09:00 - 09:15 BST Welcome and Introductions

Bruce Bernstein, Executive Director, Global Engagement, CASE

David Gilani, Head of Student Engagement and Advocacy, Middlesex University

Ruth Wood, Student Communications Manager, Canterbury Christ Church University

09:15 - 10:00 BST Lessons Learned from Covid-19

Throughout this whirlwind year of student communications, the demands of the pandemic have often demanded us to move from crisis to crisis. With little time to stop and reflect on the sheer volume of work we have all undertaken, how do you even begin to unpack your experiences? Bobby will share his insights on the challenges faced at Sheffield, and the lessons we can all learn from a year of working through a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic from our bedrooms.

Bobby Futter, Student Communications Coordinator, The University of Sheffield 

10:00 - 10:15 BST Break

10:15 - 11:00 BST Breakout Sessions

• Welfare and Wellbeing Communications
  
  In this session, we’ll come together to discuss the challenges of tone of voice and platform choices, when we choose to communicate about sensitive topics.

  In a year where we know our students have struggled with a suite of challenges, what should the our institutional response be? Should we be reaching out more than before and offering them advice on how to support their wellbeing, or is that an overstep? Do our students expect to us to provide this support service, and if so who in the university should be sending it? Should we go to them in their environment (Instagram/social media generally) or should we stick to our platforms? When we want to talk about sensitive issues, are we using a formal tone or do we need to adjust? And if we’re adjusting our tone, how far can we go before it becomes too much of departure?

  We’re sure you’ve debated questions like this and we’ve all grappled with this important topic. So, in this session, we’ll share some examples of what’s worked well for our students, at Kings, (and some that we’ve learned from). We’ll also open up to the group, posing hypothetical scenarios and hearing how we would all tackle them.
  
  Bonnie Amato Southcott, Head of Student Support, King's College London

• Reflection on the First 100 Days in Student Comms

  Coming into a Russell Group University to head-up a newly established team was a challenge I was desperate to get my hands on. Since May, I have jumped head-first into the deep end of crisis COVID-19 communications and dealing with the impact the pandemic has had on student experience nationwide.  Carving time away from this crisis work to really take stock and research how our current communications are working, as well as working on how the future might look has been a challenge. Coming from a team that I led to winning multiple national awards including being named Marketing Team of the Year at the FE First awards and shortlisted at HEIST Awards, I have been firm in sticking to the processes and ethics I believe in, which enabled my previous team to be so successful.

  During this session, I will discuss some of the experiences I have had across my 14-year career in education marketing and comms and how I plan to develop another highly effective and sector-leading team. I’ll also work through the value I place on evidence-based decision-making and having student experience as the cornerstone on which all our work is built on.
  
  Luke Shearing, Student Communications Manager, University of Southampton

11:00 - 11:15 BST Break

11:15 - 12:00 BST Breakout Sessions

• Mastering the Basics of Student Communications and doing More with Less
  
  There’s nothing quite like a global pandemic to demonstrate the critical importance of timely and relevant student communications.

  Are you a small team (or a team of one) who has spent 18 months feeling like you’re constantly reacting? In this session, we’ll cover the foundations to have in place to ensure that you’re set up for success, including some quick wins that will help you to do more with your limited capacity.

  As a group, we’ll also discuss the specific challenges you’re currently facing and come up with practical strategies for you to take away. Bring your challenges, your top tips and beverage of choice!
  
  Annie Lordon, Communications Business Partner, King's College London

• Going from Good to Great: Panel Discussion about working on a Large Student Comms Team

  So, you’ve been given some additional funding? Perhaps your student comms team now has more than one person? You’ve been doing this for a few years and are thinking about next steps?

  This panel discussion, featuring three practitioners from universities that have invested in student communications, will focus on the challenges you may face after you’ve got the basics of student comms right. You’ll learn a bit about the main challenges / ambitions for each of the panellists and have plenty of opportunities to ask your own questions.
  
  Laura Smith, Head of Student Communications, Birmingham University
  
  Karen Scaife, Student Engagement Manager, University of Aberdeen
  
  Malcolm Roberts, Head of Student Communications and Creative Content, The University of Sheffield 
  
  David Gilani, Head of Student Engagement and Advocacy, Middlesex University

12:00 - 13:00 BST Break

13:00 - 13:45 BST The Student Voice: How students are feeling and how this can help you communicate with them

This unique session is essential for anyone in higher education who communicates with students. We bring you real student stories (as recorded videos) from the UK’s largest online student community: The Student Room. Find out how students are feeling as a result of the pandemic and what they want from universities. Our students share their key concerns, their experiences of applying for university, and what they need from universities now.

Paul Cernicharo-Terol, Sales Director at The Student Room

Mhairi Underwood (she/her), Head of Student Voice and Diversity at The Student Room

13:45 - 14:00 BST Break

14:00 - 14:45 BST Looking Ahead: What Next for Student Communications?

As we emerge from the greatest ever disruption to universities and to student lives, what aspects of university-to-student communications can we now build on and where are we headed next?

There’s no doubt that the pandemic and the lockdown have changed the way in which universities interact and engage with their students forever. As we look to the months ahead and to the re-emergence of mass student presence on campus and to ‘normality’, what can we take forward into this brave new world?

This session will draw on the work of Michael Lavery and Justin Shaw, two experienced higher education advisors who’ve been addressing improvements to student communications with universities globally through audits, reviews and innovation workshops. They will identify and share particular areas for improvement and show how the circumstances of 2020-21 have actually expedited the movement for more strategic importance on student communications, which they contend have too often been a significant weakness and an area of severe underinvestment. They will show examples of innovative practices from universities around the world that point to the way forward. This session will also include an interactive discussion on your challenges and the ideas and practical changes that you can take back to your institution.

Michael Lavery, CEO , Brand & Reputation

Justin Shaw, Chief HE Consultant, Communications Management

14:45 - 15:00 BST Break

15:00 - 15:45 BST Let’s talk about race

Over a year on from the UK Black Lives Matter protests across the UK, this session is an opportunity to reflect on the role that student communications can play in challenging racial inequalities and delivering long lasting transformative change within our university communities.

At Canterbury Christ Church University we are at the start of this journey and will share our learnings so far. The session will include the launch of our dedicated Black History 365 campaign which celebrates the contributions that individuals from our Black community make towards our society. It will also cover our participation in the broader #IMatter/Allyship campaigns which help shine a light on racial disparities in higher education and build a supportive community in which members can stand together against racism.

The panel will include the University’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Strategic Lead, the Marketing lead for the campaigns and a representative from the Student Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Network.

Mary Makinde, Senior Lecturer, Forensic Investigation, Canterbury Christ Church University

Kirsty McCarthy, Digital Communications Lead, Canterbury Christ Church University

Gigi Gittings-Hart, Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Student Network Leader, Canterbury Christ Church University

15:45 - 16:00 BST Break

16:00 - 16:45 BST Roundtables and Final Thoughts

Break out into smaller groups to reflect on the day's learnings, and the key actions that you will implement off the back of the sessions.

David Gilani, Head of Student Engagement and Advocacy, Middlesex University

Ruth Wood, Student Communications Manager, Canterbury Christ Church University