ICS.AI and Bournemouth University bring institutional AI to life at the Education Strategy Forum

A busy room, lively conversations and a Bournemouth University story that made people sit up and listen. Dr. Cris Bloomfield and Andy Logan returned from the Education Strategy Forum with plenty to be excited about, following three days of connecting with leaders from across higher education.

Held from 30 September to 2 October 2026, the Forum brought together university leaders to explore some of the sector’s biggest questions, from improving the student experience to leading digital and operational change. Representing ICS.AI, Cris, our Chief Education Solutions Officer, and Andy, Head of Education Sales, made the most of a packed programme of meetings, discussions and networking.

At the heart of our contribution was a practical question: what could AI make possible for an institution when its opportunities are assessed across the organisation? Bournemouth University helped bring the answer to life.

On day 1, Cris was joined by Gerry Greyling, Chief Operating Officer at Bournemouth University, for “Enrolling in Change: A New Chapter for Institutional AI”. Held in the main room, the session gave delegates the chance to hear directly from a university working with ICS.AI on its AI transformation journey.

What caught the room’s attention was the scale of the opportunity. Gerry shared how the AI assessment undertaken with ICS.AI had looked across the whole university and identified significant potential to release staff time.

Seeing that opportunity measured across an entire institution, rather than in a single team or process, gave delegates a tangible starting point for thinking about where AI could create capacity in their own institutions.

The interest continued after the session, with delegates gathering around Gerry to find out more. Hearing a university leader, one of their own, explain the opportunity in his own institution made the discussion especially valuable.

For Cris and Andy, that openness carried through the whole event. Pre-event virtual meetings helped establish connections before arrival, while face-to-face appointments and informal conversations gave them time to understand delegates’ priorities. The opening evening’s interactive “Meet the Speakers” session also helped everyone get to know each other, with a fun and friendly competition along the way.

During the P2P Connect speed networking sessions, Cris and Andy worked as a double act. Andy opened the conversation by asking the delegates their preferred discussion points, and together they responded to the questions around each table. It was a simple approach that put university priorities first and made room for candid, useful exchanges.

The wider agenda provided plenty of context for those conversations. Sessions explored aligning digital and operational transformation, protecting the student experience during change, and understanding why transformation projects fail. Discussions on AI in teaching and learning, recruitment, and lifelong learning showed the breadth of opportunity facing institutions.

Bournemouth continued the conversation on the final day, when Gerry and Niamh Downing, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, led a session on navigating large-scale change. Their interactive exercise used humour and recognisable transformation scenarios to get delegates thinking about the challenges of making change happen. It was another well-received opportunity to learn from institutional experience.

We left the Forum encouraged by the appetite for practical discussion and the willingness of university leaders to share their experiences. Thank you to the attendees, organisers, everyone who spent time with Cris and Andy, and especially Gerry and the Bournemouth University team for helping make the opportunity so tangible.

If the Bournemouth story has sparked questions about what AI could mean for your institution, get in touch with the ICS.AI education team. We would love to continue the conversation.

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