Sally Bucknell

Sally Bucknell is a senior leader at the intersection of higher education, talent strategy, and the future of work. As Deputy Pro-Chancellor at Keele University and Non-Executive Director at Your Housing Group, she brings a strategic, governance-level perspective to how institutions prepare students for employment.

Alongside her HE roles, Sally has held senior positions at EY, including UK Future of Work Programme Director and Culture & Inclusiveness Director, leading major transformation programmes focused on skills, workforce evolution, and inclusive talent strategies.

Sally’s work focuses on aligning higher education with employer needs – ensuring graduates are equipped not just with knowledge, but with the behaviours, adaptability, and capabilities required to succeed. She brings a powerful cross-sector lens to employability, highlighting the critical role of partnerships, leadership, and long-term strategy in shaping future-ready graduates.

Ewan Bennie

Ewan is the Director of Communications and Influence at the young people charity, EY Foundation. The focus of his work is developing insights to support the systemic change needed to ensure young people eligible for Free School Meals have the same employment and earnings potential as other young people in the UK. Areas of focus include the changing skills needs to thrive in the future of work, the impact of AI through a social mobility lens, and breaking down the barriers between employers and young people. Previously, Ewan led on climate change communications in central government and was a television producer at the BBC. 

Deborah O’Connor

Deborah O’Connor is a senior academic leader specialising in work-integrated learning within healthcare and professionally regulated disciplines. She is Head of the Department of Health Professions at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she leads programmes shaped by strong partnerships with practice and industry. Her most recent research explores belongingness during work-integrated learning.

With over 30 years’ experience as a physiotherapist, educator, and researcher, Deborah has a deep understanding of how practice-based learning, professional standards (PSRBs), and employability intersect. As former Faculty Director of Placements and Partnerships, she has been instrumental in the development of high-quality placement models across healthcare education across a number of different sectors.

An international Work-Integrated Learning Research Fellow, Deborah brings a global perspective on preparing students for complex professional environments. She champions inclusive, partnership-driven approaches that ensure graduates are not only work-ready, but capable of thriving in rapidly evolving healthcare systems. More recently, Deborah continues to focus her research around belongingness in practice settings and how this influences transitions from student to professional practice.

Ollie Sidwell is a leading voice in early careers and student insight, dedicated to understanding how students experience and navigate the transition into work. As Co-founder of Higherin (formerly RMP Enterprise), he has helped build one of the UK’s most influential platforms for student feedback on placements, internships, graduate roles and apprenticeships.

Created in response to his own challenges securing work experience, Ollie’s work centres on amplifying the student voice; providing insight into what students value most, from meaningful work and inclusive cultures to flexibility and authentic employer engagement. At ASET Conference, Ollie brings a powerful evidence base drawn from real student experiences and emerging trends, offering a fresh and sometimes challenging perspective on how institutions and employers can better meet the needs of today’s learners.