Student Communications Conference 2026

Thursday 14 May 2026
Virtual Conference

The Student Communications Conference 2026 will explore how higher education teams can design confident, joined-up and student-centred communications that meaningfully enhance engagement, experience and belonging across the student journey.

The Conference will:

  • Explore how student communications can drive meaningful engagement, participation and confidence across the student journey

  • Provide practical frameworks for designing clear, consistent and student-centred communications that support real experience outcomes

  • Examine how joined-up communications across teams and services can reduce friction and build trust with students

  • Share applied approaches to using insight, student voice and emerging technologies to enhance relevance and impact

  • Analyse how communications can strengthen belonging, wellbeing and long-term student engagement

Why attend the conference?

Assess how your institution can design student communications that build confidence, clarity and meaningful engagement

Discover practical approaches for creating joined-up, student-centred communications that enhance experience and participation

Develop a roadmap for delivering relevant, consistent communications that support belonging and positive student outcomes

REGISTER NOW

Confirmed Speakers

Emily Peers
Student Communications Manager
University of Birmingham

Stephen Thompson
Head of Student Communications
Manchester Metropolitan University

Tracy Playle
Chief Content Strategist and CEO
Pickle Jar Commuications

Agenda

09:30 am

Chair’s Welcome Address

09:40 am

Interactive Opener: “Cut Through the Gap” – How Can Student Communications Support Meaningful Engagement?

  • What meaningful engagement looks like from a student perspective

  • Where communications help (or hinder) participation, connection and confidence

  • Why “cut through” is about relevance, trust and timing — not just attention

  • Rethinking engagement measurement beyond opens, clicks and reach

Leah Whiting
Head of Student Communications
University of the West of England (invited)

10:10 am

Building Real Confidence Across the Student Journey: Consistency, Authenticity and Relevance

  • Designing communications that reduce uncertainty and prompt confident action

  • Supporting engagement at critical transition points across the student journey

  • Using clarity, tone and relevance to encourage participation and trust

  • Connecting communications activity to lived experience and outcome-based impact

Tracy Playle
Chief Content Strategist and CEO
Pickle Jar Communications (CONFIRMED)

10:50 am

Break and Networking

11:05 am

Joined-Up Comms in Action: Designing a Coherent Voice with Every Interaction

  • Creating a consistent institutional voice that students recognise and trust

  • Reducing friction between services through coordinated messaging and planning

  • Supporting participation by aligning academic, wellbeing and support comms

  • Designing joined-up communications that feel intentional, not overwhelming

Stephen Thompson
Head of Student Communications
Manchester Metropolitan University (CONFIRMED)

11:45 am

Who Owns Your Communications? Empowering Students as Community Enablers

  • Moving from student audiences to student collaborators and contributors

  • Using student insight and co-creation to shape engagement strategies

  • Empowering students as trusted communicators within their communities

  • Ensuring student voice leads to tangible experience and engagement outco

Emily Peers
Student Communications Manager
University of Birmingham (CONFIRMED)

12:25 pm

Break and Networking

1:00 pm

Unlocking the Practical Comms Value: An Operational Roadmap to AI Deployment

  • Where AI is already adding value in student communications today

  • Using AI to support relevance, prioritisation and personalisation at scale

  • Enhancing engagement without increasing noise or student fatigue

  • Embedding ethical, transparent and human-centred AI practice

Greg England
Head of Communications, Marketing, and Student Recruitment
Cardiff University (invited)

1:50 pm

Break and Networking

2:05 pm

Social Media in Flux: The (Not So) Secret Trends of 2026 and How We Need to Evolve

  • Designing social content that encourages interaction, dialogue and trust

  • Understanding what meaningful engagement looks like on social platforms

  • Supporting peer connection and community-building through social channel

  • Integrating social into wider engagement strategies, not treating it as a silo

Carla Creary
Student Communications Coordinator
University of Leicester (invited)

2:45 pm

Communicating Care: How Do We Drive Impact on Wellbeing and Belonging?

  • Designing communications that reduce barriers and anxiety around support

  • Using tone, clarity and reassurance to encourage help-seeking behaviour

  • Driving engagement with wellbeing services and resources at the right moments

  • Reinforcing belonging and confidence through everyday communications

Dr Meaghan Banham
Director of Student Support and Engagement
Leeds Trinity University (invited)

3:25 pm

Conference Close & Key Takeaways

  • Key themes and patterns from across the da

  • What “good” engagement looks like in practice

  • Practical takeaways delegates can apply now

Audience

This Conference is designed for higher education professionals responsible for shaping student communications, engagement and experience. Those in attendance will include:

  • Directors of Communications and Marketing

  • Heads of Student Communications

  • Heads of Student Experience and Engagement

  • Heads of Digital, Social Media and Content

  • Student Communications Managers

  • Student Engagement and Experience Managers

Secure Your On Demand Ticket

HE and Public Sector

£195 + VAT

REGISTER NOW

Private Sector

£395 + VAT

REGISTER NOW

HE Team of 3

£526.50 + VAT

CONTACT US

For group discounts and enquiries about your registration please contact us on enquiries@heprofessional.co.uk