Date: 14 November 2024
Time: 10:00 – 16:30, followed by a drinks reception
Location: Woburn House, London

Join us at this year’s SUMS Consulting Annual Conference, where the theme is ‘The Ultimate Balancing Act: cutting costs, driving growth’. This essential event for higher education leaders will delve into innovative strategies to navigate the financial pressures facing the sector.

Click here to find out more about the SUMS Conference 2024

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with peers, gain insights from industry leaders, and contribute to the future of higher education. Last year’s conference was a sell out, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets available now!

SUMS members

As part of your SUMS Consulting membership we are delighted to offer you complimentary tickets for you and two colleagues from your institution. Visit our event website to find out more and register your place now!

We want as many of our members as possible to attend the SUMS conference, so please join our waiting list if you already have 3 registered delegates from your institution. We’ll be in touch if space is made available!

Non-member HEIs

Professionals from non-member Higher Education Institutions are welcome to book tickets for the conference. Please register here with your finance details and we will invoice you £120 + VAT in advance of the conference. Please note, the SUMS Annual Conference is for HEIs only. 

Sponsors and Exhibitors

We are offering you the chance to join our exclusive early bird list. Be the first to receive information on our 2024 sponsorship packages!

Why SUMS Consulting?

Why choose to sponsor a SUMS consulting event? Grow your connections, reach over 1000 HE professionals in our network and benefit from trusted partnership.

Headline Sponsor package

    Drinks Reception Sponsor package

      Exhibitor package

        Here’s a snippet of what we got up to last year…

        Did you miss out on the biggest SUMS Annual Conference to date last year? Good news!

        SUMS Consulting Annual Conference 2023 - click here to listen on Spotify


        Previous SUMS Annual Conferences

        The SUMS Annual Conference 2023: The university of the future

        Collage of photographs from the SUMS Annual Conference 2023 against a futuristic blue background

        Our SUMS conference 2023 was the biggest and best yet! We welcomed our Keynote speaker Professor Ken Sloan, Vice-Chancellor at Harper Adams University, who took us on an adventure into the future, exploring the mission and purpose of universities.  We travelled in time with our digital expert,Principal Consultant  Lucy Dixon, as we considered the digital evolution of universities and our expert panel joined SUMS Managing Director Joel Arber to debate the future of university funding.

        Break-out sessions and the ‘SUMS Solution Room ‘ were an opportunity for our delegates to join our consultants in engaging and collaborative sessions to tackle current and future challenges.

        What’s the focus?

        The Higher Education sector in 2023 may feel as if it is facing a perfect storm of funding uncertainty, inflationary pressures, increased competition and a challenging regulatory environment. But future trends point to growing domestic and global demand for university education and a major role for our institutions to play in solving global challenges through original research. The path to 2050 is also paved with technological revolution and societal change.

        The SUMS Consulting Annual Conference will look into the crystal ball to discover the university of the future. Our exciting programme will consider the changes that universities will need to make – across the dimensions of people, systems, processes and leadership – to adapt and thrive in this brave new world.


        SUMS Annual Conference 2022: The sustainable university

        Our 2022 conference was a focused day of discussion – highlighting best practices from the UK and overseas – as we explored how senior leaders can create and grow sustainable universities fit for today and tomorrow.

        Climate Emergency, Net Zero and the University Conundrum

        Our Keynote Speaker: Professor Craig Mahoney, The Education Group (TEG) London

        This presentation explored how universities can respond to the sustainability needs of their institution, the requirements of national governments and the expectations of a social media-savvy, connected younger population that want their world to be a better place.

        Collage of images from keynote speaker at SUMS Annual Conference 2022

        Promising the Earth: will universities be able to deliver on their carbon commitments? 

        Our panel of experts debated the best approaches to achieve carbon reduction goals – galvanising the passionate support of our student and staff communities –  without compromising other strategic priorities, such as financial sustainability and internationalisation.

        Collage of images from the first panel of SUMS Conference 2022

        Sustainable data-driven decision-making for the physical and digital estate: enhancing the user experience 

        This interactive session explored how data- and technology-led relationship management can streamline engagement processes, improving community experience while cutting waste and cost for universities.

        Collage of images from breakout 1 of SUMS Conference 2022

        How the other half works: looking beyond the UK HE sector to deliver change and long-term sustainability through people strategies

        This interactive session explored best practice approaches within the UK and US HE sectors.  The session discussed the elements that can support universities of all sizes to leverage the power of their people to deliver long-term environmental and financial sustainability.

        Collage from breakout 2 of SUMS Conference 2022

        The Law of Diminishing Returns: how can universities diversify income and cut costs to stay in the black?

        Our panel discussed the challenges of maintaining a financially healthy university from a range of perspectives.

        Collage of images from the second panel of SUMS Conference 2022

        Interested in SUMS Consulting’s events?