This walking tour will visit landmark locations including the 'jewels of Leeds'. Locations include - Corn Exchange, Kirkgate Market, Briggate & Arcades, Civic Quarter, Art Gallery, Town Hall, Millennium Square, Park Square and City Square. 

Walking tour will depart from the hotel. 

Hyatt Place Leeds

Welcome to the conference address from Steve Jordan, Director of Estates, University of Birmingham and Conference Chair

Azotea Rooftop Bar & Restaurant, Hyatt Place Leeds 

Azotea Rooftop Bar & Restaurant, Hyatt Place Leeds 

Speaker: Rob Wadsworth, Director of Campus Innovation, University of Leeds

Azotea Rooftop Bar & Restaurant, Hyatt Place Leeds 

Delegates are welcome to join the morning running club, led by Jane Harrison-White. The group will meet in Hyatt Place reception at 5:50am and depart promptly at 6:00am for a 5K run. This activity is open to all and the group will be running at the pace of the slowest participant. No prior sign-up is required.

Sports Hall (The Edge)

Conference Auditorium

Conference Auditorium

Speakers: Jennifer Wilson, Director of Campus Innovation: Masterplanning, Asset Management and Sustainability, University of Leeds and Will Reed, Development Manager, University of Leeds.

Conference Auditorium

Sports Hall (The Edge)

Speakers: Chris Butchart, COO, INVIDA and Dave Wicket, Senior Operations Lead, University of Cambridge

Speakers: Maris Interiors

Speakers: Savills

Sports Hall (The Edge)

Conference Auditorium

Sports Hall (The Edge)

Join our colleagues from America, Australia and South Africa as we explore how they have created anchor universities where staff and students feel they belong and hear some of the trends and policy decisions impacting on higher education more broadly.

Conference Auditorium

Conference Auditorium

Coach transfer is approximately 12 minutes.
Coaches will depart at approx. 18:50 and 19:00.

Alternatively The Refectory, University of Leeds is a 30 minute walk from the hotel. 

The Terrace, University of Leeds

The Refectory, University of Leeds

Coach transfer is approximately 12 minutes. 
Coaches will depart at approx. 22:30, 22:45 and 23:00.

Alternatively Hyatt Place Leeds is a 30 minute walk to the hotel.

Delegates are welcome to join the morning running club, led by Jane Harrison-White. The group will meet in Hyatt Place Leeds reception at 5:50am and depart promptly at 6:00am for a 5K run. This activity is open to all and the group will be running at the pace of the slowest participant. No prior sign-up is required.

Sports Hall (The Edge)

Conference Auditorium

Conference Auditorium

Sports Hall (The Edge)

The lack of study spaces is a common challenge across campuses, therefore making the best use of available facilities is critical. Using the example of our own university with a large estate, we will show how universities can inform students about all available study spaces across campus (not just the main libraries that students gravitate to), giving students greater choice, quickly and easily. By making better use of estates information and available resources, we ensure efficient and cost-effective use of existing spaces.
Working closely with multiple departments and stakeholders across the University, we have created the Spaces for Students application. It includes location and detailed information about every room accessible to students for study (over 300 separate rooms in over 50 buildings).

The application gives students the ability to decide what kind of spaces they want to use and how to find those spaces, hopefully improving overall student satisfaction.

Speakers: Helen Wood, Head of Space and Property Management, The University of Edinburgh, Guy McGarva, Geospatial Consultancy Services Manager, The University of Edinburgh, and Ksenia Grant, Business Development Lead, The University of Edinburgh.

This workshop will consider the University estate from the perspective of it being a Corporate Estate with ancillary commercial market opportunities intertwined. 

It will look at the fundamentals of managing a Corporate Estate and factors involved in creating surplus estate capacity that can be commercially mobilised, to create income stream, to create capital value, to leverage capital from, and to form operating partnerships.

Additionally, It will introduce the differences between Cost, Price, Value, Worth, benchmark with other charitable sectors that use property, as well as highlighting the risks of not appreciating the commercial elements of HE estates. 

Speakers: Morag Beers, Director of Estates & Facilities, University of Aberdeen and Paul Wilson, Owner and Chair, Provelio.

This session will explore how universities are embracing smart campus technologies to drive efficiency, sustainability, and enhanced user experience across their estates. As institutions face increasing pressure to reduce costs, meet carbon targets, and deliver seamless digital experiences, the integration of intelligent systems and data-driven decision-making has never been more critical.

Panellists will discuss what it takes to develop “smart” and “intelligent” campuses from different starting points — where real-time data, automation, and system-wide integration inform operational decisions and shape the student and staff experience.

The discussion will highlight practical examples and pilots in action, the infrastructure required to enable system-wide transformation, and the leadership needed to turn digital capability into measurable impact.

Speakers: Ian Rooney, Director of Estates and Facilities, Durham University, Trevor Payne, Director of Estates and Facilities, Oxford University, James Clay, Head of Higher Education and Student Experience, JISC, Rob Collins, Head of Smart Campus Technology, Bristol University, and Matt Beveridge, Assistant Director of Estates – Innovation, Strategy & Partnerships.

Sports Hall (The Edge)

Conference Auditorium

Conference Auditorium

Conference Auditorium

Conference Auditorium

The War Gallery, Royal Armouries Museum

Royal Armouries Museum

Breakfast for delegates staying at the Hyatt Place Leeds