Wednesday

Location: TBC

Location: TBC

Location: TBC

1. The future of the BUCS competition structure 

Description: BUCS Director of Sport Sam Bell-Minogue is laser focussed on ensuring that the BUCS Competition programme is vibrant, relevant, accessible and meaningful. With a challenging HE landscape and pressures on the cost of living for students we are reaching a tipping point - and this session will explore the potential and timeline for change.

Suggested audience: Open to all

Session facilitator(s): Sam Bell-Minogue, Director of Sport, BUCS and Neal Kington, Head of Competitions, BUCS

Location: TBC

2. What to expect from your time as a Student Officer 

Description: Building from the reflections of your 2025-26 Student Directors Karl and Alex, this session will identify key learning and opportunities not to be missed for new Student Officers, as well as a chance for those returning for a second year to reflect on what went well and the challenges they faced. 

Through this session we will launch the new Student Officer mentoring support programme.

Suggested audience: Student Officers

Location: TBC

3. Understanding the next generation: Research on lifestyle and physical activity trends of tomorrow’s university students 

Description: The BUCS Insight team has undertaken a project to understand trends amongst teenagers and adolescents in the UK. We'll talk through the types of sports and physical activity they're taking part in, what's influencing them to be involved in sport, and what this all means for their future engagement in sport at university.

Suggested audience: Open to all

Session facilitator: Liz Prinz, Insight Manager, BUCS  

Location: TBC

4. Landing your impact: evidencing the role of sport and physical activity in key HE metrics

Description: In this session, colleagues from Students’ Union UCL will share learning and insight from their research into the connection between sport and physical activity and key metrics used by universities to measure their success. Not only will this session explore findings to date but also shine a light on the next stage of their research.

Suggested audience: Open to all

Location: TBC

Location: TBC

Location: TBC

1. The elevator pitch - Maximising the attention of university senior leaders 

Description: With diminishing access and increased pressure on the opportunities to engage with senior leaders of universities, making the most of the time available is a critical skill. In this workshop, global expert in Sports Diplomacy Dr J Simon Rofe (University of Leeds) will tease out what works in creating influence at the top table.

Suggested audience: Senior Managers

Session facilitator: Dr J Simon Rofe, Associate Professor in Diplomatic and International Studies, University of Leeds

Location: TBC

2. Engaging senior leaders as Student Officers 

Description: Student Officers benefit from unique levels of access and therefore potential influence with the senior leaders in their institution, but how can you make the most of this?  

Through this session we will explore how to communicate with university senior management most effectively and ensure that sport and active participation is on their radar as an essential ingredient for student success.  

This session will identify the skills required to interact with senior leaders and engage them in sport and active participation, and build understanding of how to make the case.

Suggested audience: Student Officers

Session facilitator(s): Professor. Amanda Broderick, Chair, BUCS and Jude Edwards, Director of Business Operations and Company Secretary, BUCS 

Location: TBC

3. BUCS Anti-Racist Charter & Toolkit: exploring how you can embed anti-racist practices

Description: Following the launch of the BUCS Anti-Racist Diagnosis Assessment, Charter & Toolkit, join us in exploring how you can start embedding anti-racist practices into your day-to-day work. We will share our new dashboard and demonstrate how you can gain greater understanding of our progress as a sector, as well as hear from representatives of pilot institutions on their experience using the Toolkit, and the learning and impacts so far.

Suggested audience: Open to all

Session facilitator(s): Molly Byrne, Head of Belonging, BUCS and Katy Teasdale and Ryan Carty, Co-Chairs, BUCS Race and Equality, Research and Implementation Group (RERIG)

Location: TBC

4. Demonstrating the impact of Sport and Active Participation on Academic Performance

Description: In this session colleagues from the University of Edinburgh will share learning and insight from their initial 2025 Social and Economic Value of Sport and Active Wellbeing report, and their March 2026 report on academic performance impact. This will be a knowledge sharing session, reviewing evidence regarding the impact of sport and active wellbeing participation on key student outcomes, specifically academic attainment, retention, and employability.

Suggested audience: Open to all

Location: TBC

Location: TBC

Location: TBC