Love PG - view our agenda

We're excited to offer a dynamic programme of interactive breakout sessions with two tracks to choose from that will run simultaneously. No need to worry about missing out as all the sessions will be recorded and shared with you.

Our speakers are people who truly LOVE working in the postgraduate sector and we can't wait for you to hear from them. These sessions will spark fresh ideas and valuable conversations. Below is a preview of some of the sessions and speakers you can expect - please note, these may be subject to change.

How can university recruitment and marketing teams effectively support the recruitment and retention of Postgraduate Taught Students?

As Postgraduate Taught enrolments decline across the sector, this session will explore:
This session will draw on national PGT data including the PGT National Pre-arrival Academic Questionnaire funded by the Office for Students and led by Advance HE, JISC and the University of East London.

Below the surface pressure: the deeper currents driving postgraduate audiences

It’s traditional for LovePG to look at FindAUniversity’s unparalleled data for prospective Masters and PhD audiences. But this year’s conference is not another HE policy groan (#relieved).

Instead, we’re going to look ‘under the surface’ and find out what else drives people towards Masters and PhD study, regardless of all the things apparently trying to drive them away from it.

There will be charts. There will be brand new data. There may or may not be dancing donkeys (we said we’d go light on the policy, after all).

The Missing Middle: Is it missing from your university or just from your playbook?

Seven in ten UK universities are watching international enrolments fall, and the old recruitment playbook can't fix it. Marketing departments excel at the Macro (the brand, city, and prestige), while academics and career hubs excel at the Micro (modules, labs, and placements). But nobody owns the Middle: the lived, 300-day reality where an international postgraduate decides to champion you or warn the world on WhatsApp and RED. If your university aces the middle, you could be under-capitalising. If it doesn't, marketing can start building it through the partnership ecosystem Andrew Loades and Lian Chambers map live, backed by UniHomes' 3.5x retention data. Is the middle missing at your university, or just from your playbook?

The UG-PG progression opportunity

Your current undergraduates are one of the most obvious audiences for postgraduate recruitment, but the factors that actually shape their likelihood to progress often aren't. Drawing on fresh research with current undergraduates, current postgraduates and graduates not in further study, this session will highlight the drivers and blockers that make the most difference to UG-PG progression and how to shape your positioning and messaging accordingly.

As a Marketing Consultant, specialising in Higher Education, Vicky delivers and implements effective and innovative strategic solutions to overcome marketing and recruitment challenges for universities. She has led on a variety of consultancy projects during her 10 years at SMRS, including a Sales Funnel Review incorporating journey mapping for University of Portsmouth, Persona Development projects for University of Glasgow and Loughborough University and a Portfolio review for Birmingham City University.

Vicky has over 12 years’ experience as a marketer in higher education, including working client side as a Marketing and Recruitment Manager at the University of Hertfordshire. She has an excellent understanding of the sector and brings patience and resilience to everything she works on. She focuses on elevating the work a client is currently doing and providing the tools and frameworks necessary to build on what is already in place and help them change for the better.

Beyond recruitment: integrating postgraduate access and marketing

Oxford’s first Graduate Student Access Strategy aims to widen participation and increase the diversity of the postgraduate community. With postgraduate access a growing priority across the sector, this session explores how we are working with stakeholders across the University of Oxford to widen opportunities for talented students from every background. It will consider how we are embedding postgraduate access across marketing activities, including events, website and social media, and how this work supports wider institutional access goals beyond student recruitment.

Hate PG - Breaking Free from Internal Shorthand in Student Marketing

Why do universities so often speak to prospective students in a language designed for ourselves? Starting with one of my own professional bugbears, the use of ‘PG’ in external-facing marketing, this session explores how internal shorthand, terminology and institutional ways of thinking can creep into the student experience. PG is only the starting point.

We’ll look at why clear, accessible language matters for understanding, inclusion and belonging; how postgraduate audiences can experience unnecessary friction when we assume too much knowledge; and what it means to build marketing around the needs, motivations and questions of prospective students rather than the structures of our institutions.

Drawing on practical examples and recent approaches to postgraduate recruitment at UoG, the session will offer ideas you can take back and apply to your own marketing.

Working with internal stakeholders to support undergrad to postgrad progression

We know that undergraduate to postgraduate progression isn’t automatic and there are several barriers to postgraduate study for our undergraduate students. This session will explore how we can work with colleagues within professional services, academic schools and faculties in our institutions to engage our undergraduate students and help break down the common barriers and misconceptions around postgraduate study.

What do PGT students actually think? Three years of polling on the Postgraduate Taught experience

Wonkhe has polled students for three years, weighted to include taught postgraduates. The findings unsettle: international PGT students are among the most career-confident in the survey, and among the worst served on outcomes. Jim Dickinson on what the data reveals about postgraduate expectations, and what marketing can honestly promise.

Sector Wellbeing and Thriving Through Change

In a sector facing unprecedented change, it's not easy to prioritise a healthy worklife-balance and mental wellbeing. When goalposts move and pressure comes from all angles, it can be hard to set and maintain boundaries.

In this honest and practical session, we’ll explore key findings from Hayhurst & Co's Sector Well-being Survey, along with what we've seen from delivering training to over 2,000 people across Higher Education. From identifying where you are currently on the change curve, to helping you to control how you spend your time and influence those around you, this session will provide you with tools that will support your mental wellbeing.

Together, we’ll look at how to function with clarity, and keep showing up for the right things without losing yourself in the process.