Priya will demystify AI, explain recent developments in technology, the opportunities for us as well as what to plan for in the future.

As the advancement sector in Europe and the UK continues to experience growth alongside multiple challenges in sustaining and developing individuals and teams, how can we ensure that we are recruiting and retaining the right people from a diverse pool of talent and supporting them to be their best selves in their roles. The diversification of thinking, people and culture is at the heart of building a strong and resilient team and one that is mindful of the environment we work in with our students, donors and alumni.

When was the last time you took a moment to critically evaluate what you do, why you do it, and how well it’s working for you and your institution’s goals? With busy days and stretched teams, we do not always have the luxury of space for reflection. Join us for a moment of calm followed by a dynamic conversation to help build the confidence and competence to refresh and renew your volunteering activities. Learn how you can get curious, listen to your audience, learn from your successes and failures, and prepare to lead change. Are you brave enough to stop?

Campaigns have become a fixture in the fundraising landscape, and offer institutions of all sizes the chance to transform how they engage with their audiences. How can campaigns best serve your institution and your audiences? What are the conditions for campaign success - and how do you navigate the challenges as well as the opportunities? Three speakers bring campaign experience from the UK to New Zealand and will touch on building internal buy-in through training academic champions; developing brand and partnering with external communications; and how to maximise existing and new opportunities with donors in the context of a strategic campaign. This is a roundtable session where participants can learn from each other and will come away with armed with new ideas for their own institutions as well as an expanded professional network.

The University of Westminster is proud to have an incredibly diverse student and alumni community. In this session, we explore how we've evolved our alumni programme to encourage participation across the student body, and share our journey to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion runs through every thread of our alumni activities - from the talk topics we deliver to the role models we present to our students.

Stories are like a magic lamp.

They have the power to make our wishes come true.

A strong narrative can inspire our alumni to do anything: engage, attend, volunteer, mentor, donate.

We need compelling stories. But where do we start? Why not start with the basics?

Every memorable story is structured around one of the 7 basic plots of storytelling:

1. Overcoming the monster
2. Rags to riches
3. Voyage and return
4. The quest
5. Comedy
6. Tragedy
7. Redemption

By understanding and embracing these 7 plots, we can craft stories that will excite, engage, and educate our alumni.

How we turned an idea about data analysis into a successful insight dashboard that helps boost fundraising performance. This will look at: -Collaboration -Importance of data collection -Delivering Change -Actionable insight using data visualisations -Letting the data and insight drive our conversations -Measuring the impact

Starting with the ambitious goal of creating the "best campaign reports in the world" KAUST's Global Branding and Communications team and 448 Studio developed a project team and undertook a 6-month long project that encompassed 100s hours of work. Using KAUST's largest brand campaign as the template, we deep-dived into every possible data point across web, emails, print, social media, digital marketing, and brand partnerships to determine what gets reported, how it is reported, and to who. This session showcases our learnings, and we make recommendations on how to adapt and apply these to your own work and institutions.

In June 2022 the University of East Anglia led in announcing the discovery of the 340-year-old royal shipwreck the Gloucester, off the Norfolk coast in the UK, together with a major research project and exhibition. One of UEA's biggest-ever integrated communications and content campaigns, the story made headlines around the world. As the research and exhibition continue, this session looks at UEA's approach to the announcement, objectives, the logistics of working with multiple internal and external stakeholders, and ongoing work to shed light on the story of the Gloucester and its significance to UEA, our region and in British history.

More than just a reunion programme, 'Time to Celebrate' is an award-winning cross-team collaborative campaign that builds on milestone graduation anniversaries to engage a wider cross-section of alumni than we could ever reach through in-person activities, from recent grads to retirees. In this session, find out how we built a recurring campaign that engages alumni regularly throughout their lives, brings in a 90% positive response to email consent, raises funds from new and disengaged donors and honours the complex history of our institution.

It is increasingly recognised that the potential returns on investing in trust and corporate fundraising can be very significant. With access to potentially transformative UK and international funds, strong professional networks among HEIs, and insights into potential fundraising projects for other fundraising streams, is it time for the university sector to prioritise investment in trust and corporate fundraising teams?

The THE University of the Year Award recognises exceptional performance, as well as bold and imaginative initiatives that have advanced a Higher Education institution’s reputation. Northumbria's win reflects its transformation to become the UK’s first research-intensive university that also delivers social mobility. Hear more about Northumbria’s strategy which puts high-quality research at the centre, while still focusing on widening participation, putting it at the heart of the resurgence of Newcastle, and the wider North East economy. This session covers how and why Northumbria won, and how it used the win to catapult itself into the global, national and regional spotlight.

Deep dive with Liz Reilly and Karen Cairney following their key session Unleashing the power of your people: attracting, retaining and maximising the potential of your diverse talent pool.