Welcome to the Newcomers Track 2021

Are you new to the education sector? Never been to a CASE conference before?

The Newcomers Track is an opportunity for you to enjoy a bonus programme of learning, networking, and socialising before the main conference begins.

We welcome all newcomers who have joined the educator sector in the past 2 years, regardless of whether you are a fresh-faced graduate, or an experienced manager entering the sector in a senior role.

We also welcome colleagues working in a variety of roles across advancement in education. Your day job might be fundraising, communications, alumni relations, marketing, or leadership. Either way, our sessions have been handpicked with everyone’s personal and professional development in mind.

Our 3-day programme (split into digestible 3-hour instalments) is brimming with valuable content to help you feel connected, informed, and super-charged for the rest of CASE Europe Annual Conference 2021.

Discover the international context of the education landscape. Gain advice on how to work with academics. Learn 21 ways to increase your readability in 2021. Overcome your imposter syndrome. Practice public speaking in our Pecha Kucha competition. Participate in speed-networking with senior leaders. Share your impressions of the sector in a live-scribing session, which will transform your words into a visual keepsake.

We can’t wait to get started. See you there!

Please REGISTER HERE

Catherine Thomson, Chair, Newcomers Track

Simon Fairbanks, Deputy Chair, Newcomers Track

Newcomers Programme:

Day 1 - 15th November 2021

14:00-14:30: Introductions

Speaker: Catherine Thomson, Head of Marketing, Robert Gordon University and Simon Fairbanks, Head of Student Recruitment Events, University of Nottingham

Session Description: Meet the chairs and everyone attending

14:30-14:50: Setting the scene for CEAC

Speaker: Bruce Bernstein, Executive Director, CASE Europe

Session Description: Student and Young Alumni Officer

15:00-15:45: A Journey Around the World of Higher Education

Speaker: Katja Lamping, Director of Student Recruitment, UCL

Session Description: Discover a range of reflections, insights and tips from a senior professional’s experience of working in universities across the UK, China and Australia.

16:00-17:00: How to work with academics

Speaker: Simon Fairbanks, Head of Student Recruitment Events, University of Nottingham - Chair, Lisa Walters, Marketing, Communications and Student Recruitment Manager, UCL, Professor Elizabeth Gammie, Head of Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, Dr Tim Beasley-Murray, Associate Professor of European Thought and Culture, UCL, Oliver Walmsley, Director of Business Relations, University of Warwick

Session Description: A panel offering advice on how best to work with academic colleagues, comprised of professional services staff and academic colleagues themselves.

Day 2 - 16th November 2021

14:00 -15:00: Speed- networking across the sector

Speaker: Catherine Thomson, Head of Marketing, Robert Gordon University and Simon Fairbanks, Head of Student Recruitment Events, University of Nottingham

Session Description: An opportunity for newcomers to network through a facilitated online networking system. Newcomers will be able to build their networks across the sector.

15:10-16:00: "You are on Mute!" How we adapted through the pandemic

Speaker: Catherine Thomson, Head of Marketing, Robert Gordon University and Simon Fairbanks, Head of Student Recruitment Events, University of Nottingham

Session Description: An opportunity for delegates to practice their public speaking by delivering a Pecha Kucha presentation (20 slides, 20 seconds per slide) on the topic of how their university, college or school has responded to the pandemic, with a focus on specific initiatives which have facilitated connection, the theme of this year's conference. Those not presenting will expand their knowledge of the sector, and vote for the winner.

16:00- 17:10: "Nobody reads my...!" 21 ways to increase your readability in 2021

Speaker: Simon Fairbanks, Head of Student Recruitment Events, University of Nottingham

Session Description: A presentation on how to increase the readability of your emails, webpages, letters, publications, and social media to help you stand out in a bustling education sector. We will offer a variety of quick fixes which will greatly improve the accessibility of your content, and ensure they are read by your students, colleagues, academics, alumni, and external partners.

Day 3 - 17th November 2021

09:45-11:00: First Impressions- Part 1

Speaker: Catherine Thomson, Head of Marketing, Robert Gordon University and Laura Evans, Founder and Director of Nifty Fox Creative

Session Description: A scribed session that will capture newcomers' perceptions of the sector and the issues we're grappling with. Session to be led by Laura Evans-Hill at Nifty Fox Creative.

11:00-11:45: First Impressions- Part 2

Speaker: Catherine Thomson, Head of Marketing, Robert Gordon University and Laura Evans, Founder and Director of Nifty Fox Creative

Session Description: A continuation of our scribing session with Nifty Fox Creative

11:45-12:00: Reflections and Close

Speaker: Catherine Thomson, Head of Marketing, Robert Gordon University