As the editor of FE News, Gavin O'Meara is a leading voice in Further Education and an outspoken champion for the UK skills sector. In this keynote session, Gavin will set the tone for the conference: "Things are happening so fast ... I am keen to look to the future and we need a rapidly deployable and agile system ... how do we deliver that?"
Gavin is perfectly placed to digest the very latest news in the education sector for us - in order to give his view of recent developments and his vision for the future.

Do you want to expand in international markets? The reputation of the UK education system serves as a powerful gateway for awarding organisations seeking to market their qualifications internationally. In an interconnected world, the demand for skilled professionals is not confined by borders and this session will explore some key considerations for providing qualifications to an international market.
Jonathan will discuss:
• Market and opportunity insights
• How to grow your international reach
• Help and Support from the Department for Business and Trade

Awarding Organisations provide a benchmark of quality in the education sector and, in turn, they need to demonstrate compliance with the regulators’ conditions of recognition. How do you manage compliance within your organisation? What processes do you have in place? How frequently do you have reviews? How many staff members are involved? Lesley will discuss how Innovate Awarding manages its compliance looking at resources, team structure, corporate ethos and processes - an invaluable opportunity to compare notes with another major awarding body!

A fundamental cornerstone of the new government's manifesto, Skills England is a new arms-length body that will bring together key partners to meet the skills needs of the next decade. It is intended that the agency will replace the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and one of its key aims is to shape technical education to respond to skills needs, including identifying the training accessible via the Growth and Skills Levy.
Carmel will provide an invaluable insight into the role of Skills England and the latest developments within the new body.

James will discuss the three-headed challenge which faces all awarding organisations: maintaining the interests of the learner, ensuring quality - and making a profit (or, at least, not making a loss).
As well as being a leading dance qualifications body (regulated by Ofqual, CCEA and QW), the International Dance Teachers’ Association (IDTA) is a membership association for professional dance teachers, with over 6000 members in over 55 countries. James will discuss how IDTA meets its obligations as an AO, the strategic challenges of the business and the demands of ensuring quality over such a wide international market.

This is a Q&A session with the regulators and provides you with an opportunity to ask questions related to your business or raise issues relevant to your sector. The session will be chaired by Ben Smith, who will employ Paxman-like tenacity to solicit solid answers to your questions! Either raise a question on the day or submit your question in advance.

Join industry consultant and AI specialist Tim Burnett for an insightful session on enhancing your assessment operations. Tim will share current Artificial Intelligence trends influencing our sector, practical implementation approaches, and examples from the field. In this session, learn how to unlock the potential of AI for your personal and business workflows. AI isn't something to be fearful of - organisations both large and small can begin to harness its potential and prepare for a new era of AI-augmented working.