, Partner, Fusion – Estates Strategists

Adrian is a founding Partner at Fusion, a company specialising in delivering sustainable, cost-effective and evidence-based estate development plans and strategies. 
Adrian trained as a chartered accountant at Price Waterhouse, he then worked in senior management within the NHS. His roles included supporting and assessing major capital developments which led him into estate planning consultancy for over 24 years, including specialising in developing complex, empirical capacity models to quantify space requirements and evidence need.

Founded in 2008, Fusion works across both Healthcare and Higher Education - from vision and strategy to activity-based redesign and performance improvement, from concept to detailed planning and delivery, avoiding where possible expensive capital costs and maximising current facilities.

 

Carrie Williams, Account Director Higher Education, Lightcast

Carrie supports Lightcast’s university clients in the UK and Europe as they use skills and labour market data to inform a range of activities from strategic planning, to course development and design, careers advice, and academic research.  Carrie has a background in marketing and student recruitment that gives her a keen appreciation of the importance of employment outcomes to prospective students.

 

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