See how institutions like yours can enrich student experiences with more personalised, accessible learning, reinventing student engagement through intelligent, connected digital tools to bend the curve on innovation by moving faster and smarter than ever before.

Speakers:

• James Gray (CEO, Kortext)
• Jen Wyatt (Director of Education, Microsoft UK)
  

How UEL has delivered the most ambitious transformation in UK higher education? It has set a benchmark for what higher education must become and provided a blueprint for how modern universities can lead national renewal, improve social equity and build a more resilient, future-ready society – tackling tomorrow’s challenges, yesterday.

Speaker:

• Professor Amanda Broderick (Vice-Chancellor & President, University of East London)
  

How a university has leveraged cross-institutional data to enable smarter, evidence-driven decision-making in partnership with Kortext and Microsoft.

Speakers:

• Helen Blaikie (Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Aston University)
• Cornelia Schneider-Pungs (Senior Industry Advisor, Microsoft)
• Andrew Bates (Chief Product Officer, Kortext)

This session explores how Teesside University – THE Awards University of the Year 2025 – has turned raw data into actionable insights to personalise support, identify risks earlier and enhance student outcomes at scale, resulting in a TEF triple gold.

Speakers:

• Professor Mark Simpson (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Teesside University)
• Dr Rachel Maxwell (Principal Advisor, Kortext)
  

Insight alone isn’t enough, it must drive impact in teaching and learning. With a national agenda on quality enhancement and an increasingly AI savvy student body, this session unveils new Wonkhe research on integrated quality followed by a panel of academic leaders discussing how we can support educators to reduce administrative burden, enhance pedagogy, and evidence quality through student success.  

Speakers:

• Dr Debbie McVitty (Editor, Wonkhe)
• Professor Janice Kay CBE (Director, Higher Futures, former Provost & Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Exeter)
• Professor Sam Grogan (Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education & Student Experience, Loughborough University)

Looking at the issues faced by academics in practice and how Al-powered tools can alleviate workload, streamline workflows, enhance pedagogic practice and ensure alignment with institutional and regulatory expectations.

Speakers:

• Professor Osama Khan (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Aston University)
• Dr Miri Firth (Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester)
• Professor Janice Kay CBE (Director, Higher Futures, former Provost & Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Exeter)
• Raghav Sandhu (Senior Product Manager, Kortext)

With the latest HEPI/Kortext study finding that 92% of students are using Al tools, how can institutions enable responsible Al use while also ensuring learners are prepared for the Al-integrated workplace of the future? This session explores how Kortext study+ delivers interactive learning experiences using generative Al – safely.

Speakers:

• Nick Hillman (Director, HEPI)
• Toby Vaughn Kidd (Assistant Director of Experimentation and Innovation, University of Exeter)
• Kevin Boulay (Senior Product Manager, Kortext)

This session explores how Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, is piloting an Al-powered chat agent integrated into the Canvas instance to enable contextualised, real-time student learning. Lessons learned from design, deployment, and adoption will be discussed, and what this means for the future of Al-driven student support.

Speakers:

• Mark Bramwell (Chief Digital Information Officer, Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford) in conversation with James Gray (CEO & founder, Kortext)
  

Microsoft and English Premier League executives share lessons from a partnership that isn’t just about tech deployment, but about using data to transform engagement, insights and global reach.

Speakers:

• Redd Ho (Strategic Partnerships, Marketing, Microsoft)
• Robin Gibson (Director of External Affairs, Kortext) 

Bringing together insights from the day and how we can move forward together to implement solutions addressing key challenges for the sector.

Speakers:

• James Gray (CEO & founder, Kortext)
• Jen Wyatt (Director of Education, Microsoft UK)
  

We’d like to invite you to stay after the closing thoughts, to have a drink and spend some time reflecting on the day with other attendees.

In past years, this is the time where the richest conversations and connections happen – so be sure to keep this in mind when planning your travel!