Wonkfest returns

Hosted by Wonkhe, the home of the UK higher education debate, the most exciting event in the HE calendar is back for 2021 – this time we’re online. And because of the year we’ve all had, it’s all about how the sector comes back from the Covid crisis stronger than ever and how universities will reshape the national and global recovery. We’ll feature the best ideas and thinking from inside and outside universities and after two days you’ll be brimming with new ideas and the tools we are all going to need to Build Back Higher.

WHEN? 9-10 JUNE 2021

WHERE? EVERYWHERE

At Wonkfest, the only thing that matters is that you care about the future of higher education – that’s why we have vice chancellors along with their SU presidents, academics on the front line of teaching and research, managers of every stripe, long-suffering administrators, externally facing wonks as well as those working deep under the bonnet of their university – and everything in between. And whether you’ve just started in HE or have been working in it for decades, you can be sure there will be something for you. Either way, Wonkhe’s editorial team will be there to help guide your way through it and help you take away the tools you need to take back to your profession and institution.

Wonkfest will feature sessions about the changes that universities have had to make at speed – what’s worked, what hasn’t and what we want to keep after the pandemic. From the leadership challenge, to the digital pivot to the many innovations in teaching. Inspired by our amazing community, we’ll learn from some of the best ideas that have already shaped universities for the better this year, despite the circumstances. We’ll have journalists and politicians from outside the sector to help put it all in context. We’ll look to the next several years of higher education policy – from skills to fees to quality and try and work out what’s going to happen and how to influence it. And much, much more besides.

Explore the programme

We are building an online experience that will let you engage with sessions and other delegates and speakers, and network. You’ll be able to access all the sessions live with your personal login on the event microsite, and if you miss anything, videos of each session will be posted there shortly after they finish. Further details about how to engage with Wonkfest this year will follow soon.

Programme and Speakers

We have a programme packed full of debates, interviews, masterclasses and workshops by leading voices from across higher education, and the worlds of policy and politics as well as experts from Team Wonkhe and our amazing community of contributors.

Explore the programme

Festival partners

Thank you to our partners who help us bring Wonkfest to life.

Brought to you by Wonkhe

Wonkhe is the home of the UK higher education debate. As well as commissioning voices from across the higher education community and analysis from our in house team of HE wonks, we publish a range of information services centred around our flagship briefing the Wonkhe Daily – find out more about it can help you and your teams stay ahead of the HE curve and you can read more about Wonkhe’s other work – from our weekly podcast to our brilliant events here.

After the challenges of the pandemic, we are now focussed on how the sector can Build Back Higher – from practical solutions to big policy ideas and everything in between. Below you can find a highlight of some of the debate about the next steps for UK HE and at the Build Back Higher tag on Wonkhe.