The AUDE Annual Conference inspires and encourages members to consider the topical and critical issues that face our sector and the wider world. Our conference also provides unrivalled opportunities for networking, sharing knowledge and expertise, hearing from sector leaders and joining in lively, challenging but overall convivial discussions and debates. The theme of the 2026 conference is Industrious and Wise. The city’s owl symbol – the bird long an indicator of wisdom – features as a proud heraldic device representing Leeds and we’re equally proud to adopt a version of it for AUDE26. We will be pleased to give a warm Yorkshire welcome to all conference participants.
The AUDE Conference steering committee are busy working behind the scenes planning the 2026 programme. This page will be updated regularly with speaker and session information. The programme is also subject to change.
Please click to expand each session below to find out more about them.
Monday 20 April
Tuesday 21 April
Wednesday 22 April
Thursday 23 April
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 and EventMap. 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. If interested please email corinne@aude.ac.uk.
The run club is supported by EventMap, who will also be providing runners with complimentary running T-shirts.
Sports Hall (The Edge)
Conference Auditorium
A welcome from our Conference Host Philippa Thomas, to open up AUDE Annual Conference 2026.
Conference Auditorium 2
Conference Auditorium 2
An introduction to the University of Leeds’ Campus Reimagined programme. An interactive discussion that will cover the drivers for change, and challenges and opportunities that have emerged as we seek to design a campus for a future – without sacrificing the demands of today.
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 2
Sports Hall (The Edge)
Speakers: Chris Butchart, COO, INVIDA and Dave Wicket, Senior Operations Lead, University of Cambridge
Speakers: Maris Interiors
A panel Q&A session, hosted by a senior director at Savills, with panel members comprising senior representatives from some of the UK’s active institutional funds and developers. It is the increasingly overlapping layer of the Venn diagram, where commercial and education markets come together to provide the foundations of sustainable, impactful growth. Understanding the perspective of the private/commercial partner. Exploring lessons learned, investment criteria, strategic alignment, and future opportunities to deliver a long-term partnership. Our session will reference Leeds as well as more widely across the UK, recognising the transformative role of a university in its locality.
Speaker: Sadie Janes, Director / Co-Lead of Savills Education, Savills.
Speaker: TaskSpace.
Sports Hall (The Edge)
Behavioural economist Roger Martin-Fagg brings his data-driven yet accessible style to the AUDE Annual Conference with an engaging session that goes beyond media noise to reveal what current economic indicators really tell us about the next 18–24 months. Drawing on up-to-date macroeconomic data and behavioural insights, Roger will cut through the jargon to outline what organisations, especially within higher education estates, should plan for in terms of inflation, growth, labour markets and sector-specific investment conditions. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the drivers shaping the economy, practical implications for campus planning and development, and how to align strategic decision-making with realistic economic expectations.
Conference Auditorium 2
Sports Hall (The Edge)
In this dynamic plenary session, higher education leaders from America , Australia, and South Africa will share how their institutions are embracing and advancing their roles as anchor institutions- universities that play a strategic, long term role in strengthening the social, economic, and cultural fabric of their localities. Through short case studies and internal reflections, speakers will explore the practical steps they are taking to create campuses where staff and students feel a strong sense of belonging, as well as the wider policy environments shaping their national contexts.
Speakers: Lalit Agarwal, President & CEO representating APPA, Maureen Malaka, Director Infrastructure and Facilities Management, Sol Plaatje University representing HEFMA, and Shane Jennings, Director Property, Facilities and Development, and Interim Chief Information Officer, Flinders University representing TEFMA.
Facilitator: Syd Cottle, Director of Estates and Infrastructure, University of Liverpool and AUDE Chair.
Conference Auditorium 2
Conference Auditorium 2
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 and EventMap. 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. If interested please email corinne@aude.ac.uk.
The run club is supported by EventMap, who will also be providing runners with complimentary running T-shirts.
Sports Hall (The Edge)
Conference Auditorium
Speaker: Professor Jane Robinson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Business, Partnerships and Place.
Conference Auditorium 2
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 Buildings, Bristol University, and Matt Beveridge, Assistant Director of Estates – Innovation, Strategy & Partnerships.
This interactive workshop is delivered by the winners of the AUDE 2025 Summer School and explores practical, evidence-based pathways for Higher Education Institutions progressing towards Net Zero, with a focus on energy conservation. Drawing on UK and international research, the session compares best-practice case studies and presents clear, transferable recommendations for sector-wide adoption. These range from zero-cost actions, such as reducing out-of-hours energy use and consolidating building operations, to cost-effective measures including optimised Building Management Systems (BMS), user engagement, and existing LED sensor technologies. The workshop also considers advanced solutions, including IoT occupancy monitoring and long-term “fabric first” design principles, through collaborative discussion and real-world application.
Speakers: Laura Pickles, Site Manager, Institute of Cancer Research, David Gray, Head of Estates Digital and Insight, University of Glasgow, Jon Belfield, Customer Experience & Site Services Manager, Edge Hill University, Jonathan Thompson, Estates Manager (Planning), Queen's University Belfast, and Jason Stanley, Associate Director of Estates Development, Birmingham City University.
Whilst legitimate uses of energy are present across estates outside of the working week, across HE, more than 55% of energy is used outside of Monday to Friday 7am-7pm. The scale of energy use when building occupancy is lower represents a significant opportunity to explore cost and carbon reduction without the need for significant capital, planning or grid upgrades.
Since revealing the scale of opportunity as part of its utilisation studies, Cardiff Metropolitan University (CMU) has been targeting the reduction of this out of hours consumption.
Energy use at CMU was lower than sector averages, yet by targeting this disconnect and other performance gap drivers, CMU has progressively reduced gas consumption by over 33% cost in 2025 vs 2023, Electricity by 10% and Water by 20%. Find out about the new digital platform being developed to enable others to target their own savings.
Sports Hall (The Edge)
Speakers: Dr Chris Brauer, Chief AI Officer, FSP, Director of Innovation, Goldsmiths, University of London, Mark Carrigan, Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester, and Rashik Parmar, Founding Director, CIO Mirror.
Conference Auditorium 2
Conference Auditorium 2
Conference Auditorium 2
Conference Auditorium 2
The War Gallery, Royal Armouries Museum
Royal Armouries Museum
Breakfast for delegates staying at the Hyatt Place Leeds
