Events

FACE SUMMIT 2025

We are delighted to invite you to the FACE Summit, which will take place on Thursday 16^th January 2025 at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London.

The FACE Summit will bring together FACE members from across the UK to discuss widening participation policy, reflect on our role within this and agree a collective FACE position on future policy development. We are delighted that John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students, and Will Yates, Policy Manager at Public First, will be joining the day. The finalised schedule will be shared soon, but the day promises to be valuable to colleagues working in widening participation, particularly those working on policy and strategy.

Arrival will be from 9.30am, for a prompt 9.45am start. The event will conclude at 4pm.

You can sign-up to the FACE Summit HERE. The deadline to sign-up is midday on 8^th January, however we will close sign-up sooner should we reach capacity before this.

This free event is exclusive to FACE members. Please do not share this invitation with colleagues who are not FACE members, or who work in non-FACE member organisations. When you sign-up using the above link please be assured that bookings are first come, first served and so this confirms your place and you can proceed with booking necessary travel and accommodation when you are ready to do so. Further details about the event will be circulated on 9^th January, once sign-up has closed (see location details below to help you with arrangements). We ask that you are mindful of the event’s limited capacity, and that no more than 2 people from each institution sign-up to attend. If we are able to accommodate more at a later stage we will communicate this to members.

Location

Guildhall School of Music & Drama is located in central London, next to the Barbican (see map). The nearest tube stations are Moorgate and Barbican, and it is also walking distance from mainline stations Farringdon and Liverpool Street.

What informed you the most?

“Everything was incredibly informative; I couldn’t choose one part of the programme.”

“The research informed paper sessions were fantastic – interactive and inspiring. I learned so much about how things run in other teams and institutions.”

“The discussion with other delegates informed by the key notes /panels/paper sessions.”

“The keynote speakers were excellent… i like how they made a clear link to the whole lifecycle of widening participation.”

What inspired you most?

“Meeting people as equally passionate as myself at HE – I can get bogged down in the beurocracy at my institution. FACE gave me the opportunity to place my work in the wider context.”

“Being around like-minded colleagues, and the discussions that many of the keynotes in particular sparked.”

“The people! Everyone I met was incredible, it was so lovely to be part of a like-minded community, with people in similar roles who I can learn from and share best practice with. And also a really nice sized group – it didn’t feel intimidating, and there was time to get around most people and build my network.”

Do you believe anything from the conference will influence your practice or research? If so, what?

“It’s got me thinking about how I can evaluate the impact of my work outside the OfS/ institution-imposed measures of success.”

“Absolutely – there are at least 10 new ideas that I will be using to inform the development of our team’s existing programmes and also to put some new ones into place.”

“Gosh, so much! I haven’t had time to really think it through yet, but I actually want to do some research and have the opportunity to present in the future.”

“…exploration into student voice.”

“Yes – Student partnership working, looking at how we develop agency with our students and reflecting on the importance of our ways of being. I have to say, i was so happy about how welcoming and encouraging everyone was. The conference gave me much more confidence that i should be there and that people are interested in what i have got to say. I will definitely come back.”