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
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Students as leaders in personal tutoring: a community-centred model for transformation
Thursday 21 May 2026, 14:00 - Thursday 21 May 2026, 15:30
OnlineRachael O'Connor; Danaé Sandoval Mendoza; Muhammad Hamza Shariq; Zak Kushner; Lewis Jones - University of Leeds
This webinar will introduce and explore the new Student Academic Personal Tutor (APT) Lead roles at the University of Leeds. This session will be co-delivered by Rachael O'Connor (Associate Professor in Legal Education and University Lead for APT at Leeds) and some of the current Student APT Leads. We will discuss why we have adopted this approach to community, student-centred leadership for APT at Leeds, how we got to this point and what we have achieved and planned so far, including some of the challenges and hurdles we have had to overcome. As this is a brand new role, we have had to adapt, be flexible and collaborate to get this work off the ground. Through this webinar, we hope to inspire and motivate other staff, leaders and university teams to consider how they might more meaningfully embed student voices into their own personal tutoring development work, through funded leadership roles.
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Charting the Path: Exploring the Professional Model of Academic Advising – Pros, Cons, and Best Practices
Thursday 18 June 2026, 14:00 - Thursday 18 June 2026, 15:30
OnlineWayne Ramwell, Francis Joash, Caroline Hoyle - University of Manchester
Join us for an engaging and interactive webinar focused on the vital role of academic advising in fostering student success and institutional flourishment. In this session, we will touch upon the essential goals of academic advising, including supporting the development of ‘whole’ students (Grit, 2023), empowering decision-making (Ramwell and Farrell, 2023), cultivating student agency (Ramwell and Joash, 2025), and nurturing personal and academic growth (Grey and Osborne, 2018).
Through online activities, participants will explore the professional advising model by comparing and contrasting it with others, such as the pastoral and integrated institutional archetypes (Earwaker, 1992). Based upon our experiences, we will explore the professional paradigm’s potential advantages, including targeted specialist support and greater consistency, while addressing challenges, such as resource allocation and potential divides between academic and professional teams, among others.
This webinar will provide participants with a deeper appreciation of different institutional approaches to advising and will offer an exclusive inside look into the innovative professional approach being pioneered within the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester.
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Supporting Students at transition points: A Structured Recovery Framework for Academic Advising
Thursday 16 July 2026, 14:00 - Thursday 16 July 2026, 15:30
OnlineKaren Lander, University of Manchester
Students often face significant challenges at key transition points in higher education, from starting university to undertaking resits or returning after interruption. This webinar introduces a Structured Recovery Framework designed to strengthen academic advising and tutoring at these critical moments. The session presents practical, evidence-informed strategies that enable staff to support students in rebuilding confidence, setting clear and achievable goals, and sustaining motivation, including structured resit roadmaps and purposeful, action-focused advising conversations. It will also address common challenges such as supporting students after failure, clarifying expectations, and enhancing self-efficacy. The webinar offers structured, transferable approaches that enhance retention, progression, and academic advising conversations during these difficult times.
Events in italic typeface are not provided by UKAT but are 3rd party events which may be of interest to UKAT members