State sector ELT is the focus of our newest conference held in Birmingham 

Our first-ever conference for higher and further education ELT providers was a great success, with over 40 delegates attending from all over the UK.  

Synergies between all types of providers 

Huan Japes, our membership director, said: 'It was a focused event, and we are delighted it attracted non-members and members. There was plenty of discussion, and lots of synergies were found between higher and further education and private ELT.  

'It came at a challenging time for Higher and Further Education institutions, with international student numbers in the spotlight. There was quite a lot of focus on the problems created by reduced student numbers and staff redundancies in the sector.'

How ELT departments can remain relevant in colleges and universities  

There was plenty of positivity. For instance, in the opening talk, Jo Parfitt and Lisa Langley from Swansea University presented tips on how a thriving ELT department can help with student progression, retention and outcomes. 

Sessions covered how state sector ELT departments can remain relevant, including supporting students with mental heath problems, higher education academic conventions, and collaborations with different organisations. 

The first conference for Shoko Doherty as chair of English UK 

The event, at Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre at the University of Birmingham, was the first for English UK's new chair, Shoko Doherty, who welcomed delegates and spent time throughout the day getting to know higher and further education ELT providers. 

An 'intense master session'

'I felt I returned a different person from the Conference. It has been an intense master session, a mixture of ideas for maximising potential with socialising and looking at data analytics to see where we stand and what we share in terms of challenges and recovery after the past restricted areas. Wonderfully organised, this was the best event I attended this far in the ELT industry.' Corina Iordache, The Sheffield College 

'A great opportunity to meet people specifically from the HE/FE sector in person. So reassuring to discuss the challenges we are all facing and to realise they are sector wide. Lisa Langley, Swansea University 

Special thanks to our conference sponsors, Macmillan and Pearson. 

Download the HE & FE conference programme (PDF)