FACE; Co-constructing Education for all

About the event

We are delighted to open bookings and the call for papers for the 2023 Forum for Access and Continuing Education Conference, to be held at the University of Derby.

The FACE conference is one of the premier annual events for both practitioners and researchers with an interest in lifelong learning and widening participation in higher education.

This year’s conference will explore the importance of co-construction in the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes, activities and research with those currently under-represented in higher education.

Over the three days of the conference, we will hear from key figures involved in influencing students’ lives, supporting them to achieve their ambitions and to have a positive impact through their own careers. This will include:

• Policymakers
• Students and young people
• Educationalists
• Employers
• Widening participation of practitioners and researchers

Conference Host

This conference will be hosted by the University of Derby and taking place at our Kedleston Road Campus.

Staying over in Derby

Take a look at the latest hotel deals close to our venue.

Keynote Speakers

Professor Kathryn Mitchell

Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Derby

Professor Kathryn Mitchell joined the University of Derby as Vice-Chancellor in 2015. The University has 34,000 students in the UK and beyond.

Kathryn is the Chair of the Derby Priority Education Investment Area Board and has been appointed a Deputy Lieutenant in Derbyshire. Nationally, Kathryn was part of the six-month inquiry chaired by Lord Blunkett on the report ‘Arriving at Thriving’ and has also been part of the report ‘Empowering Innovation’, co-chaired by Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP and Lord Norton of Louth.

Kathryn has worked nationally and internationally as a Wellcome Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, London; the University of Chicago; The Rockefeller Institute, New York; and the Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel.

Neil Wilkinson

Executive Headteacher at Bemrose School and Chair of Derby City Secondary Strategy Group

Neil has been a teacher for 30 years and is in his ninth year of Executive Headship.  Neil has worked throughout his career in inner city schools in the East Midlands, all with different contexts. His current school is an all-through school in Derby city.

Neil is currently Chair of the city Secondary Strategy Group and Derby Secondary Heads Group. Alongside this, he has been fortunate and proud to sit on the Derby Opportunity Area Board and now the Priority Education Investment Board for Derby. Neil is also experienced in working with partner organisations as collaborators for positive educational improvement and encourages this ethos within his school.

Johannes Karl Schmees

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Section for Vocational Teacher Education, School Development and Educational Leadership

Currently, Johannes Karl Schmees is a Postdoctoral Fellow focusing on international and international comparative research in vocational education and training (VET) at the Section for Vocational Teacher Education, School Development and Educational Leadership in the Department of Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, located in Trondheim. Prior to his current position, he was working as a Lecturer at the Department of Vocational Education and Training at Osnabrück University, Germany. Currently, together with Bill Esmond, University of Derby, he is editing a special issue of the journal bwp@ on VET theories. His research interests cover the influence of international organisations and discourses on the development of VET policy and VET systems around the world.

Conference fees