Joining the 'Agents, integrity and the application overload' panel and speaking at 'Breaking barriers in International Student Recruitment: the D2C approach'

Akshay Chaturvedi is an Indian entrepreneur. He was listed on the Forbes India’s 30Under30 list, and then subsequently on the Forbes Asia’s 30Under30 list, both in early 2020. He founded Leverage Edu, and as its CEO, now runs what is India’s largest Career Guidance and University Admissions platform - with 6 Mn users, 100,000+ 1:1 counselling sessions & 3000+ admission applicants - every month.

He became a CNBC Young Turk, named eponymously after India’s top business/ entrepreneurship show, in 2019. Later that year, he also won the TiE Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. In 2020, he won the BusinessWorld TechTors award, touted among the top tech entrepreneurs to watch out for. As Prime Minister’s Champions of Change, selected in 2019, he closely worked with the ministries on higher education policy framework. In July 2020, he was awarded as Entrepreneur of the Year (Consumer Business) by the Entrepreneur Magazine.

Joining the 'Opening Plenary - The UK sector assessed' panel

Alex oversees the Independent HE’s strategic development, manages its day-to-day activities and represents members at external meetings and committees. He is also a Trustee of UKCISA, the UK Council for International Student Affairs. Alex worked previously in IT before five years as Communications Manager for the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education. He holds a Bachelor’s in Music and a Master’s in Philosophy.

Speaking at 'Knowledge Bomb' 

Amy Parker Dixon has worked in education of some description for the last 17 years. She has previously worked as a journalist, as a University lecturer and is currently Director of Marketing and Communications for Cambridge Education Group and ONCAMPUS, an organisation which supports international students who have ambitions to study in the UK, Europe and the US.

Joining the 'UK sector assessed' panel

Anne Marie joined UKCISA in 2019 from the Association of Commonwealth Universities, where she was Director of Chevening, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s flagship global scholarship scheme.

Prior to that, Anne Marie has led on a range of educational programmes and projects promoting international mobility and intercultural exchange. At Universities UK International, she developed the first government-funded UK Strategy for Outward Mobility, and established the Go International programme to build capacity and influence institutional change in UK universities to increase the proportion of UK domiciled students with international experience.

Before moving into the education sector, Anne Marie spent several years in the language services industry managing high profile accounts with multinational engineering and pharmaceutical companies.

Anne Marie is a linguist, with a first degree in Modern Languages from Anglia Ruskin University and a postgraduate translation qualification from University of Westminster.

Hosting Live Demos by Unifrog

Ashley is a HE Partnerships Manager at Unifrog, she works with universities globally, supporting all areas of their student recruitment and marketing strategy.

Speaking at the Breakfast briefing with L.E.K

Ashwin Assomull is a Partner and founding member of the Global Education Practice at L.E.K. Consulting. Ashwin has worked on 300+ education-specific cases and has led over 200 engagements in the education sector. Ashwin has extensive experience advising clients on buy-and-sell-side diligences, market-entry strategy, pricing strategy, and full potential assessments. He has deep relationships with CEOs of top education companies and investors in the UK and globally, where has worked across all education verticals including Higher Education, Transnational Education, K-12 and Education Technology. Ashwin is frequently invited to speak at industry-leading conferences such as Qatar Foundation’s WISE Summit, IFC’s International Private Education Conference, Education Investment MENA, and Relocate Global.

Joining the 'Agents, integrity and the application overload' panel

Bobby has worked in the Higher Education sector in the UK since August 1999 and has worked at 3 different universities and where he has held a number of different positions. In April 2017 Bobby joined the Global team at the University of Portsmouth where he now holds the position of Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement).

During Bobby’s time working in the Higher Education sector in the UK he has gained a lot of experience from working in different markets around the globe and he has also done a lot of cross sector work and is currently Chair of the British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA).

Chairing the 'Women at the top table - how does Int'l Ed stack up in terms of levelling up?' panel

Charlene is the Co-founder and Director of The IC Global Partnership (The IC), an int’l professional development business focused on int’l higher education. The IC helps professionals in international education through consultancy, training, workshops, coaching and mentoring to build their skills and knowledge to advance their careers and provide solutions to their organisational/institutional challenges. Charlene has 24 years’ experience in Higher Education. She has held senior roles across several universities in the UK, held a national sector leading role as the first female Chair of British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA) and sat on strategic international advisory boards for the British Council, Universities UK International and the UK Council for International Students Association. Her work has included the development and implementation of various internationalisation projects, lobbying on internationalisation matters and working with the Department of Education and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy International Team on the UK International Education Strategy. She is passionate about internationalisation of HE and the development of female leadership.

Speaking at the Breaktime briefing with Cialfo

With over 15 years’ experience in the international education sector, Ciara is a passionate advocate about the benefits of a global education. Having worked in both international schools and in international recruitment within the HE sector, Ciara has an intrinsic understanding of the academic journey from high school to university and the significant role a successful transition plays within this. Ciara’s current role at Bath oversees a team who build key relationships with schools, agents and partners within the international sector. She is also a board member for BUILA, where she supports training and workshops for the sector. Ciara is currently completing her DBA in Higher Education Management with a focus on international student mobility.

Joining the 'How can educators deliver on international student employability outcomes?' panel

With over 14 years at Kaplan Pathways, Clare leads the global student recruitment and enrolment team of 200 staff across 20 countries. The team prides itself on offering world-class customer service and in-depth market knowledge. She has a wealth of experience in supporting and developing University internationalisation strategies, and has been pivotal in helping to shape Kaplan UK Pathways Career Focus portfolio of employment options and skills development. Previously, Clare spent many years developing opportunities with US employers to offer jobs to incoming work and travel students from overseas.

Joining the 'What will the future look like for education?' panel

Colin Lumsden is VP, Partner Relations at ApplyBoard and oversees the Partner Relations teams in Canada, the US, UK and Ireland, and Australia. Colin has over 20 years of strategy, operations, and partnership experience in education technology organizations including Pearson, 2U, and Learning Tree International and has worked at York University as Director, Continuing Professional Education. He has worked across education technology segments including tutoring, online program management, alternative credentials, workforce development, and international student recruitment. He is a passionate advocate for access, achievement, and affordability in education and is pursuing his PhD in Higher Education at University of Toronto.

Joining the 'TNE Partnerships - navigating towards successful outcomes' panel

Colin has been COBIS CEO since 2010. Alongside a talented Executive Team and Board, he works with and supports students, teachers, leaders, support staff and governors from high quality British international schools in more than 80 countries worldwide. Prior to COBIS, Colin taught in the UK, Far East and Europe and has led educational projects in the UK and internationally, working with the DfE, Government Office for London, British Council and other global partners. Much of this has focused on school improvement, safeguarding, student and teacher well-being and professional development across the school workforce. Safeguarding is of paramount importance to COBIS. Connected to this, Colin is a founding member of the International Task Force on Child Protection. In addition, Colin is a Director of IStip, a Governor and Trustee of the British School in Tokyo and an appointed member of the Ministerially chaired, Education Advisory Group, for the UK Department for International Trade.

Joining the 'Best practice marketing and delivery of online education' panel

Dan has been working with UK and international universities for more than 20 years helping them navigate the ever-changing global Higher Education sector. Since 2013 he has led the education team at SMRS working with institutions to tackle their communication and branding challenges and delivering campaigns, research and consultancy projects. SMRS published an in-depth analysis of the ODL market in the UK in 2021 and are currently repeating the research in 2022. He is a passionate advocate for universities and works closely with the Universities Marketing Forum and other professional organisations in higher education.

Joining the 'What will the future look like for education?' panel

I am director of the Edtech Lab at the Imperial College Business School which I helped to create in 2004. The team launched Imperial’s first online module in 2005, Imperial’s first online degree programme (the Global Online MBA programme) in 2015, the first blended degree programme in 2017 and now delivers a portfolio of 225 online modules per year. The team also played a pivotal role in managing our School’s response to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this time a primary focus has been on the issue of quality on online education and what constitutes an optimal student experience.

In 2005, I was co-founder of the digital publishing firm Epigeum (now a successful part of the Oxford University Press) and in 2018 I was a co-founder of Insendi, a rapidly growing Edtech Firm that offers a next generation learning experience platform together with a range of related services.

Joining the 'Disruptive delivery and challenger education models explored' panel

Diana oversees all communications at Minerva Project which includes content marketing, social media and PR. She often writes, edits and publishes pieces about education reform. Diana has over 20 years’ experience in the private and not-for-profit sectors, namely in strategic communications, business development and stakeholder management. She spent over 12 years at the World Economic Forum (WEF) where her most recent role was heading Marketing and Outreach globally for the World Economic Forum (Geneva). Previously she built and managed partnerships with C-suite executives from Fortune 500 companies in the media and technology sectors. Prior to the WEF, she held various business positions with Reuters in Beirut, London, Paris and New York; as well as with the United Nations Development Program. Diana holds a BA in economics from the American University of Beirut (cum laude), and an M. Phil in Economics of Developing Countries from Cambridge University.

Joining the 'The hiring landscape: how have things moved on?' panel and speaking at 'Breaking barriers in International Student Recruitment: the D2C approach'

Digvijay is the Chief Operating Officer & UK Director of Leverage Edu. He is an ex-Mckinsey, ex-ITC, Strategy and Operations Powerhouse. He is also an IIT-KGP and ISB Alum who has led multiple Strategy and Core operations teams and consulted leaders of top MNCs with market cap as high as USD 800 Bn.

Speaking on the 'Q&A with the Department for International Trade'

Suzanna Tomassi has joined DIT as the HE specialist working in the education team. Suzanna supports the delivery of the International Education Strategy ambitions to increase education exports, and to increase the numbers of international HE students studying in the UK. Liaising with UK and overseas governments to promote the UK HE sector in trade talks, she also identifies opportunities for UK HE providers in developing transnational education, including online and distance education. With over 20 years experience in HE, she spent the last 16 years in business development, working with academic partners in the UK and abroad, organising and managing collaborative provision, global experiences and online international learning. Suzanna previously worked in senior roles at four different UK universities, including the top UK TNE players. Studying abroad as a student triggered Suzanna’s life-long passion about the HE sector. With two Masters Degrees, she is senior fellow of Advanced HE. She completed an MBA in HE Management while her PhD focused on HE and regional development.

Joining the 'Women at the top table - how does Int'l Ed stack up in terms of levelling up?' panel

Emma Froud has over 15 years of experience in higher education, including as Head of Student Recruitment and Widening Participation at Oxford Brookes and Queen Mary University of London. Emma is passionate about the sector and works at Unibuddy to help partners from all around the world create digital peer-to-peer platforms as Unibuddy's Head of Business Development.

Speaking at 'Knowledge Bomb'

Dr. Fabrizio Trifiro’ is an international expert in the regulation, quality assurance and recognition of TNE. He heads Ecctis’ (formerly UK NARIC) quality benchmark services aimed at supporting the recognition of international qualifications, including the TNE Quality Benchmark scheme. Prior to joining NARIC, Fabrizio was with the UK QAA for over 10 years where he led on the quality assurance of UK TNE, international strategic engagement, and the international student experience. Fabrizio sits in the Board of Directors of the International Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (INQAAHE), and is TNE Consultant for the Office for Students

Joining the 'Disruptive delivery and challenger education models explored' panel

Fadl founded Nexford University in 2018, with a vision to enable greater social and economic mobility through high-quality, affordable education. His vision stemmed from having built four startups employing over 500 people across 10 emerging markets. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey he witnessed how lack of access to affordable, high-quality education impacts societies across the world. Fadl became an entrepreneur at 18, and has accumulated 17 years’ experience founding digital marketing and SaaS startups, leading award winning digital engagement and digital transformation projects. Cumulatively, his startups have raised over $15 million in growth capital and employ more than 500 people globally. Under News Group International, he launched and grew SOCIALEYEZ from two to more than 120 people globally. He has worked with Fortune 500s, global consumer brands such as Starbucks, and governments in the US, Europe and MENA regions. Fadl has lived in Cairo, Paris, Washington DC, Dubai and London. He holds a BBA from the American University in Cairo and management degrees from George Washington and Middlesex Universities.

Speaking at Breaktime briefing with Cialfo

Fleur de Haas is Associate Director of Partnerships at Cialfo in Singapore. In this capacity, she is responsible for university partnerships in the UK and Europe. Fleur has over 10 years of experience in stakeholder management in the education sector, and previously worked for Utrecht University in the Netherlands, in the medical education sector and for educational publisher Pearson in both London and Singapore.

Joining the 'Agents, integrity and the application overload' panel

Francis has led international recruitment teams at 3 universities – London South Bank University, University of Greenwich, and De Montfort University as Deputy Director - Commercial. He challenges his teams to retire the phrase “because that’s how we’ve always done it”, and replace this with process enhancements, following data and technological improvements. Career highlights include opening 6 regional offices at LSBU, and recruiting record (pandemic-impacted) numbers at Greenwich, whilst increasing every available conversion metric.

Alongside his work, he has completed a Master’s in Education Policy from King’s College London, where his dissertation focussed on how education policy has impacted UK international recruitment since 1997.

Hosting Live Demos by Unifrog

Freddie is the Head of HE Partnerships at Unifrog, he works with universities globally, supporting all areas of their student recruitment and marketing strategy.

Joining the 'Career development' panel

Gareth Topp is director of business development for UK and Europe at EduCo Accelerate. Gareth has spent the past 15 years in roles for the British Council, the University of York, the University of Sussex and most recently as head of internationalisation at the University of Brighton, where he rapidly built up a globally distributed recruitment team that has delivered exponential growth and diversity of intake for the University.

Joining the 'Disruptive delivery and challenger education models explored' panel

Professor Pritchard has had an extensive career in higher education, as Academic Pro Vice Chancellor at Ravensbourne University London, Dean at the University of Wales, and the Founding Dean of Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design. Gary is extremely passionate about developing talent, and his PhD focussed on ‘Talent identification and Development in Students’. In recognition of his sustained record of effective strategic leadership in academic practice, he was awarded Principal Fellow of the HEA, and he holds a professorial title in Transformational Education.

Joining the 'Best practice marketing and delivery of online education' panel

Gary Palmer was appointed the Managing Director for our English Language division in the UK in May 2019, after serving as the Head of Operations for the Junior programmes since 2016. Gary has been working with Oxford International since 2009 when he started as an Activity Leader at one of our Spring programmes.

In 2016, Gary took over operational responsibilities of the Junior English language programmes. Working alongside Business Development Director Paul Hurcombe, over the next few years, Paul and Gary grew revenue 70%. The Juniors programmes welcome over 22,000 students each year. Gary has built up a team around him who are the living embodiment of every one of Oxford International’s Core Values. Before joining Oxford International, Gary worked as a Mathematics teacher.

Gary is a qualified teacher, has a PGCE in Mathematics, a Masters Degree in Educational Research a CELTA from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Leeds University.

Joining the 'Opening plenary - The UK sector assessed' panel

Gwen Williams is Head of Global Wales and International at Universities Wales and leads on the delivery of the Global Wales programme. She has worked for Universities Wales since June 2014. Prior to that, Gwen worked at Welsh Higher Education Brussels (WHEB) and also spent two years working as a European Parliamentary Officer at the UK Representation to the EU.

Joining the 'The future of assessment' panel

Henry Tolley is Vice President, Global English Language Testing at PSI where he is responsible for a team delivering English language testing solutions around the world but specifically for the delivery of the Skills for English SELT test for the UKVI, created by PSI and the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Henry left the ELT industry briefly before the pandemic to work in Cyber Security but now comes back into a new exciting role. Henry has previously been involved with, and worked for, a number of the other SELT providers. He first worked in ELT in Hungary, then Spain before working 11 years in Italy, mainly for the publisher Pearson. Since returning to the UK in 2008 he has worked for Cambridge Assessment, Pearson again, Trinity College London, LanguageCert and now PSI. Henry says ‘After nearly 30 years since starting out in ELT, I think all my knowledge and experience should now come to the fore in working for a great company, with a wonderful team and products at PSI’. PSI Services is a global leader in workforce solutions with over 70 years’ experience delivering successful testing programmes to help people achieve success in their academic, personal, and work lives.

Joining 'The future of assessment' panel

Ishan is General Manager of Inspera UK, Australia and New Zealand, helping institutions transition to flexible digital assessment. Prior to working for Inspera, he was responsible for implementing it across a UK university and elimination pen and paper from their exams. He originally qualified and practised as a Barrister and taught on the Bar Exams.

Speak at 'Knowledge Bomb' 

Jacqueline Jenkins is the Senior Adviser for International Student Mobility at the British Council. Most recently she has developed the British Council’s new global programme on ‘influencing the influencer’ in order to scale up their ambitions around promoting the UK as a study destination. During her career at the British Council she has set up some of the large-scale programmes including the Going Global conference and the global Study UK Alumni Awards.

Hosting the Breakfast briefing with BridgeU

James Leach is a Senior Content Writer for BridgeU. He has written a range of educational resources and classroom activities for international school counsellors and students, and has extensive experience in digital marketing and content creation for the higher education sector. James has also written educational theatre, scripts and plays for children and students.

Joining the 'The future of assessment' panel

Jamie is a senior researcher and manager of the British Council’s Assessment Research Group. He has a PhD in language testing and oversees a range of language test development and validation projects for the British Council, as well as collaborating with researchers and organisations internationally. Jamie has advised Ministries of Education and national agencies on assessment reform and overseen research for collaborative, international projects such as linking UK examinations to China’s Standards of English (CSE). He joined the British Council in 2013 after heading validation research at the Eiken Foundation in Japan. He has 30 years of experience working in EFL education, first as a teacher, then in test development and assessment research.

Hosting Live Demos by StudyLink

In 1992, while still at university, Jason founded StudyLink Connect. Initially a CD ROM multimedia guide, StudyLink Connect is now a leading international recruitment channel and admissions management solution. During that time, Jason has helped many providers understand new technology and how it can be used effectively in their recruitment plans.

Joining 'The future of assessment' panel

Jennifer Brown has been with Educational Testing Service (ETS) for over 30 years, with much of her career connected to TOEFL. She is currently the Executive Director of Product Development and Operations Management for the TOEFL Program, responsible for the performance, growth and development of new products such as iBT Home Edition and services for the TOEFL portfolio. The TOEFL product family consists of the TOEFL iBT test, the TOEFL Essentials test, the TOEFL ITP Assessment Series, and the TOEFL Young Student Series (Primary and Junior) tests, along with a suite of test prep products that include TOEFL Practice Online (TPO) and the TOEFL MOOC course.

Speaking at the Breakfast briefing with L.E.K

Jitin Sethi is a Partner at L.E.K. Consulting’s Global Education Practice (GEP). He is a founding member and leader of the GEP. Jitin has delivered education cases across the globe, and has extensive experience across all education segments, including K-12, Higher Education, Transnational Education, English Language Training, Education Technology and Corporate Training. Jitin is focused on the education work in the UK, and across Americas, where he has advised leading clients and investors on marquee deals. He works closely with tertiary institutions, private equity clients and school companies on investment opportunities, full potential assessment, business plan development, pricing uplift opportunity, and go-to-market strategy.

Joining the 'Opening plenary: The UK sector assessed' panel

Jodie was appointed chief executive of English UK in November 2020 after serving 10 months as interim chief executive. Together with the senior leadership team, Jodie is responsible for establishing key strategic priorities and overseeing the work of the association. Having worked at English UK for many years, she is extremely proud of the association and is committed to supporting English UK's members and the UK ELT sector.

Jodie has a Chinese and Hindi degree from Cambridge University and is widely travelled, having visited 50 countries during her career in international education collecting wonderful memories and friends along the way.

Joining the 'Best practice marketing and delivery of online education' panel

The University of Liverpool was one of the first UK Universities to offer degrees online and is recognised as a leader in 100% online postgraduate education. Lynn Evans is the Strategic Director of Liverpool Online. She is responsible for the development of the University’s online portfolio and partnership with Kaplan Open Learning, aligned to the University’s mission and global strategy. Lynn is a business development specialist with experience of leading high performing organisations and cross-sector partnerships across a range of industries including consumer legal services, media, and higher education.

Hosting the Breakfast briefing with BridgeU

Matt has a wealth of experience in Student Recruitment and Marketing, having spent ten years working for UCAS & UCAS Media before joining BridgeU. While at UCAS, Matt held the position of Head of Education Sales and worked closely with UK Universities and their Advertising Agencies, to successfully plan and execute student recruitment and enrolment campaigns. Matt’s role at BridgeU is to lead its UK Partnerships team, continue to grow and develop new Partners and help maximise the value that BridgeU delivers for its customers.

Joining the 'The hiring landscape: how have things moved on?' panel

Nell is a highly experienced end to end Talent Manager with a dedication and passion for technology. A career veteran in the IT recruitment industry, Nell has forged a reputation for delivering successful solutions with even the most complex and niche requirements. An advocate for women in leadership, Nell has mentored many women in what is often a male dominated industry, and is proud of the successful careers her mentees have achieved. Currently contracted for Studyportals as Global Talent Acquisition Lead, Nell partners with the business’s leaders and senior stakeholders to implement, drive and execute Studyportals hiring goals and support their core value: empowering the world to choose education.

Joining the 'How can educators deliver on international student employability outcomes?' panel

Noeleen is the International Careers Manager at Lancaster University Management School and Co-Chair of the AGCAS Internationalisation Task Group. She has worked in careers for over 11 years delivering a blended career service through a variety of platforms and technologies to engage the diverse international talent pool of students ranging from 4,500 MBA’s globally to over 19,000 undergraduate and postgraduate EU & international students. She is an experienced International Employer Engagement Manager liaising with organisations, agencies, SME’s and start-ups for all international recruitment needs. Developing business opportunities with organisations globally to create long term mutually beneficial relationships which result in projects such as internship programme development, leadership development, research collaborations and contributions to international employability and recruitment strategies.

Speaking at 'Q&A with the Home Office'

Oliver has worked for the Home Office for 19 years and is currently the Deputy Director responsible for Study Operations within UKVI, based in Sheffield. Oliver has held a number of roles within UKVI including operational responsibility for leading visa operations in Sheffield, Croydon, Warsaw and Moscow.

Joining the 'Agents, integrity and the application overload' panel

Patrick Whitfield is Chief Commercial Officer at Adventus.io, the international student recruitment marketplace. He leads the company’s go-to-market strategy, overseeing expert teams across the major student destination markets globally. Patrick was previously Group Commercial Director at IDP Connect, the B2B division of IDP Education, where he led global client strategy, reshaped the sales organisation and successfully launched multiple product lines. Prior to that he was Director – UK & Europe at QS Enrolment Solutions and has previously worked for Hobsons in addition to roles in management consulting and publishing. He is an experienced and innovative commercial leader in the higher education sector, providing insights and expertise in EdTech, agent management, data analytics, digital marketing and enrolment management to institutions globally.

Speaking at Insight Accelerator

Pete Richards has been working within the Higher Education sector for over a decade, holding senior international and commercial roles at Sydney’s highly acclaimed Macquarie Business School, Henley Business School, Navitas and Coventry University. At Coventry University Pete led the sector leading Transnational Education (TNE) team, seeking and onboarding new TNE partnerships as well as managing Coventry’s network of more than 45 global TNE partners located all around the world, delivering Coventry programmes (via various delivery models) to more than 20,000 active students. Pete joined Sannam S4, as Executive Director (UK and Europe) in September 2021.

Joining the 'TNE Partnerships - navigating towards successful outcomes' panel

Professor Judith Lamie is Pro Vice-Chancellor International at Swansea University. Prior to joining Swansea University, Professor Lamie worked as a higher education consultant and holds a wealth of experience in various strategic and internationally focused senior roles within several institutions. Alongside her positions in higher education, Professor Lamie has published and presented widely in the fields of applied linguistics, change management and international higher education. Professor Lamie’s latest book, ‘The Evolution of Transnational Education: Pathways, Globalisation and Emerging Trends’, was published in January 2022 by Taylor and Francis. The book examines issues of identity, positionality, value and relevance, and explores where transnational higher education is headed and what form it may take.

Joining the 'Disruptive delivery and challenger education models explored' panel

Professor Judy Raper has been Dean & CEO of TEDI-London since its incorporation in June, 2019. She joined TEDI-London after a sustained career in Academia in Australia and the USA, most recently as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at the University of Wollongong, and senior roles in the USA and Australia.

She currently serves as a non-executive Director of Waterco Pty. Ltd., an ASX listed company as well as a member of the NLA Expert Panel on Education; an Institution of Engineering Technology (IET) Accreditor and a member of the Leadership group for the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Education Forum.

Professor Raper’s achievements and awards have spanned many years, including being named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), named as one of Australia’s 100 most influential engineers, and one of Australia’s 10 Leading female Engineers in 2019. She also has an award for Leadership in Engineering named in her honour by UNSW.

Joining the 'Women and minorities at the top table - how does Int'l Ed stack up in terms of levelling up?' panel

Rachel is responsible for leading the University of Glasgow’s strategy for external engagement covering an integrated portfolio of Marketing and Communications; Brand and Reputation Management; Student Recruitment; Admissions; International Policy and Partnerships; Widening Access and Lifelong Learning; Development and Alumni Relations; and Civic Engagement. Rachel is also the University’s Refugee & Asylum Seeker Champion.

Rachel is the University’s Universitas 21 network Senior Leader, a Board member of the University’s European network, The Guild, and the University lead for the CIVIS European University Alliance, thereby supporting the activity of a global group of research-intensive universities.

Rachel is a Chartered Marketer and currently a Global Trustee of CASE, whilst also contributing to several sector advisory boards both at home and overseas. 

Joining the 'Women at the top table - how does Int'l ed stack up in terms of levelling up?' panel

As CEO & Co-founder, Rachel is responsible for UniQuest’s strategy and people, guiding the development of the UQ service to enable a transformative approach to student recruitment and engagement and deliver an exceptional service to students. Rachel’s own experience as an international student created the impetus for starting UniQuest in 2013 – a company she has grown alongside co-founder Natalie Letcher, and that was acquired by Keystone Education Group in October 2021. She is an internationally experienced Board level business leader, with more than 15 years’ experience partnering with higher education institutions in the UK, the US, and Australia.

Joining the 'TNE Partnerships - navigating towards successful outcomes' panel

Rachel Soundy is a partner at law firm Bevan Brittan, advising on corporate and commercial legal matters within the higher education sector. Rachel has advised both universities and private higher education providers on a wide range of transnational education activities, including setting-up remote campuses and joint degree programmes. She has also worked with clients on matters closely related to TNE including the establishment of international research collaborations and international student pathways. Rachel’s clients include universities, private higher education providers, investors and lenders.

Joining the 'How can educators deliver on international student employability outcomes?' panel

Rajay Naik is Chief Executive Officer of Skilled Education which designs, markets and delivers online pathway and degree programmes for partners including the University of Cambridge, LSE and British Government. He is also Chairman of the Commission on Lifelong Learning, non-executive at Pay.UK which oversees the UK’s payments system and Governor of the Ditchley Foundation. Rajay was formerly Global CCO of Study Group and prior to that Founder and CEO for four years at Keypath Education. For five years he was Director of The Open University where he was a key architect of the FutureLearn MOOC platform. Previously he was a member of the cross-party Higher Education Review chaired by Lord Browne, board member of Coventry City Football Club and Chairman of the Big Lottery Fund which invests over £1.5bn per year.

Speaking for 'Insight Accelerator by ACU'

As the Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at the ACU, Richard is responsible for promoting at the highest levels the value of universities to society and their role in sustainable development. This includes leading debate and dialogue around key issues in international higher education and developing policy positions that support the strengthening and growth of higher education systems across the Commonwealth. Richard is also responsible for nurturing the ACU’s relationships with their key stakeholder groups including Commonwealth governments, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the United Nations. Before joining the ACU Richard worked for UUKi where he was a Senior Policy Officer focusing on international development and the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Joining the 'How can educators deliver on international student employability outcomes?' panel

Sanam is Founder of National Indian Students & Alumni Union UK (NISAU), the oldest & largest network of Indian youth in the UK. NISAU has supported the community with a range of issues including running a 7+ year campaign to bring back PSW rights, helping thousands with food, repatriation & other support during Covid, advocacy on matters such as recognition of India's Covishield vaccine.  Sanam co-chairs the India Series at King’s College London & co-moderates the India Conference at the LSE.  She is a recipient of the Honorary Studentship of the LSE SU & the UK-India Thought Leadership Award.  Professionally, Sanam is a senior consultant to the Investment Management industry.

Speaking at International Student Recruitment powered by UK Institutional Collaborations

As an associate director for ETS Global Client Relations for over eleven years, Sandy is responsible for all outreach and communications in the UK & Ireland, and has oversight of CR activities across China, Australia and Europe, working closely with institutions of higher education and further education, educational advisors, government departments, and English-language teachers.

In this role, Sandy has worked predominantly within the TOEFL® client relations team to raise visibility among test takers, educators and admissions officers that accept the TOEFL test to meet their English-language assessment needs. She has more than 20 years’ experience in working with government bodies, careers services, university academic departments, international offices, marketing and admissions offices as well as graduate recruiters, aiding these groups in attracting and recruiting both domestic and international students.

Joining the 'Best practice marketing and delivery of online education' panel 

Saranjit is an experienced leader who loves to dig into customer problems and solve them with data and technology. She has a successful track record of building and scaling businesses, growing teams and creating value for customers and partners across different industries and geographies. She creates, scales and optimizes products that matter. With the most recent example being that of leading teams at upGrad EMEA to make education more accessible, relevant and affordable for everyone. She is passionate about technology and its impact on our lives. Being a lifelong learner herself, she is now practicing playing the piano using tech enabled applications.

Speaking on the 'Insight Accelerator by The British Council and BUILA' session

Shonagh has worked with international students since 2008 in a variety of roles across Admissions. Student Services. Accommodation, International Recruitment and Partnerships. She is currently International Recruitment Manager (South and South East Asia) at the University of Glasgow where she leads a team of staff across Glasgow, India, Singapore and Indonesia to grow student enrolments and supports a diverse network of partners from the region. She also leads on the university’s overall agent engagement and management. Shonagh joined Glasgow in 2018 and previously worked at the University of Stirling and INTO Newcastle University. She is the Vice Chair of the Scottish Universities International Group (SUIG) and has recently joined the BUILA committee as Co-Opt Lead Agent Framework.

Speaking at International Student Recruitment powered by UK Institutional Collaborations

Siddharth represents ETS® (Educational Testing Service) TOEFL® as the Marketing Director India, the largest not-for-profit research and measurement company globally. He has worked extensively in the Education domain for over 15 years. Siddharth manages the Agent Network, Institutions and Test center relations for the TOEFL iBT® test in India. Prior to joining ETS®, Siddharth held key positions in international higher education with organization like Education New Zealand and Pearson Education.

Speaking at the Breaktime briefing with IELTS

Leading the British Council’s IELTS outreach to organisations around the world, Stephen is responsible for liaising with educational institutions, employers, governments and professional associations. Stephen and his team work together with institutions to support them with setting their English language requirements, adopting and using the IELTS test, and measuring how it works for them. Stephen has vast experience in IELTS - he led the strategic marketing for IELTS at the British Council for over 10 years - and in the ELT industry, having worked as a teaching centre coordinator at Berlitz Mexico City and at ITESM University, Guadalajara.

Speaking on the 'What will the future look like for education?' panel

Steve Grubbs is the CEO of VictoryXR, one of the world's leaders in the education metaverse. Schools, colleges and universities are educating students remotely on metaverse campuses every day in a space that is rapidly growing. Steve previously served in the Iowa legislature as chair of the House Education Committee before moving to entrepreneurship. Steve has finance and law degrees from the University of Iowa. 

Joining the 'TNE Partnerships - navigating towards successful outcomes' panel

LSBU Global is led by Stuart Bannerman, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor International. Having taught at the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow, he launched the first International Study Centre in the UK at Queen Margaret University in 1998, introducing Graduate Diplomas for the first time as a pre-masters award for international students. He was also Head of EFL and Director of the Centre for Applied Language Studies at the University of Dundee, and worked at the University of Essex, setting up and running the International Academy, and followed this with the advancement of international for the launch of the new University of Suffolk.

Joining the 'What will the future look like for education?' panel

Sue Attewell has a strong background in education and skills having worked in the sector for the last fifteen years. She has a wealth of diverse experience having worked across charities, government agencies, local colleges, councils and LEPs. Most of this activity focussed on skills and economic development where the emphasis was on meeting the needs of employers by building a skills pipeline responsive to future needs of employers and ensuring all individuals have the necessary skills and support to move into sustainable employment.

At Jisc as Head of Edtech Sue Attewell is responsible for developing new products and services for the sector and overseeing the projects we are developing to achieve that vision. She manages the National centre for AI in tertiary education and our edtech activity, working to improve products to help our members innovate and meet their long term vision.

Joining 'The future of assessment' panel

Tamsin leads the Duolingo English Test’s strategic engagement efforts in the United Kingdom where she is committed to reducing barriers to English proficiency testing for university bound applicants. An international education professional with over 15 years experience, Tamsin has supported the advancement of international higher education, overseas assessment and global citizenship education through both US and UK organisations. Starting in the international office of universities in the UK, she joined Duolingo by way of the British Council USA, the College Board and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Tamsin holds a Bachelors in International Relations and a Masters in European Studies from the Universities of Keele and Birmingham respectively.

Joining the 'Women at the top table – how does international education stack up in terms of levelling up?' panel

Victoria is CEO and founder of City CV, a client-focused business that empowers job seekers and helps companies to protect their most important resource – their people. With a big focus on gender diversity, for over two decades, she has worked with thousands of cross-industry-sector clients, up to and including C-suite and board level individuals, and has delivered outplacement programmes to corporates, SMEs, Government and Higher Education providers worldwide.

A passionate advocate for women smashing the glass ceiling, she is in high demand as a keynote speaker at international events and runs workshop and webinar programmes for City CV’s corporate partners.

Chairing 'The UK sector assessed' panel

Vivienne is the Director of Universities UK International (UUKi) which represents UK universities around the world and works to enable them to flourish internationally. Vivienne has over 20 years’ experience of working in higher education policy and politics at national and international level. She is a member of several Boards and advisory committees, including the Education Sector Advisory Group of the Departments for Education and International Trade; the Board of UKRI’s Fund for International Collaboration; the British Council’s Higher Education Advisory Group and the Board of the Council of British International Schools. She is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, where she studied English Literature. ​