Skip to main content
Person working on laptop and tablet

Smarter Futures: Harnessing AI and Technology for Efficiency in Higher Education

2025-26 Member Benefit Discover insights from experts and peers on how you could harness AI and technology to reduce inefficiencies, enhance student and staff experience, and make strategic decisions backed by data.

Available to Advance HE Members only.

Smarter Futures addresses how higher education needs to evolve rapidly while maintaining quality and accessibility through three expert-led online events. These events will demonstrate how AI and digital technologies can transform your institutional efficiency.

You'll discover how you could reduce operational inefficiencies, enhance both staff and student experiences, and leverage data for strategic planning. Beyond the sessions, you'll gain access to peer networks, resources, and a comprehensive sector report highlighting emerging best practices. It's designed specifically for senior leaders who need actionable solutions, not just theoretical frameworks.

Three Expert-Led Online Events

Are you interested in joining?

Bookings for the three sessions are now open. These sessions are for Advance HE members, don't miss out!

Alternatively, you can register your interest to be kept up to date about the member benefit and receive project outputs.

Book today
White buff 1400x3
Buff line
Buff line

What You'll Gain

  • Improved Understanding - Discover how AI and digital solutions can be practically applied to reduce inefficiencies, enhance experiences, and support strategic planning in your own context.
  • Enhanced Collaboration - Increased knowledge exchange between institutions, with new cross-sector connections formed through shared challenges and innovations.
  • Building Awareness - Stronger understanding of current and emerging digital practices as we capture and disseminates insights from the series.
  • Data-Informed Decisions - Enhanced ability to make strategic decisions and implement scalable, efficient solutions aligned with long-term organisational goals.
Buff line
Elliott Spaeth
In today's rapidly evolving higher education landscape, we're constantly balancing the need for innovation with operational sustainability. Smarter Futures gives you practical insights from experts and peers on how to harness AI and technology to reduce inefficiencies, enhance our students' and staff experience, and make strategic decisions backed by data.
It's not just theory - it's actionable intelligence that could help you stay competitive while maintaining educational excellence and these cross-institutional events could open doors to partnerships and solutions.

Elliot Spaeth – Senior Consultant, Inclusive Education

Buff line

Three Expert-Led Online Events

AI for Impact

Transforming Institutional Efficiency with Smart Technologies

Date: Tuesday 12 May

Time: 10:00-11:30am BST

This session provides practical tools to turn AI ambition into strategic impact.

It introduces an AI Impact Alignment Tool to link AI initiatives to institutional priorities and measurable outcomes, an Efficiency vs Impact framework to create a shared language across teams and a focused 6-12 month AI Action Plan outlining what to stop, fix and trial.

Together, these tools support confident, transparent and strategically aligned use of AI across higher education.

Keynote Speaker: Mary Curnock Cook CBE

Contributors: Dr Chris Trace and Simon Thomson

Book your place

Digital Decisions

Leveraging Data to Drive Resilience and Agility

Date: Tuesday 26 May

Time: 13:00-14:30pm BST

This session equips institutions with practical tools to strengthen decision-making in an AI-enabled environment.

It introduces a Decision Readiness Diagnostic, a clear framework for defining high-quality decisions, and a focused 6-12 month action playbook outlining what to stop, fix and trial.

Together, these tools support more confident, transparent and strategically aligned use of data and digital solutions for planning, delivery and service improvement in an uncertain environment.

Keynote Speaker: Martha Horler

Contributors: Robin Gibson, Narinder Gill and Beth Lane  

Book your place

Smarter Systems

Automating Processes to Improve Staff and Student Experience

Date: Thursday 9 June

Time: 13:00-14:30pm BST 

Discover practice and tools that improve the staff and student experience through smarter, more efficient processes.

Keynote Speaker: Al Kingsley

Contributors: Samual Saunders and Jody Sailor

Book your place

Lead Associate

Dr Miri Firth PFHEA

Academic Lead for Flexible Assessment
,
The University of Manchester
Dr Miri Firth PFHEA
Dr Miri Firth is Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead for Assessment at the University of Manchester, where she leads sector-wide innovation in employability education and flexible assessment. Her teaching practice is grounded in inclusive pedagogy, experiential learning, and research-led curriculum design, enabling students to develop confidence, creativity, and career-readiness.

Speakers

Mary Curnock Cook CBE

Independent Education Expert
Mary-Curnock-Cook-545x363px
Mary Curnock Cook is an independent education expert serving in a non-executive capacity on a number of Boards.

Mary is chair of Pearson Education, its UK arm, and also chairs the governing body of the Dyson Institute. She is a non-exec Director at the Student Loans Company, the London Interdisciplinary School, the Student Room and Education Cubed, and a Trustee at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).

Dr Chris Trace

Chief Academic Officer, KEATH.ai Ltd
Dr Chris Trace
Dr Chris Trace is the Chief Academic Officer for KEATH.ai Ltd, an innovative EdTech start-up that spun out from the University of Surrey.

Chris was the Head of Digital Learning at the University of Surrey as well as a member of the steering group of the Heads of eLearning Forum (HeLF).

Simon Thomson

Director of Flexible Lifelong Learning
,
Cardiff University
Simon Thomson
Professor Simon Thomson has a research interest in mixed-modal education, which has emerged his openly licensed Subject, Pedagogy and Modality (SPaM) framework for supporting hybrid education.

Martha Horler

Higher Education Data Specialist
Martha Horler
Martha Horler has worked in the UK higher education sector for over two decades, primarily specialising in data strategy, governance, and insight. Her experience spans both institutional roles and consultancy, where she has supported universities, colleges, and small providers to improve their data practices and drive better decision-making.

Al Kingsley

EdTech Advisor, Mentor, Author and Speaker
Al Kingsley
Al Kingsley has the EdTech CEO and Multi Academy Trust Chair roles, Al also chairs his regional SEND Board. With 30+ years of experience, Al also sits on the Regional Schools Director's Advisory Board for the East of England and is Chair of the BESA EdTech Group.

Robin Gibson

Director of External Affair, Kortext
Robin Gibson
As Director of External Affairs at Kortext, Robin leads strategic engagement and thought leadership with UK universities at the intersection of learning, technology and institutional transformation.

Narinder Gill

Educational Leader, Executive Coach and Author
Narinder Gill
Narinder Gill is an educational leader, executive coach and author who has led some of England’s most challenging primary schools. As a DfE RISE Adviser, she works alongside schools and system leaders to apply evidence-informed practice and data insights to strengthen leadership capacity, build resilience and support sustainable improvement.

Beth Lane

Award-Winning AI Education Leader
Beth Lane
Dr Beth Lane is a qualified Computer Science teacher and AI researcher with a PhD in medical Artificial Intelligence, where her research applied deep learning to support the diagnosis of heart disease.

Samual Saunders

Educational Developer in the Centre for Innovation in Education
,
University of Liverpool
Samual Saunders
Samuel Saunders has expertise and research interests in assessment and feedback practices, Generative AI in Education, multimodal pedagogies and Generative AI, decolonising authentic pedagogy, and curriculum and learning design.

Jody Sailor

Senior Director of Academic Strategy and Innovation at Instructure
Jody Sailor
Jody Sailor focuses on developing and implementing strategic initiatives to transform teaching and learning. With over two decades of experience in education, Jody's previous roles as Senior Director of Product Management for the Canvas portfolio, adjunct instructor, classroom teacher, special educator, coach, and district leader have shaped her passion for creating inclusive, technology-driven learning environments.
Your form submission could not be saved. Please try again.
Your form submission has been successful.

Register your interest in Smarter Futures: Harnessing AI and Technology for Efficiency in Higher Education

Please complete the form below to register your interest in this member benefit, and receive project outputs.


You can also choose to sign up to our email list to receive the latest news, reports and research from around the sector, information on Advance HE services and awards that can support you in your role.

Why not also subscribe to our newsletters to stay up to date?

Please ensure you understand our terms of use, cookie policy and privacy policy.