The Engage Summit 2026: imagining an inclusive future for higher education
The Engage Summit 2026 is one year away!
Taking place in Central Birmingham on Wednesday 29 - Thursday 30 April 2026, Engage Summit will bring people together to collectively imagine an engaged higher education sector of the future, and plan how to get there.
Drawing on our Engaged Futures programme, we will be showcasing innovative practices that are helping to realise a radically new kind of university system and considering how we can align our efforts to effect lasting change.
We’re really excited about the wonderful programming that will be involved which includes thoughtful and inspiring plenaries and an interactive exhibition area, with interactive exhibits, discussions, workshops and posters all being part of the schedule. We are working hard to ensure that the event itself is accessible, inclusive and open to anyone in the engagement sector who would like to take part. Here’s an update on our plans – we really hope you will want to join in over the coming months to make this the biggest and best Engage ever!
Location, location, location
A big change for us is holding the Engage Summit in Birmingham instead of Bristol. We needed to find a venue that could accommodate larger numbers of delegates, but we remain committed to ensuring that the average journey times for delegates across the UK and beyond were manageable. Birmingham is a great option – it is within a 2 hour train journey of 41% of major UK cities. We’re really looking forward to exploring a new city along with you all!
The right ‘home’
We spent a long time choosing our event venue to ensure that it was the right home for the Engage Summit. There were several key considerations that informed our decision:
- Practical features – will the venue provide a functional, comfortable and effective experience for everyone?
- Accessibility – is the venue a welcoming and well-designed space that allows everyone to fully participate in the event?
- Inclusive and sustainable values – does the venue have a value-set that aligns with ours, and those of the wider sector?
- Cost – can the venue offer a service that justifies the cost of holding our event there?
We’re very excited with the venue we’ve chosen – watch this space for further details!
Costings
There’s no way to avoid it. Large events like this are expensive to run, and we are acutely aware of the financial challenges the engagement sector is currently facing. With this in mind, we are subsidising the running costs of the Engage Summit 2026 to keep ticket prices as low as possible.
We are also delighted to be able to offer an additionally subsidised ticket for delegates attending from third sector and small social impact organisations, to ensure we bring those valuable external perspectives into the event. We are also offering subsidised tickets to students who aren’t able to get institutional support to attend. This is a new approach for us, and replaces our previous bursary scheme, as we recognise that an application process creates a different set of exclusionary barriers we are keen to avoid.
Here is a full breakdown of the ticket costs – these prices are not subject to additional VAT:
Subsidised tickets:
- 1 day: £115
- 2 days: £200
First release tickets – these will be available until they run out:
- 1 day: £290
- 2 days: £550
Second release tickets – available after the first release tickets have been sold, until the Engage Summit has sold out:
- 1 day: £340
- 2 days: £650
Welcoming a diverse community to the Engage Summit 2026
The Engage Summit is an opportunity to bring together all those committed to the role of universities in building an inclusive knowledge system. Our delegates and contributors should therefore reflect the diversity of organisations, roles, cultures, heritages, identities and backgrounds of this vibrant community.
Supporting a diverse sector is a shared challenge, and we must draw on the incredible expertise, networks and insights of our audiences to help drive us forward. Do you have project partners or networks that you could support to come to the Summit? Are there great examples of inclusive practice in your institution that we could spotlight in the programme? We want to work with you to enrich the Engage Summit with the insights and knowledge that come with a greater diversity of participants.
Next month we will be launching our Engage Summit call for contributions, with a deadline in late-July. This will be your opportunity to share innovative practice, thinking and approaches that speak to the engaged higher education sector of the future. Make sure you are signed up to our newsletter to be notified of the launch.
