Universities reforged…
The Venn: University Leaders Forum 2026 – reflections from the Chair
Given the weather conditions and the state of UK rail tracks, it was very appropriate that the underpinning theme of this year’s The Venn: University Leaders Forum was that the sector is going through a period of intense reforging.
Inherent in that process is the application of external heat and pressure, into which existing shapes and structures are cast. Certainly, the sector is taking a bit of a beating – but the jury seems out as to whether this will lead to universities being stronger, more resilient and battle-hardened – or whether our institutions and sector model will just be hammered into something much more brittle with the potential to break completely.
As Andy Burnham prepares to assume power, perhaps the immediate question facing the sector is whose hand is wielding the hammer…
In the morning, we heard an account of what this looks like for a multinational institution based in the US (with the hand bearing an unmistakable orange hue) and also how the UK Government’s approach to reputation and brand is shifting to adapt to the changing nature of algorithmic politics and news media.
Public First also premiered bespoke polling on what UK voters want from universities – and their fantastic, interactive 2029 Higher Education Manifesto development session made it clear that the sector’s desired policy positions come with significant political trade-offs. The sight of the room’s first attempt at developing a ‘Vennifesto’ resulting in ‘a centrist fudge: broad enough to offend no one, too blunt to move anyone’ exemplifies the risk facing the sector if we don’t seek to push hard in a particular direction between now and the next General Election. The resulting pledge generation sessions produced some genuinely fantastic ideas – and as Seb Gordon from Universities UK was in the room, he’s taken the action to sort it all out and make it all happen. Good luck Seb!
The Day also included a wealth of discussion and debate – with our Hot Button Topics hosted by partners exploring a huge diversity of topics united by the single truth that it’s no longer feasible for university professional service staff or academic to simply shrug shoulders and say: ‘that’s not my job’. The impact of AI on graduate employability, the massive challenge facing the sector around international student recruitment, geopolitical risks, delivering economic growth, maintaining institutional culture amidst challenging times… all issues that span remits, silos and require collective action to solve.
The Venn is the only place where you’d find a dozen Vice-Chancellors leading roundtables on what the challenges the sector and their institution face translate into for them as leaders. And whilst our final round up with them all was in no way intended as a grilling, the ambient temperature reached in The Royal Society by that point probably resulted in a rapportage session prepared sous vide .
However, for me – perhaps the highlight of the day was our inaugural ‘Hour of Awesome’ – supported by The Data City and their new University Industry Impact Explorer, which was developed in direct response to ideas generated at last year’s Venn. We heard from 10 fantastic presentations of universities making a difference to the lives of UK voters, all delivered Pecha Kucha style that reminded everyone in the room that our sector is worth both celebrating and defending. To quote the extraordinary presentation from Chichester about their ‘Anonymous to Unstoppable’ programme changing the lives of those the system has abandoned:
“Potential is universally distributed. Opportunity is not. Where you are born does not have to define where you end up”.
Universities are extraordinary. We need to ensure they continue to be.
Alex Favier
