AoC College Higher Education Conference and Exhibition 2026
Venue: De Vere Connaught Rooms, London WC2B 5DA
Date: 5 March 2026
Time: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Fee: Starting from £375 +VAT for AoC Members
Thursday 5 March, 09:30 - 16:30.
The annual AoC College Higher Education conference will be taking place on Thursday 5th March in London and is the must attend event for college HE leaders, practitioners and those with an interest in college HE. It will be a timely event to engage in discussions on policy and regulation that matter to colleges delivering HE and to share practice. The conference will address what the post-16 education and skills white paper means for college HE and the role of colleges in delivering the new target for participation in HE.
There will also be plenty of time dedicated to networking so you can share advice with peers and explore potential solutions to some of the common challenges you face.
Join the conversation and stay up-to-date with the latest news: AoC_Info
Delegate Fees:
AoC Member fee - per delegate £375 + VAT
Affiliate Member - per delegate £405 + VAT
Non-member institutions – per delegate £430 + VAT
Non-member commercial – per delegate £865 + VAT
10% off on 2 or more AoC Member tickets purchased
Dr Ajaz Ali is Director of Higher Education at BMet, where he leads strategic growth, innovation, and skills-focused HE provision. An education reformist, he actively champions curriculum modernisation, digital education, and stronger industry-academic collaboration. Previously, he served as Associate Head of Business and Computing at Ravensbourne University London and has worked with Coventry University. Dr Ali is also a regular commentator on education, technology, and the economy, writing for publications including Business Recorder.
For eleven years James has been a Director of Think, a post-16 consultancy specialising in workforce skills, technical education and apprenticeships. He has led and delivered a range of projects for clients nationwide, particularly FE colleges and universities. This has included extensive work on Local Skills Improvement Plans (supported by Gatsby) and on devolution, including leading a 2025 project for AoC: Devolution for England: A new skills system. Prior to co-founding Think, James was Director of Skills for the Greater Manchester CA and LEP.
Peter Greenall is Vice Principal for Higher Education and Frontier Economy at Blackpool and The Fylde College (B&FC). B&FC is one of England’s largest college-based providers of higher education, holding Bachelor’s Degree Awarding Powers and a triple Gold rating in the most recent Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
With a career spanning academic leadership, curriculum innovation, and quality enhancement, Peter has led sector-leading approaches to improving the student experience, advancing academic practice, and driving pedagogic innovation.
Peter is a passionate advocate for college-based higher education and is committed to expanding opportunity, strengthening excellence, and fostering innovation across the sector.
Dr Steph Harris is currently the Director of Policy at Universities UK (UUK), the representative body for UK universities where she has worked for 8 years. The focus of Steph’s career has been higher education policy and influencing, first as an SU sabbatical officer then as a Policy Officer to the Vice-Chancellor at Bath Spa University and finally at UUK. Steph is a current trustee at Bristol Students’ Union
Mark is Policy Delivery Director, leading membership services and the policy work of the BusinessLDN People Team, covering skills, immigration, employment, inclusion and diversity and education. Mark works to ensure London business has access to the talent it needs, by working with members and stakeholders on high profile and integrated policy and campaigning activity, including the London Local Skills Improvement Plan and previously the London Skills Commission and #Full Strength coalition. He has built an extensive network across business, education, policy and government.
He works closely with the Greater London Authority and is also a member of the London Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network, the Home Office’s Employer Advisory Group and the London Higher Board.
Rebecca is Senior Strategic Lead for Higher Education at Pearson where her main area of work is career-focused higher education, covering learning models, credentials, qualification design and development, and formulating solutions to respond to Higher Technical Education policy.
