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UKAT offers conferences, webinars and other events throughout the year, both online and in various locations around the UK. These events provide professional development opportunities for personal tutors and academic advisors who are invested in helping students achieve academic success.

The UKAT Annual Conference is the major event of the year and provides an opportunity to learn in general sessions from experts in the field, gain knowledge and review best practices with colleagues in concurrent sessions, and participate in interactive workshops. The variety of learning formats also may include poster sessions, exhibitor presentations, and formal and informal networking opportunities.

Upcoming Events

  • A Practical Toolkit: Eight Steps to Identifying, Supporting and Celebrating Students who are Parents

    Thursday 15 June 2023, 14:00 - Thursday 15 June 2023, 15:30
    Online

    Andrea Todd, University of Chester

    For the first time this year, for 2023 entry, UCAS forms are asking students to identify whether they have parental responsibility.  We will, for the first time, have consistent data on our incoming student-parent cohorts.

     But how will we support them?  What will we put in place to ensure our student-parents feel they are a genuinely valued cohort, whose wellbeing, sense of community, retention, progression and success matter to us?

     Unlike many cohorts attending university under the Widening Participation agenda, student-parents are not considered by the Office for Students to be an underrepresented group. They are not, therefore, required to feature in institutional Access & Participation Plans, meaning that student-parents, and their needs, frequently go undetected by their institutions and departments.

    During this webinar, Andrea Todd from the University of Chester will take us through the findings of her research project, undertaken during 2021 and 2022, which (a) sought to understand what student-parents need from their institutions, (b) devised interventions to support these needs, and (c) garnered student-parents’ views on whether these interventions worked for them.

    Andy will take us through the thinking behind her practical, yet research-informed, publication ‘A Practical Toolkit: Eight Steps to Identifying, Supporting and Celebrating Student-Parents’ (available on the Resources page of the UKAT website) and will share her personal experiences of providing student-parent specific tutor support and of establishing and moderating a departmental peer support group, both of which have been welcomed by student-parents.

    Participants will leave the session with practical ideas as to how personal tutoring and related interventions can assist in identifying, supporting and celebrating this highly motivated cohort.

  • European First Year Experience Conference

    Tuesday 27 June 2023 - Thursday 29 June 2023
    Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland

    Abertay University, Dundee is delighted to be hosting the next European First Year Experience (EFYE) Conference between 27-29 June 2023. This is the first time that EFYE will be hosted in Scotland.

    Conference Theme - This year’s conference theme is ‘Discovery and Design for Academic and Social Student Success’ with a focus on 4 strands, which include:

    • Discovery (Personalising approaches to success)
    • Dialogue (Creating opportunities for collaborative learning and communities)
    • Decolonise (To engage all students for a global perspective)
    • Digital (Embracing technologies to support student success)

    Call for Proposals (Now Open) – The call for proposals is now open. We invite proposals based upon this year’s conference theme to share results of research, experience, and evidence-based practice.

    We would particularly welcome proposals from student organisations (unions, associations etc) and/or proposals which showcase staff and student collaborations, cross departmental and/or institutional working. There will be a concessionary rate available for student delegates attending the conference. 

    You can view full details of the conference session types on the website. Accepted session types include:

    • 20 Minute Presentations 
    • 60 Minute Workshops
    • Show & Tell/Lightning Talks/Provocations 
    • Posters/Demonstrations 

    The deadline for proposals is set for Wednesday 25th  January 2023.

    We will keep you updated through this forum, our conference website and social media channels (Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn). You can also view the first of our conference newsletters for further information and details about Abertay University, Dundee, travel & accommodation and more.

  • HEIR Network 16th Annual Conference

    Thursday 7 September 2023 - Friday 8 September 2023
    Kingston-upon-Thames

    The Higher Education Institutional Research Network are holding their 16th Annual Conference at Kingston University on 7-8 September 2023, with a theme of Addressing Equity in Higher Education.

    The Call for Abstracts is open until Friday 2nd June 2023. 

    HEIR Network 16th Annual Conference poster

Events in italic typeface are not provided by UKAT but are 3rd party events which may be of interest to UKAT members