TO BE PUBLISHED June 2026
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This conference will consider next steps for long-term funding models and the financial sustainability, resilience, and stability of the UK higher education sector, including priorities for policy, institutional planning, and risk management.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss opportunities for refining operating models in the context of tuition fee cap increases, reintroduction of maintenance grants, expanded research funding, and the forthcoming levy on international students announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget.
Delegates will also consider strategies for addressing pressures highlighted in the Office for Students’ annual financial sustainability report, including sector-wide financial stress, uneven impacts across providers, and the growing number of institutions at risk of insolvency. The agenda will bring out latest thinking on approaches to resource allocation, strategic trade-offs, programme portfolio management, and long-term institutional planning - alongside approaches to achieving wider sector stability and competitiveness.
Regulation, governance & forecasting
A further focus for the conference will be the evolution of financial regulation in response to heightened risk, including expectations for oversight, intervention and recovery, as well as the role of the Office for Students in shaping institutional strategy. Discussion will examine implications of how changes to quality regulation, new franchising oversight rules, and evolving accountability frameworks are influencing planning, reporting, and risk management.
Effective practice for financial reporting, scenario planning, and engagement with regulators will be examined, including the use of stress testing and liquidity assessment to anticipate and mitigate risks. Delegates will also consider the interaction of regulatory developments with wider policy priorities including participation, rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, and protection of core teaching and research capacity - alongside implications for the balance between institutional autonomy and sector stability.
Student finance, recruitment & market strategy
Further discussion will examine options for reform across tuition fee and maintenance systems. Areas for discussion include the long-term sustainability and design of the student loans system, repayment terms, the balance of funding contribution, targeting of public funding, and strategies for sustaining strategically important teaching and research provision.
Delegates will assess latest thinking on practical approaches to international student recruitment and market diversification, as well as management of compliance and reputational risk, and implications for student experience, institutional autonomy, and long-term viability.
The agenda also looks at how visa policy, global competition for talent, and reputational factors are influencing recruitment strategies, international student markets, and partnerships. Areas for discussion include how institutions can foster growth alongside quality, compliance, and retention objectives.
Research, funding & commercialisation
The agenda looks at priorities for harnessing opportunities arising from increased research and development investment - including the Government’s commitment to raise annual funding to £22bn by 2029/30, and protection of core quality-related funding in real terms. Delegates will discuss how this can be used to strengthen institutional resilience and support priority areas such as artificial intelligence, green technologies, and life sciences.
The alignment of institutional research strategies with national innovation priorities will be examined, including the management of pressures around funding concentration and research cross-subsidy, and priorities for balancing investment in research capacity with teaching provision and wider financial sustainability.
Attendees will also examine the role of spin-outs in strengthening innovation pipelines, commercial partnerships, and local economic impact, alongside challenges in governance, risk management, and financial oversight, and how institutions are supporting staff and students to engage with spin-out activity without compromising core teaching responsibilities.
Diversification, mergers & engagement with key partners
Options for diversification will be discussed, including short course provision ahead of rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2027, operational readiness, staffing and teaching capacity, curriculum development, and allocation of administrative resources to support expanded flexible provision.
With concerns from some around workload, resource constraints, and maintaining teaching quality alongside existing programmes, those attending will assess effective strategies for engaging employers, adult learners, and regional partners. Sessions will also focus on how transnational education can support international growth and income diversification, as well as questions relating to regulatory compliance and quality assurance ahead of the anticipated reformed Teaching Excellence Framework.
Further sessions will examine the potential role of institutional mergers, strategic alliances, and collaborations in addressing financial pressures and long-term sustainability. Consideration will be given to how collaboration between institutions can support resource consolidation, expanded programme offerings, and strengthened research and teaching capacity, alongside implications for governance, regulatory compliance, regional provision, and student experience.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already attending include officials from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; Department for Business and Trade; Department for the Economy, NI; National Audit Office; and the Welsh Government.
