The University’s first conference for professional services staff took place on 24-26 January 2024
Around 800 professional services staff took part in 15 in-person and online sessions, starting with an opening address at the Triangle Building on Shaftesbury Road. The conference included a full day of sessions for technicians, as well as a poster exhibition showcasing the innovative projects taking place across the University’s professional services community.
During the opening address, Professor David Cardwell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Strategy and Planning, reflected on the role that professional services staff play in enabling the University’s academic mission.
Emma Rampton, Registrary, spoke about how we need to develop our professional services to meet the changing needs of staff and students in an increasingly digital world. Guests also heard from Lucy Dixon, a consultant from SUMS Consulting, who shared her views on the biggest ‘disruptors’ in the higher education sector and how to respond to these challenges through digital transformation.
Other highlights included a panel discussion about change in professional services at the University, a virtual session hosted by award-winning podcaster Sarah Ellis from the ‘Squiggly Careers’ podcast and an interactive session to discover a new continuous improvement tool called Kaizen.
The conference ended with a closing speech from Vice-Chancellor Debbie Prentice and a chance for colleagues to share ideas about how to build on the success of the conference in the year ahead.
Staff can watch the opening session and view slides and event recordings by signing in to the Staff Hub SharePoint site with their @cam.ac.uk email address.