Thank you so much to everyone involved in the AUDE Conference 2023 which was held between 3 and 6 April at the University of Liverpool. We are immensely grateful to everyone for their contributions, whether that is as a delegate, a speaker, an exhibitor or supporter. The headline supporters for #AUDE23 were Overbury, Atkins, Faithful+Gould, while Gleeds were the supporters for the AUDE Awards in 2023.
It is impossible to pick out highlights and with sessions not being recorded we’d recommend quick action next year to get your booking in on time! Our theme for conference was ‘Our place in the world’, and our opening plenary looked at the way our host city of Liverpool has risen and fallen on the economic tides, with an introduction from Lord Heseltine OM, one of the key figures in the regeneration of the city since the 1980s. Other key sessions included Roger Martin-Fagg, a frequent visitor to AUDE conferences with his usual trenchant explanations of the state of the UK economy; the uplifting session from Hayley Mulenda; and John Amaechi OBE on the role of allyship in leadership. But every session was the result of careful preparation and thought, and we are grateful for every speaker’s efforts in creating interesting material for AUDE delegates to consider.
During the AUDE Annual General Meeting, AUDE Secretary gave retiring AUDE Treasurer Andrew Burgess of Lancaster University our collective very best wishes on behalf of the association, and reminded delegates of the 2019 agreement to raise subscription rates annually by 2%. In the immediate aftermath of the AGM we published our annual report. As AUDE Chair Umesh Desai remarks in it, "This association gets busier and busier. As AUDE Chair of course I’m going to say that this isn’t an accident. It’s a result of choices made over a number of years. We’ve made a conscious decision to support the development of a widening circle of special interest groups working under the AUDE umbrella, and for these to be strategic in nature, so we can develop the high level thinking in these specialist areas that is needed. Our recently formed group for risk and assurance is an example and I look forward to more special interest groups potentially coming on stream in the second half of my tenure as Chair. We’ve also made a conscious decision in recent years to broaden the focus of the association, so that despite our name, we support colleagues at other levels of seniority than simply the director role."
Those present at conference might also remember Jane White’s reference to our growing programmes for those looking for coaching, our work shadowing programme for those seeking to gain a new perspective via a short placement in another university, and to our development fund which can help pay for a specific piece of training or project development. Drop us a note for all these opportunities and more.
On the final evening of conference delegates were able to join us at Liverpool's amazing St George's Hall for the 2023 AUDE Awards. Information on all of our winners can be found on this website.
Finally, AUDE are delighted to announce that we raised £3,327 at the conference for Prevent Breast Cancer. Thank you all for your kind and incredibly generous donations. Your contributions will make a huge difference to people’s lives and help us raise the essential funds required to achieve the ‘National Breast Imaging Academy’.
Please find below links to the recordings and the presentation slides from the sessions that took place at the AUDE Annual Conference - Digital Learning Week. Thank you to all who supported and joined these sessions.
Kindly supported by Equans
How data integrates the infrastructure, systems, and people who make up a university community. The challenges that, university’s, students, industry and communities face to embrace technology and rapidly and visibly reduce our environmental footprint.
Keele University’s Director of Estates and Development, Phil Butters, joins Louise Alter and Richard Jenkins from Equans Energy Innovation and Smart buildings teams, to open the conversation about the opportunities for UK universities to enable the development of technology to lead the world in decarbonisation.
Speakers: Louise Alter, Energy Innovation Manager, Equans; Richard Jenkins, Director, Strategic Sales & Marketing, Equans; Phil Butters, Director of Estates and Development, University of Keele
Kindly supported by Atkins and Faithful+Gould
Have you set an ambitious net zero target for your existing estate? One of the biggest challenges for estate owners, in particular Universities and Local Authorities, is being able to plot a course for the decarbonisation of their many buildings and facilities: it is now a legal as well as moral imperative to respond to this challenge.
In this context we will explore why a deep understanding of data has become a major driver in decision-making. This data enables owner / occupiers of building portfolios of any scale, to successfully decarbonise entire building estates through the development and implementation of efficient, affordable and programme optimised net zero pathways. We will also demonstrate the importance of overlaying wider University data (such as occupancy rates, utilisation and student satisfaction), in addition to carbon information, in order to allow estates teams to make fully informed decisions. We will share our learning from recent projects and discuss the common barriers and opportunities.
Our Decarbonomics methodology helps estate occupiers/owners to visualise and plan their decarbonisation journeys. We will share our experience of working alongside client teams to deliver on net zero carbon aspirations.
Speakers: Helen Groves, Architect Director, Education Sector Lead, Atkins; Daniel Lockwood, Associate Director, Sustainability, Faithful+Gould
Kindly supported by Overbury
Capital spend should always seek added value. We discuss the importance of social value within your estates spend and how this relates to social value, spend mapping and ESG. Looking at what the market looks like across these topics, the available tools and how these work and what the benefits are to your projects.
Speakers: Louise Townsend, Director of Social Value & Sustainability and creator of Social Value Bank, Morgan Sindall Construction; Matt Hutton, CEO, Bond Bryan Architects; Jiten Chauhan, Partner, Rider Levett Bucknall; Compered by Penelope Mitchell, Education & Frameworks, Overbury
Kindly supported by Optimised
This session will demonstrate the value of data and how this can be used to drive decarbonisation strategies, business decisions and a compelling return on investment. We will demonstrate business intelligence dashboard technologies to visualise the Net Zero journey and simulation of the impact of different strategies. How the technical expertise, innovation and solutions of Optimised can feed into the certainty of achieving business goals and aspirations of your energy, carbon and ultimately your Net Zero strategy. Where we see the future of energy 'supply and demand' and the power of bringing these two together to reduce consumption, cost and carbon in a decarbonised world. A number of case studies from Universities will be showcased as part of this interactive session.
Speakers: Peter Chappell, Head of Client Services (Public Sector), Optimised; Gary Bark, Sales & Marketing Director, Optimised; Jan Bastianns, Energy Manager, Lancaster University; Carla Wilson, Director of Consulting, Optimised; Charlie Parker, Sustainability Consultant, Optimised
Kindly supported by Ridge
The university sector is facing a number of challenges, highlighted in last year’s ‘Big Conversation’ events, these include decarbonisation, the need for flexible estates and hybrid working, supply chain challenges and the Diversity and Inclusion agenda. All this sits within the challenges of a climate and biodiversity agenda, accelerating costs such as energy and the need to deliver social value. Ridge have developed the ‘360Ssustainability’ approach which aligns these priorities with corporate and stakeholder requirements and provides a framework structure to ensure the above requirements can be aligned and managed, within across and organisation and their estates portfolio, providing a robust structure against which solutions can be designed, procured and delivered.
At the same time, the facilities management sector faces challenges with information management, something key for supporting not only the sustainability agenda but for ensuring building safety as well. In 2016 BIM became a mandatory element for new construction projects within the University sector. We would like to demonstrate to you how BIM can solve some of the larger information management issues that we are now facing, including a case study from a University to demonstrate that Estates management through BIM can be practically implemented.
Speakers: Nick Hayes, Partner, Ridge; Mike Ford, Digital Engineering Group Manager, Ridge
Kindly supported by SSE Energy Solutions
This discussion will explore how data and digital services can be used to transform University estates and to support the sectors drive to greater efficiency and net-zero. It will provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities associated with the digital transformation, with a focus on how data available to us today can and often is being used to improve decision-making and support the delivery of more efficient and cost-effective services across university estates. The discussion will explore how digital tools and services can be used to enhance the student experience and create an environment that supports innovation and collaboration. Finally, the presentation will consider how universities can ensure that their digital transformation efforts are successful and sustainable over the long-term, and that the lessons learnt can benefit the communities and regions served by the sector.
Host: Mohammed Kavla Head of DCDA & BEI, SSE Energy Solutions.
Speakers: Darren Eldred, DCDA Operations Manager, SSE Energy Solutions; Abimbola Ihidero, Business Energy Intelligence Manager, SSE Energy Solutions; Paul Kraus Product Development Manager, SSE Energy Solutions; David Charles, Head of Climate Action, University of Strathclyde
Kindly supported by Mace Group
Higher education institutions face challenging times. Increased operating costs, changing student behaviours, aging estates and competing priorities mean that the future of some universities is not certain. It is essential that our sector tackles these challenges head on, consolidating their assets and creating future-facing strategies to deliver outstanding education long into the future.
Our panel will guide attendees through the principles of placemaking across university estates, with a focus on resilience and longevity to face the challenges of tomorrow, as well as take questions from the audience on specific issues.
Speakers: Tony Gale, Consult lead for Universities at Mace; Terry Spraggett, Managing Director for PREACH at Mace; Rachel O’Donnell, Consult lead for Retrofit at Mace; Ivana Tudja, BIM and Digital Engineering Lead for PREACH at Mace; Professor Paola Letteri, Pro-Provost (UCL East) and Professor of Chemical Engineering, University College London
Kindly supported by Willmott Dixon
Achieving net-zero carbon relies on more than solely addressing the operational energy of a building. As the grid decarbonises, the importance of embodied carbon will only grow. The functional objective of whole-life carbon is to quantify the through-life carbon emissions of all aspects of the built environment, as to determine and select design solutions that have the lowest embodied AND operational emission. Whole-life carbon replaces the standard practice of focusing only on operational emissions of a scheme, making it a concrete step towards achieving true net-zero.
During this session we will explore what whole-life carbon is, why it’s so important, how to measure it and ultimately how to reduce it. We’ll also speak about how modern methods of construction and the circular economy will play a major part in achieving net-zero. You’ll hear about some of our learnings from recent higher education projects and discuss the common barriers and opportunities.
Speaker: Francesca Wilkinson, Sustainability Manager, Willmott Dixon
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