10:00-10:30
Sign in, collect your lanyard and grab a cuppa and some pastries. It’s about to begin!
SUMS Annual Conference 2026 agenda
Back to the main conference pageWhat’s on?
Delegate arrival, registration and exhibition
Conference welcome and introduction to headline sponsors
10:30-10:50
Meet our consulting team and hear from this year’s headline sponsors.
Tools for transformation: OEMA and the power of shared insight
10:50-11:15
Discover how SUMS and AHUA members are using the new Organisational Efficiency Maturity Assessment tool (OEMA) to drive change, with live examples and a first look at how the tool helps institutions to adopt a common approach to assessing efficiency and benchmarking costs. Rhiannon will guide us through practical applications, showing you how to harness OEMA’s insights for your own transformation journey.
KEYNOTE – Making transformation stick: what universities can learn from public sector reform
11:15-12:00
External speakers will be announced soon!
Beyond quick fixes and structural changes, how do you embed lasting transformation? Discover how to lead change that addresses today’s challenges and, crucially, how to make it stick.
Break and exhibition
12:00-12:20
Network with colleagues over a hot drink and chat to our service hub leads.
PANEL 1 – The art of the possible: bold ideas from beyond HE
12:20-13:10
External speakers will be announced soon!
Is the UK HE sector’s situation truly unprecedented? Do shared services and mergers really fail to deliver value? This panel brings together leaders from the NHS, local government and further education to share their transformation stories, exploring the successes, setbacks, and surprising solutions that emerged under similar financial pressures. Discover which cross-sector strategies really worked and might translate to the HE context.
Lunch and exhibition
13:10-13:55
Enjoy a hot buffet lunch and grab some goodies from our conference sponsors.
HE WORLD CAFÉ – Applying insights to HE: from inspiration to action
13:55-14:45
How do the morning’s insights apply to your institution? Join this interactive networking session to explore the hottest topics affecting universities today. Facilitated by the SUMS Consulting team, we’ll work together to shape what meaningful transformation could look like for you, and help connect these ideas to practical support. Share your suggested ‘hot topics’ for the session by email to: consulting@sums.ac.uk.
Break and exhibition
14:45-15:10
Last chance to meet our service hub leads and sponsors!
PANEL 2 – Rebuilding from within: homegrown innovation and transformation in HE
15:10-16:20
External speakers will be announced soon!
What does successful transformation look like when universities lead it themselves? From institutional mergers and shared services to transnational education (TNE) partnerships and curriculum redesign, SUMS members are pioneering their own solutions. This panel showcases real transformation journeys, exploring what’s working, what conditions enabled success, and how homegrown approaches are delivering sustainable change.
Wrap up and close
16:20-16:30
Time to reflect on the topics raised.
Drinks reception
16:30-17:30
Unwind with colleagues at our drinks reception and chat to our friendly consultants to see how we can support you with the themes of the conference.