Paul Clark is Director of Policy at Universities UK. He is responsible for overseeing the full range of policy development activity at UUK, anticipating future events and coordinating priorities, and shaping the policy agenda on behalf of the UK university sector.

Prior to that, he worked as a manager in a number of institutions in the higher education sector, most recently holding a senior management position at the University of Oxford. Paul was educated at the University of Oxford, and holds an MBA in Higher Education Management. He has also worked in local politics and in several not-for-profit roles.


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Sarah Jackson is Director of the N8 Research Partnership, a consortium of the eight most research-intensive universities in the North of England.

The N8 brings together teams of 'best with best' researchers to work on research challenges of scale and complexity. Some of the recent initiatives that Sarah has led and implemented include:
- The N8 Industry Innovation Forum – a new collaboration between the N8, private sector partners, the Technology Strategy Board and HEFCE
- N8: Sharing for Excellence and Growth – opportunities for working together as eight research intensive universities and with industry, to give our leading research talent access to the best research equipment

Prior to this role, Sarah worked in a number of project management roles at the Northwest Development Agency and the University of Manchester. She spent two years at Deloitte as a graduate trainee working in the Human Capital team, specialising in personal taxation.

Sarah has recently undertaken a six month secondment to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, writing a report looking at efficiencies across the research base. She has a first class honours in Sociology and an MSc in Innovation Management, both from the University of Manchester.

Presentation: Rising to the efficiency challenge

The Diamond Review identified potential wins in areas such as process improvement and simplification, shared services and outsourcing, IT, better use of collaborative procurement, and more effective use of benchmarking. There is strong evidence of universities increasing their effectiveness in these areas, reinvesting the savings in front line student services and human capital.

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Shaun Curtis was appointed Director of International Exeter in August 2009. He is responsible for implementing the University of Exeter's Internationalisation strategy, managing a team of 30+ individuals to develop stronger links with leading international universities and to expand and diversify Exeter's international student body.

Previously, Shaun was the inaugural Head of the UK Higher Education International Unit at Universities UK and was Research Manager at the Economic Development Office of the City of London Corporation. Shaun has had a diverse career over the last 20 years, working in the public, private and university sectors. He received a BA in Politics and an MA in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto.

Presentation: Delivering value in a global market

British universities are competing in a rapidly expanding global market. The International Exeter strategy has been developed to create imaginative and attractive opportunities for students and staff to experience the benefits of internationalisation.

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Dr Annie Grant is the Dean of Students at the University of East Anglia (UEA). UEA has received consistently high scores in the National Student Survey, and in 2013 came first in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey.

Annie is responsible for many of UEA's student services, and plays a strategic role within her institution through committee and working group membership. She is an active member of the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE), and was a founder and for several years Chair of the Mental Wellbeing in HE Working Group. In 2009, she was awarded a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship for her contribution to enhancing the student experience. She has published papers and book chapters on HE student affairs and has authored and contributed to sector-wide policy and guidance documents, particularly in relation to student wellbeing.


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Dr Geoff Stoakes is Head of Research at the Higher Education Academy. He is responsible for commissioning research into learning and teaching and the student experience in higher education in the UK and overseas. Until June 2012, he was Vice Principal (Academic) at the University of St Mark & St John in Plymouth.

A historian by training, he has published research on Nazi Germany, the Kennedy presidency and more recently on the Research-Teaching nexus and Impact Assessment. He was appointed to the inaugural HE Advisory Panel of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. Very recently he featured in the HEA/Guardian Round Table discussion on 'What next for the Postgraduate Student?'


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Ian Apperley is responsible for UWE Bristol's transformation and business change programme. Ian was appointed Director of Transformation in 2012, having joined the university as HR Director in 2007.

Before he joined UWE, Ian held various treasury, policy and management roles in the public and private sectors, including a stint as HR Director for the Mayor of London and Greater London Authority.


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