HEFCE Annual Conference 2008

08 April 2008

Unlocking the full potential of higher education

University of Warwick, 7-8 April 2008

This year's annual conference explored how we can realise the full potential of higher education to the benefit of society and the economy. Conference delegates heard from a number of speakers including John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, HEFCE's Chief Executive Professor David Eastwood and HEFCE's new chair, Tim Melville-Ross.

A centrepiece of the conference was a Dragons' Den style facilitated session, where delegates were able to vote for and 'invest' in ideas from five influential presenters for unlocking the full potential of higher education.

The results of HEFCE-commissioned study of higher education league tables and their impact on institutions were also announced.

HEFCE has provided session commentaries on the conference through a blog. Delegates can comment on any of these commentaries. To comment, scroll to the end of the blog entry and fill out the boxes beneath ‘Leave a reply’. Please note that there may be a delay before the comment appears.

HEFCE conference blog

Programme

Download the programme.pdf as PDF (37 KB)

Keynote speech
'Unlocking the full potential of higher education: the Government's approach'
John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills

An interview with John Denham: Text of speech
Blog entry by Conor Ryan: Universities Secretary urges VCs to go back to school

'Unlocking the potential of higher education: achievements, challenges and opportunities'
Professor David Eastwood, Chief Executive, HEFCE

Unlocking the full potential of higher education in the Dragons' Den

NUS President, Gemma Tumelty, triumphed in the den with 27 per cent of delegate votes for her £60,000 bid to improve the voice of students in higher education.

Presenters included Lord Dearing, Gemma Tumelty, Patrick Dunne, Ann Finlayson and Sir Martin Harris.

Presentation of results in the Dragons' Den

Download the Den_results.ppt as MS Powerpoint Presentation (407 KB)

Analysis of results in the Dragons' Den

Download the Den_analysis.xls as MS Excel Spreadsheet (260 KB)

Blog entry: Dragons' Den (1)
Blog entry by Conor Ryan: Student leader triumphs in Dragons’ Den
Blog entry by Donald Macleod: Youthful charm and energy wins out over statesmanlike experience

Results of the HEFCE-commissioned study of HE league tables and their impact on institutions

The conference saw a rigorous debate about league tables following the publication by HEFCE of research suggesting they could be improved.

Blog entry by Conor Ryan: Turning the tables

Employer engagement: a tale of one city

Anglia Ruskin University and University of Cambridge presented two different approaches to employer engagement offering the views of employers and learners.

A tale of one city

An employer's approach

Download the specsavers.ppt as MS Powerpoint Presentation (3,349 KB) | Download the specsavers.zip as zip (3,267 KB)

A university's approach

Download the Cambridge.ppt as MS Powerpoint Presentation (167 KB) | Download the Cambridge.zip as zip (127 KB)

Blog entry by Conor Ryan: A tale of one city

Page last updated 16 October 2012

HEFCE Annual Conference 2008