Welcome to the third edition of the LeanHE conference newsletter

We are officially less than 70 days away from the 2024 Lean in HE International Conference and time seems to be flying by.

One of the biggest milestones that has now been passed is the submission date for abstracts. Thank you to all who submitted an abstract and to those who kindly joined our judging panel. All abstract hosts have been notified about the result – if you have not received an email please get in touch with the team at leanhe@opening-doors.org.uk  

We are pleased to announce that the conference programme will consist of over 30 breakout sessions with a mix of workshops, demos and discussions. We aim to have a full schedule released in September.

Within the team we have started to look at arranging optional networking activities that will take place on the morning of Wednesday 23 October. Some of the team, accompanied by Special Team Member BMO, were out wandering around Cambridge city centre looking for some inspiration – more details will be revealed in due course! 

Stay tuned for more updates, and we look forward to seeing you in October!

Warm regards,
Linda Spinks and the CI team at University of Cambridge
 

Conference Tickets

Tickets are still available to purchase via the conference website.

We already have a truly international list of attendees with registrations from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Pre-conference hosted visits

The Lean in HE – England South Regional group are offering a number of hosted pre-conference events for international delegates to maximise the value of their journeys over to England. These events are organised and managed separately from the main conference.

  • Monday 21 October 10.00 – 13.00 – UCL
  • Monday 21 October 14.00 – 16.00 – Imperial College London: White City campus visit
  •  Tuesday 22 October – 10.30 – 15.30 – University of Oxford – now fully booked 

Further details, including how to book onto these visits, can be found on the official website.

Introducing (some) of Our Speakers

We have started to introduce some of our plenary and keynote speakers that you will hear from during the conference.

Allow us to introduce you to:
Nicolae Florea – Driving Productivity and Environmental Sustainability: Applying Lean Practices to deliver incremental and transformational changes 

Nicolae joined Cambridge University Press and Assessment as manager of the Operations Excellence team in January 2024. He started his career as a Business Consultant in 1997 and developed a passion for Lean and Continuous Improvement during his MBA in 2012/2014 dedicating his career to Operations Excellence in 2014. Nicolae is a highly accomplished Lean Coach, Continuous Improvement & Operations Excellence professional with a strong background in analysing and improving business practices. 

Together with his team Nicolae works towards creating a more efficient and sustainable operation, finding innovative solutions that not only drives Operations excellence but also promote greener and more sustainable processes in Assessment operations.
For more details about our speakers and to take a look at our other speakers who have not yet been formally revealed head over to the conference website.

Buddy Scheme

We are pleased to announce that people have been signing up for this year’s buddy scheme and we currently have over 20 people who have expressed an interest in being partnered up with someone.

We are keen to ensure that everyone attending our conference feel included whether it is their first time, or they are a “frequent flyer”. As such we are keen to link new attendees with those that have been before. The link up will take place during August and September allowing individuals to get in contact and perhaps chat ahead of the conference. 

If you are willing to help to welcome first timers as a buddy please get in touch via leanhe2024@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Introducing the Fitzwilliam College
Day two of the conference will culminate in our gala dinner in the beautiful setting of Fitzwilliam College.

Fitzwilliam College dates back to 1869 as a non-collegiate institution, providing a Cambridge education to students who could not afford membership of a college. In the 1960s, new land was purchased and an architect appointed and in 1966 it was granted a Royal Charter, becoming an independent college. 

Dinner will take place in Fitzwilliam College’s iconic main hall – Sir Denys Lasdun was the original architect and designed the striking glass lantern roof which you will be dining under.

Entertainment will also be provided so make sure you have brought your dancing shoes!

The gala dinner is included in the price of your conference ticket – in the next couple of months we will release details of how you can buy additional gala dinner tickets for any plus ones.

Accommodation

The conference rate of £219 per night at the Hilton Cambridge city centre ends on 23 August. In order to book this rate please use the specific Hilton City Centre link on the events website. Please note this rate is available for the nights of Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October. If you wish to extend your stay we advise that you book the two nights via the link above and then purchase additional night directly via their website or by contacting reception on +44 1223 464491 / stnhc_hotel@hilton.com.
For more details about alternative accommodation options, please visit the conference website