The Secret Life of Students is the essential event for anyone working on policy and delivery for students in higher education.

Now in its third year, the Secret Life of Students is all about how we rethink the student experience – bringing together experts, sector leaders and professionals, as well as student leaders and students’ union managers, to tackle difficult challenges and work together to transform higher education to better meet the needs of the next generation of students.

This year we’re doing diversity differently, rethinking the outdated model of designing learning environments based on an imagined “normal” student and then applying sticking plaster interventions based on diverse student characteristics. A new approach is needed to stay in step with how students think about diversity, experience higher education in diverse ways, and what a genuinely diverse student body might need from professionals, and each other to feel that they belong in higher education.

We’ll reflect on the findings of the UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission on tackling the challenges for students post-Covid, and we’ll consider developments in regulatory regimes for access, diversity and equality. We’ll think through how engaging with students’ lived experience can transform strategy, policy and delivery, and we’ll consider what students are experiencing and saying about harassment and discrimination, and the boundaries between security and freedom. We’ll have a wealth of new insight to share from our own research with students and higher education professionals and leaders.

View the full programme

 

Default title

The Secret Life of Students is the essential event for anyone working on policy and delivery for students in higher education.

Now in its third year, the Secret Life of Students is all about how we rethink the student experience – bringing together experts, sector leaders and professionals, as well as student leaders and students’ union managers, to tackle difficult challenges and work together to transform higher education to better meet the needs of the next generation of students.

This year we’re doing diversity differently, rethinking the outdated model of designing learning environments based on an imagined “normal” student and then applying sticking plaster interventions based on diverse student characteristics. A new approach is needed to stay in step with how students think about diversity, experience higher education in diverse ways, and what a genuinely diverse student body might need from professionals, and each other to feel that they belong in higher education.

We’ll reflect on the findings of the UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission on tackling the challenges for students post-Covid, and we’ll consider developments in regulatory regimes for access, diversity and equality. We’ll think through how engaging with students’ lived experience can transform strategy, policy and delivery, and we’ll consider what students are experiencing and saying about harassment and discrimination, and the boundaries between security and freedom. We’ll have a wealth of new insight to share from our own research with students and higher education professionals and leaders.

View the full programme

 

Default title

Tickets

Want to bring your whole team to this event? Contact us for group discount information.

The event will take place in person at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 0QH.

On Monday 14 February we are hosting Making sense of higher education – click here for more information. If you’d like to attend both events, claim a discount by using this combined registration form.

If the registration form does load correctly, please use this alternative version.

For details of our various subscriptions, find out more here.

For any problems or questions about tickets, please email events@wonkhe.com.

Speakers

  • Nicola Dandridge

    Chief executive, Office for Students

    Nicola Dandridge is responsible for delivering the OfS strategy set by the board, and ensuring that the OfS operates efficiently and effectively. She is an executive member of the OfS board.

  • Hillary Gyebi-Ababio

    Vice President (HE), NUS

    Hillary Gyebi-Ababio is Vice President (Higher Education) at NUS. 

  • Mary Curnock Cook

    Chair, UPP Foundation Student Futures Commission

    Mary Curnock Cook CBE is an independent education expert serving in a non-executive capacity on a number of Boards. From 2010-2017, Mary was Chief Executive of UCAS. Earlier in her career she held executive and non-executive positions in the education, hospitality, food and biotech sectors. Mary Chairs the governing body of the Dyson Institute, and … Continued

  • Bobby Duffy

    Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute, King's College London

    Bobby Duffy is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute, King’s College London. He has worked across most public policy areas in his career of nearly 30 years in policy research and evaluation, including being seconded to the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. Bobby also sits on several advisory boards including Chairing the … Continued

  • Omar Khan

    Director, Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in HE (TASO)

    Omar Khan is Director of the Centre for Transforming Access and Students Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO). Omar joined TASO from race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, where he had been Director since 2014. Prior to this, Omar was Head of Policy at the Runnymede Trust and led its financial inclusion programme. Omar holds … Continued

  • Michelle Morgan

    Student experience transitions specialist & Dean of Students, University of East London

    Michelle is a HE student transition and experience specialist and practitioner. She develops initiatives based on pragmatic and practical research to improve the experience of students and staff. The impact of her work is to enable students to succeed to the best of their ability in a high quality HE environment that challenges and supports … Continued

  • Jill Stevenson

    Dean of Equality Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Stirling

    Jill is the Dean of Equality Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Stirling, and a member of the Senior Management Team. She is responsible for leading the creation of a culture where the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion permeate the structures, decisions and environment of the University. Jill is also the Director of … Continued

  • Claire Hamshire

    Faculty Head of International, Manchester Metropolitan University

    your default content

  • Shuab Gamote

    Project Manager, The Union MMU

    your default content

  • Alan Roberts

    Consultant

    your default content

  • Dani Bradford

    Policy and Research Manager, Students' Union UCL

    your default content

  • Calum Sherwood

    Senior Policy and Research Officer at Arts Students' Union

    Calum Sherwood is Senior Policy and Research Officer at Arts Students’ Union

  • Georgia Spencer

    Welfare Officer at Arts Students'​ Union

    your default content

  • Syeda Zara Haram

    Vice President Education, Herts SU

    your default content

  • Debbie McVitty

    Editor, Wonkhe

    Debbie McVitty, Editor, Wonkhe

  • Mark Leach

    Founder & Editor in Chief, Wonkhe and former Labour adviser

    Mark Leach is the founder, Editor in Chief and CEO of Wonkhe. Mark worked in policy, politics and public affairs in and around UK higher education and founded Wonkhe in 2011 while working as a jobbing policy wonk in the sector. The first part of his career took him to the National Union of Students, … Continued

  • Sunday Blake

    Associate Editor, Wonkhe

    Sunday Blake is President at Exeter Guild of Students

  • Jim Dickinson

    Associate Editor, Wonkhe

    Jim is an Associate Editor at Wonkhe and takes a particular interest in the student experience, university governance, and regulation – and leads our work with students’ unions. His career background is in support for student leadership. He has held senior roles at the National Union of Students – where he led on SU development, … Continued

  • David Kernohan

    Associate Editor, Wonkhe

    David Kernohan is Associate Editor of Wonkhe. Until June 2016, he worked at Jisc as a programme manager and senior codesign manager, after being seconded from HEFCE in 2006. He has also worked for the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales). As Associate Editor, David has responsibility for the development and delivery … Continued