About the Keynotes
Keynote Speakers
Ashley Storer-Smith, Student Engagement Manager & ARUCPD Lead at Anglia Ruskin University.
Ashley Storer-Smith (They/Them) is the Student Engagement Manager & ARUCPD Lead at Anglia Ruskin University. Previous to this role, they had over a decade long experience within Students' Unions across the UK. They are also a researcher in Student Engagement in HE with specific focuses on Academic Voice Systems, underrepresented student belonging, student activism, Students' Unions, commercalisation of HE, and trans & non-binary student experiences. They have an extensive history of blog publishing, podcast guesting, and conference presenting in these areas. Their first academically published work focuses on Trans & Non-Binary student belonging in HE, focusing on peer support and the rejection of traditional engagement structures.
Dr Jill LeBihan, Head of Student Engagement, Sheffield Hallam University.
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Until March 2025, Jill LeBihan was Head of Student Engagement at Sheffield Hallam University, where she focused on student voice, co-creation and design, and evaluation of enhancement interventions. She was an active committee member for RAISE between 2017-2024, and was Visiting Fellow on the MA Student Engagement at Winchester from 2019-2024. Jill’s academic background is in English Literature and Women’s Studies, where she has considerable experience as a lecturer and academic leader, with skills in curriculum and programme design. She also has an active interest in teaching innovation and the use of digital technology to support academic delivery in creative ways. Over the last few years, the ethics of using artificial intelligence occupied a lot of her time as did the integration of initiatives aimed at preventing harassment.
Jill is currently working on a QAA-funded project, aimed at understanding student representation in Higher Education.
Simon Varwell, Director of Student Engagement University of the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association.
Simon is Director of Student Engagement and Representation at HISA, the students’ association at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), a unique federal and tertiary institution with campuses across half of Scotland. He leads a team that supports HISA’s work on student voice, advice and democracy. Before joining HISA in November 2023, he spent sixteen years at sparqs, Scotland’s national agency for student engagement, where he led on institutional support, staff development activities, and many different European and international student engagement projects including in Ireland and Armenia. Simon is interested in various topics including models and concepts of partnership, the interface of student engagement and educational development, and student engagement in quality enhancement, on which he has published and presented widely. He has a postgraduate Master’s in Student Engagement in Higher Education from the University of Winchester, and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Plenary Speakers
Dr Zachery Spire, Public Engagement Research Specialist, Oregon State University
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Zach is currently based at Oregon State University, where his research focuses on community and public engagement. He has held roles in research, teaching, training, and service across universities and NGOs in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, with a focus on student and staff engagement, student residences, and university learning environments.
Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor (SUs), Wonkhe.
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Jim is an Associate Editor (SUs) at Wonkhe and takes a particular interest in student experience, university governance, and regulation – and leads our work with students’ unions, including our Study Tours to Europe. His career background is in support for student leadership. He has held senior roles at the National Union of Students – where he led on SU development, campaigns and political strategy – and was the CEO at the SU at UEA, providing strategic management for the union’s charitable and commercial vehicles as well as policy support for the elected student officers. Jim has served as a governor and trustee in both further and higher education and the voluntary sector, and is a regular speaker at sector events and conferences. He is an obsessive fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, and dreams of visiting Moldova.