University training day - February 2025
Engaging, insightful, and interactive training for student recruitment, widening participation, and outreach professionals delivering workshops, activities, and events for schools and colleges.
Engaging, insightful, and interactive training for student recruitment, widening participation, and outreach professionals delivering workshops, activities, and events for schools and colleges.
Tuesday 25, February 2025
Arrival refreshments from 9:30am
STEAMhouse
Belmont Row
Birmingham
B4 7RQ
We are excited to share the details of our first in-person event of 2025 with you.
These popular events are created specifically for university staff who deliver talks, activities, and events for schools and colleges. This includes staff working in student recruitment, widening participation, school liaison, and outreach roles.
You will hear from leading experts from inside and outside the sector on a diverse range of topics, all designed to help you perform in your role and inspire prospective students to see all the opportunities higher education offers.
Join us for an event designed to help you engage students and their supporters. You'll discover how to:
This content is especially relevant for those working closely with prospective students, their supporters, teachers, careers advisers, schools, and colleges.
With only 50 spots available, networking is a key focus. The event will feature regular breaks, with optional post-event networking drinks included too!
Overall event feedback rating – 4.8 out of 5
Please watch this video from our June 2024 training day at the same location, for a taster of what to expect:
Baasit Siddiqui is an experienced educator, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and television personality. For many years, Baasit has collaborated with schools and businesses to inspire and educate young people to recognise their potential and how it will support them in the world of work. Baasit has delivered workshops, talks and competitions to thousands of children across hundreds of schools. His mission is simple, through combining his educational insights, entrepreneurial experiences, and a decade of television influence, Baasit strives to make a significant impact on young people’s understanding of education and its positive impact on career opportunities.
Baasit has combined his unique television experiences on the BAFTA winning television show Gogglebox with his knowledge, experiences, and passion for education to deliver motivational workshops, competitions, and assemblies across schools, colleges, and universities. Whether workshops focus on media, digital literacy or oracy, Baasit ensures that students within the workshops develop their understanding of career opportunities as well as the skills and attitude required within these careers.
Jessica Pieri is a Level 6 qualified Careers Advisor and the founder of The Careers People, established in 2018. Originally focused on providing careers guidance to schools in select regions, the company has since expanded to work with over 160 schools across the UK, delivering award-winning products that enhance secondary school careers programs.
Committed to staying at the forefront of the evolving school landscape, Jessica actively works in London schools, offering one-on-one guidance to students navigating critical decisions about their futures. Her extensive experience ranges from supporting students at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training) to advising Oxbridge aspirants.
While Jessica enjoys all aspects of career guidance, she is particularly passionate about helping students who may not have access to the support they need. Her work with First in Family students has opened doors for many young people, creating pathways to higher education that they hadn't previously considered.
Kyle Campbell is a higher ed marketing consultant, founder and the managing director of Education Marketer. He's built a name for himself by publishing The Education Marketer Newsletter, sharing media trends, insight and (sometimes) sharp takes on the state of higher education marketing and student engagement.
In 2023, he was made one of The PIE’s top 50 voices in international education and brings over a decade of experience for university professionals looking to build and engage student audiences.
Simon has almost 20 years of experience in the higher education sector. This includes student recruitment, marketing, and events roles at four different universities in the UK: Nottingham, Birmingham, Warwick, and Coventry.
Simon has also worked at Pickle Jar Communications, a content strategy consultancy for the international education sector. He helped schools, colleges, and universities share their stories through digital communications.
Simon is an international speaker. He has spoken at a variety of conferences, including CASE, ContentEd, EFMD, IDPE, FindAUniversity, HELOA, HighEdWeb, PSEWeb, SU Digital, SU Marketing Conference, and Utterly Content. He was Chair of the Newcomers Track at CASE Europe Annual Conference from 2020 to 2023.
As a published author, Simon is particularly interested in storytelling in the education sector. He spends his free time reading, writing, running, and finding new ways to make his children laugh.
Cold feet. Stage fright. Imposter syndrome. We've all been there. When you're faced with a large class of prospective students, even the most experienced outreach professionals can find it intimidating, especially when you encounter challenging behaviour. How do we bring our best self? How do we win over our audience?
In this opening keynote, Baasit Siddiqui draws upon his 15+ years of experience working in schools and colleges to help you build resilience, rapport, and relationships when entering the classroom. To begin, you'll gain actionable advice to help you (re)claim your confidence whenever you venture in front of prospective students.
Next, you'll discover how to channel that confidence into a charismatic delivery style, and how to adapt your style for different audiences depending on their personalities. Finally, you'll learn how to develop lasting connections with young people, long after your session has ended, through the perfect blend of care and flair.
Imagine being the first in your family to take the bold step towards university. It’s a journey filled with excitement, uncertainty, and untapped potential - but also a journey without a map. For many young people, the barriers to higher education aren't just academic or financial; they're personal. Without the guidance of family members who’ve been through it, the path can feel daunting.
In this session, we’ll uncover the unique challenges faced by students who are the first in their family to attend university. From sparking their interest in higher education to empowering their decision-making process, engaging their families, and easing their transition into university life, we’ll explore the vital role university institutions can play in transforming uncertainty into opportunity. By working together, universities and schools professionals can reimagine how we support students and their families on this life-changing journey!
Teachers and advisors shape student decisions, yet they are often the most underserved audience in higher ed. According to UCAS’s Project Next Generation Report, 24% of prospective students are crying out for skills sessions and even visits from people outside of their school to guide their future. The issue? Students’ time-poor careers advisors and teachers are their gatekeepers.
How can your institution get on the radar of these quiet influencers? What does it take to build a mailing list of teachers who look forward to receiving (and take action from) your content? How can you harness online platforms like LinkedIn to resonate with advisors and keep your institution front of mind?
In this hour session, you’ll delve into the art and science of building meaningful relationships with teachers/advisors, and even embrace the power of your own professional profile to make the audience think of your institution when the time comes.
Stories are magic. We need compelling stories to achieve our student recruitment and outreach goals. A strong narrative can inspire prospective students to do anything: engage, attend, apply, accept, enrol.
And the good news is that we can all be storytellers. We just need to find our place on the storytelling spectrum. You might write with your head: drawing upon tools, techniques, structures, plotting. Or you might write with your heart: trusting your feelings, emotions, instincts, improvisation.
This interactive session will help you recognise your favoured approach. It will teach you how to lean into your approach to keep your creative blocks at bay. Finally, it will support you in finding somebody who favours the other approach for winning creative collaborations. Together, you will craft stories that will recruit new students, raise aspirations, and change lives.
"Genuinely the best training sessions I've been to, and will continue to attend. I was skeptical on the high praise these sessions had received, but both times I've come away feeling more motivated and inspired about my own work, with some new tools and techniques to bring into existing projects."
"The day was fantastic from start to finish with a range of brilliant speakers who engaged throughout. The informal nature of these events means you feel able to provide your opinion and ask questions. I would highly recommend and I believe these training days are at the forefront of the sector."
"The event was perfectly set up to enable professional networking, in a natural, unobtrusive way"
"Exceptionally well-organised, the event featured outstanding speakers who provided valuable insights and practical tips."
"Such a useful day for anyone working in student recruitment or outreach work. The day was really energising and packed with lots of takeaway tips and advice"
"What a great day! The speakers were so applicable and informative. I loved getting the opportunity to meet other professionals in the same role as me and discuss best practice. Very fun, social and definitely worthwhile! I would love to attend again."
"I have never left a training day so inspired and excited to use what I have learnt in my job. Each speaker was knowledgeable, interesting with practical activities that we could take away to better how we work. I would attend another UniTasterDays training in a heartbeat!"
"I felt motivated to start making changes as soon as I was back at my laptop!"
"Fantastic day with engaging sessions, I learned plenty of new skills to take back to my role"
"Wonderfully engaging speakers and I went away with a full notebook of knowledge and tips for engaging young people!"
"An inspiring day, I look forward to sharing all the great tips with my team. Thank you for a brilliantly organised day."
Our programme is designed to meet the specific needs of university practitioners working in student recruitment, outreach, and widening participation event delivery roles. Expect audience-focused sessions to help you address the challenges you may encounter in your role.
Our event allows multiple opportunities for networking. This includes morning and afternoon refreshments, lunch, and a complimentary drinks reception after the event. You will leave with a wide range of new connections across the sector.
Our training days are designed as in-person events, so the sessions won’t be recorded. It is a unique opportunity for you to gain insights from experienced and expert speakers, whilst learning alongside your peers in a delightful location.
The training day will help you build your knowledge and network within the higher education sector. You will participate in a range of inspiring, insightful, and interactive sessions from expert speakers, from both within and beyond universities.
You will also find generous networking opportunities, including morning and afternoon refreshments, lunch, and a complimentary drinks reception after the event. A detailed schedule will be provided closer to the event for those who have booked a place.
The event is designed for new and experienced practitioners working in student recruitment, school liaison, outreach, and widening participation roles. If you are a university staff member and your responsibilities involve delivering activities for schools and colleges, this event is tailored specifically for you.
The event will be held on Tuesday 25 February 2025. Arrival refreshments will be provided from 9.30am with sessions beginning at 9.45am. Sessions will finish at 4.15pm.
Additionally, there will be an optional drinks reception from 4.15pm to 5.15pm. You are invited to join us for complimentary alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, and a final networking opportunity before travelling home.
The cost is £275+ VAT for an individual ticket, with discounts available for booking multiple places. Please see the booking form for group prices.
The event is situated in the stunning STEAMhouse building, located in central Birmingham, 10-15 minutes from Moor Street Train Station (closest) and Birmingham New Street Station - and with reasonably priced car parking near by and bicycle storage.
The STEAMhouse building was built in 1899 as the headquarters for the Eccles Rubber and Cycle Company. It was later repurposed to produce linen clothing, bedsteads, and pianos. It is now used by Birmingham City University and regional businesses, following extensive redevelopment.
If you have any questions, we’d be happy to help! Email our Support Team or call 01746 769269.
