Designed for Heads of Services, Department Managers and Senior Leaders to frame their planning for placement provision, in the context of the current policy landscape, our first event was held in May 2019. Two short years later and 2021’s ASET Leadership Exchange complemented ASET’s broader staff development programme by providing a forum for strategy-level discussion of current challenges, policy and practice relating to work-based and placement learning.  2021’s #ASETLeads balanced input from sector commentators with participant-led discussion, highlighting key shared issues and providing delegates with insights into current and emerging practice and policy.  It was an ideal opportunity to; network with colleagues across the sector with a strategic interest in work based and placement learning, access an accurate and timely picture of the landscape, and leave  with ideas to implement.

The 2021 Leadership Exchange In conversation with… panel:

Rachel Hewitt Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute:
Rachel joined HEPI in November 2018, as Director of Policy and Advocacy and has written about a wide variety of HE policy issues, including the future demand for higher education and the graduate gender pay gap. Prior to joining HEPI, Rachel held a number of roles at the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), focused on data policy and governance and gathering requirements for information that could be met from HESA data. Rachel also leads on the review of data on graduate destinations and designed and implemented the new Graduate Outcomes survey.

Helen Higson OBE, Professor of Higher Education Learning and Management, Aston Business School:
Helen Higson has just returned as Professor of Higher Education Learning and Management at Aston Business School, after 10 years as Aston University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor. She a board member of Advance HE and the Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE), and has been involved in TEF panels since their inception. In 2011 Helen was awarded an OBE for services to higher education, she is a National Teaching Fellow and a Principal Fellow of Advance HE. Her research is in intercultural and employability competencies, widening participation and the management of higher education.

Johnny Rich, Chief Executive of Push and Chief Executive of the Engineering Professors’ Council:
Johnny Rich has a number of roles including; Chief Executive of the Engineering Professors’ Council, Chief Executive of the award-winning outreach organisation Push, and consultant in Higher Education policy and communications. His recent clients include the European Commission, HEPI, Youth Sight and a host of recruiters, education bodies and media organisations. Johnny is widely regarded as an expert on HE access, student choice, information and opportunity, and on employability. As a contributor to various think tanks and strategy bodies, Johnny speaks and writes widely on policy debates in education, careers, wider participation and social mobility. He has recently spearheaded projects on school-leaver recruitment, work-related learning and engineering social mobility. With degrees from the Universities of Durham and East Anglia, his background also includes jobs in journalism, publishing, media relations, television production and web development. He appears regularly on television and radio and is author of the highly acclaimed novel The Human Script. Johnnyrich.com @JohnnySRich @Pushtalks @EngProfCouncil.

Vicki Stott FRSA, Deputy CEO at The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education: 
Vicki joined QAA in 2019 and has responsibility for a range of functions including: Membership & Quality Enhancement Services; International & Professional Services; Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland; Quality Assurance England; and Marketing & Events. She is a member of the Executive Team and acts as Deputy CEO.

Programme

Previous Events
You can read about the inaugural #ASETLeads event, held in May 2019 here.