Development programme

GuildHE Workshop with The Digital Resistance: AI Ready - building institutional confidence and capability

Monday 14 September 2026 (10:00 - 11:30am)

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping higher education, bringing new opportunities alongside important questions about governance, implementation, and institutional readiness. For smaller and specialist providers, the challenge is not simply whether to adopt AI, but how to do so thoughtfully, proportionately, and within existing resources.

This interactive workshop is designed for institutions that are moving beyond initial awareness and beginning to embed AI into their strategic and operational thinking. Together, participants will explore practical approaches to AI adoption, governance, and staff capability, considering what works for institutions without the dedicated teams and resources available to larger universities.

About The Digital Resistance:

The Digital Resistance is a grassroots initiative focused on public safety in the digital age. They support individuals, schools, and communities by providing clear guidance, practical tools and ethical insight to help navigate AI-driven and online systems safety and confidently.

Cost to join this session: £40 (including VAT)

We offer ongoing support to members seeking degree awarding powers at all levels.  We convene sector experts for guidance, offer 1:1 support and connect you to peers who have recent experience of different stages of the process, including those who've recently achieved those powers. Members can also find a wide range of resources in our Members Area.

If you would like to find out more, please email Kate Wicklow, Director of Policy and Strategy.

We have now closed expressions of interest for our new leadership development pilot, co-designed and delivered in partnership with leadership specialists Gatenby Sanderson. We are currently working with participating institutions to shape the programme and will share further updates in due course.

This pilot programme offers a comprehensive and cost-effective leadership development opportunity tailored to the unique contexts of GuildHE institutions. It is designed for staff currently in leadership positions - whether academic or professional services - particularly those leading teams or strategic projects and seeking to further develop their leadership capabilities. 

GuildHE Governance in Practice with AHEP: Navigating policy, regulation and institutional change

Tuesday 6 October 2026 (12:00 - 2:00pm)

This development programme from the Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP) explores the latest policy and regulatory developments shaping higher education, equipping governing bodies, clerks, and senior leaders with the insight and practical tools needed to respond confidently in an increasingly complex environment.

What sets this programme apart is its focus on the realities facing GuildHE members and specialist providers. Rather than offering generic governance training, the programme combines sector-specific insight, practical governance support, and peer learning tailored to institutions navigating distinctive strategic, regulatory, and operational challenges.

Designed to move beyond compliance alone, the programme helps institutions strengthen board effectiveness, governance resilience, and strategic oversight through practical, applicable approaches grounded in the current higher education landscape.

About the Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP):

The Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP) is the professional body for higher education professionals, supporting career development, professional recognition, and sector collaboration. Through its network, AHEP connects colleagues from across higher education to share good practice, exchange ideas, and strengthen the impact and credibility of the profession.

Cost to join this session: £60 (including VAT)

GuildHE Leadership Workshop with Counterculture: from delivery to decision making - navigating constraint, uncertainty, and change in the HE landscape

Wednesday 9 September 2026 (1:00pm - 2:30pm)

The higher education leader of the past had a single driving concern. It was, primarily, how to expand in an era of growing student interest, increasing internationalisation, and increasing units of resource within a low interest environment. This isn’t to say leadership wasn’t hard, it always had been, but it required a specific set of leadership skills.

Today, leaders are navigating a far more complex landscape. 

This session explores leadership as both a cultural and structural phenomenon. As management scholar Henry Mintzberg described it, culture is "the way we do things around here", but those behaviours are shaped by how decisions are made, who is involved, and the information available to them.

Through discussion and practical examples, participants will explore how these dynamics play out in today's higher education environment and reflect on how they can strengthen decision-making and leadership within their own institutions.

We are supporting our members through transformation and efficiency conversations and working collaboratively with the UUK Taskforce. GuildHE-specific activities have included roundtables on unique challenges of rural or coastal locations, and for creative specialists. These conversations have led to the development of support and information sharing, and have fed into our wider development programme activities. 

We have also hosted a ‘Radical collaboration in higher education’ workshop, partnering with KPMG and Mills & Reeve. This interactive workshop allowed senior leaders to reflect on strategic drivers for collaboration, assess models, and consider practical steps, including identifying suitable models and key considerations for boards and senior leadership, such as regulatory requirements. We will be running this workshop again with them in summer 2026. 

We are continuing to develop efficiency-focused activities and plan further workshops on collaboration and practical efficiency steps, such as discussions on shared activities, commercialisation and partnerships. We are also working with AdvanceHE on new merger resources for the sector. We are also keen that more resources are available for other forms of collaboration across the sector, and for senior leaders and governing bodies.