We are delighted to invite you to attend the half-day AccessHE conference, taking place on the afternoon of 30 November 2023. The conference is called Collaboration matters: How can we collectively improve educational outcomes and increase social mobility in London? and will take place at the University of East London's Stratford campus.

The cost for this half day event will be £147 per attendee + booking fee.

With a packed agenda, the conference will set out some of the key challenges facing efforts to increase social mobility through higher education in London under the next government (national and local) and spotlight ways in which we can address these through increased collaboration.

The afternoon will have a series of case study presentations and panel discussions, initiating best practice conversations between higher education providers and other key stakeholders in London such as employers and schools. The conference will help to tease out opportunities for collaboration in the capital and increase shared understanding across the different partners in widening participation work of what constitutes effective partnership.

The agenda includes:

12:15 – 13:00 Networking lunch

13:00 – 13:05 Welcome and opening remarks

Professor Frances Corner OBE, Warden, Goldsmiths, University of London

13:05-13:10 Welcome to UEL

Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor, University of East London, and Chair of the Board, London Higher

13:10 – 13:30 Keynote address

Anne-Marie Canning MBE, Chief Executive Officer, The Brilliant Club

13:30 – 14:15 Working together to raise attainment

Chair: Dr Sal Jarvis, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) University of Westminster

Marlon James-Edwards, Upward Bound Project Manager, London Metropolitan University

Trevor Cook, Assistant Director, Education Services, LB Havering

This session will look at attainment raising work in the pre-16 space in London, sharing best practice examples and identifying how London HE can further support the attainment-raising agenda in the capital.

14:15 – 15:00 Working together to improve graduate outcomes

Chair: Marie Green, Director, Global Mobility, Vialto Partners

Sana Shafi, Co-Founder, STRIVE Talent

Olivia Trodden, Placements and Partnerships Manager, Kingston University

This session will explore the benefits of university-industry partnerships in closing progression gaps and supporting London students into high-skilled work.

15:00 – 15:15 Break from sessions

15:15 – 16:00 Working together to know when we’re making a difference

Maggie Leggett, Director of External Relations, Queen Mary University of London

Tej Nathwani, Principal Researcher, HESA

Further speakers to be announced

This session will consider how we can better target and evidence the impact of widening participation work in London. It will present new evaluation resources developed by the AccessHE network and consider the suitability of different widening participation metrics in the London context.

16:00 – 16:20 Keynote speech

John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation, Office for Students

16:20 – 16:30 Concluding remarks

Professor Frances Corner OBE, Warden, Goldsmiths, University of London

16:30 – 17:30 Drinks reception

AccessHE Conference 2023: Collaboration Matters