All events take place at Conference Aston.
Conference Aston, Aston University
Exclusive Tour of Aston University
This session will be delivered back at Conference Aston after the campus tour.
Enjoy lunch and networking with fellow members and partners.
Melissa Browne, CUBO Chair & Nysa Pradhan, CUBO Excutive Director
Mary Curnock Cook, CBE
Mary’s session will cover a broad range of perspectives on today’s higher education issues including how they impact recruitment and student experience, and the challenges for higher education leadership and staff in an underfunded sector. She doesn’t promise any solutions but will take an optimistic view of the future and suggest some ways to navigate towards success.
Session details to follow
Enjoy refreshments and networking with fellow members and partners.
Session details to follow
Melissa Browne, CUBO Chair
Conference Aston, Aston University
Conference Aston, Aston University
Join us for an informal dinner, with opportunities to network with fellow members and partners – and, if you'd like, take part in a game!
Conference Aston, Aston University
Belonging is built on a combination of purpose and interaction, and universities have both of these in spades. So, it is perhaps unexpected that, on average, only around half of all students feel they belong at their university. Students who feel connected to their learning community are more likely to stay in their course and establish strong academic and social networks that support them through the ups and downs of university life. Increasing rates of loneliness and poor mental health, coupled with AI as the ‘first responder’ to academic questions and burgeoning cohort sizes, are challenging student belonging.
Campus Intuition’s presentation demonstrates the fundamental role of social spaces and food in building student belonging, backed by data on the preferences and experiences of thousands of university students across the UK, Australia and Europe. It explores examples of social and food spaces that have made a real difference to life on campus, and asks the question – are your students leaving campus ASAP, or are they hanging around to make the most of their time and your campus assets?
Student First Group
A first look at the findings of new research into commuting student trends in the UK and Ireland.
Rody Vonk, Innovation Expert
This two-part (45 minutes + 60 minutes, with a 45-minute break) session combines a short
keynote with a full 90-minute Problem Solving Sprint, offering a hands-on, high-impact experience designed specifically for HE commercial services leaders.
Led by innovation expert Rody Vonk, the session blends design thinking, lean experimentation, and creative ideation techniques to help delegates tackle real challenges with actionable solutions.
Participants will work in small teams to identify key problems, reframe them creatively, generate ideas, and design low-risk experiments within a dynamic, outcome-focused environment.
Enjoy refreshments and networking with fellow members and partners
Rody Vonk, Innovation Expert
This two-part (45 minutes + 60 minutes, with a 45-minute break) session combines a short
keynote with a full 90-minute Problem Solving Sprint, offering a hands-on, high-impact experience designed specifically for HE commercial services leaders.
Led by innovation expert Rody Vonk, the session blends design thinking, lean experimentation, and creative ideation techniques to help delegates tackle real challenges with actionable solutions.
Participants will work in small teams to identify key problems, reframe them creatively, generate ideas, and design low-risk experiments within a dynamic, outcome-focused environment.
Celia Gaze, Founder & CEO, The Wellbeing Farm
Discover how one woman transformed a struggling farm into a thriving, sustainable business and what universities can learn from her conscious approach to growth, resilience, and revenue.
Melissa Browne, CUBO Chair
A final chance to connect and share experiences with peers and partners over lunch.
