Peter Czarnomski, Director of Estates, recently hosted the AUDE Conference 2018 (Association of University Directors of Estates) on behalf of the University of Kent. This high profile event provided an opportunity to showcase the Canterbury Campus to more than 140 Directors of Estates across the sector.

Sibson Building provided an outstanding conference venue and over the three-day conference delegates heard from a number of high profile speakers. They included:

• PY Gerbeau, serial entrepreneur and famously the ‘saviour’ of the Millenium Dome project
• Dame Heather Rabbatts, former chief executive of the London Borough of Lambeth and the first woman to sit on the board of the FA
• Sahar Hashemi, OBE, co-founder of Coffee Republic
• Jim Lawless, author of ‘Taming Tigers’ and the first Briton to dive below the 100m barrier on a single breath of air
• Roger Martin-Fagg, Economist and Rob McClatchey, Chairman of UPP Group Holdings Limited, who presented on ‘The possible financial outcomes of Brexit and how they might impact on the HE Sector’
• Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Chairman of The Historic Dockyard Chatham, who gave a unique insight into what it means to be a TRUE Leader, ‘Meeting the Challenge’

The final morning of the conference saw a highly entertaining presentation from Stephanie Davies, co-founder of Laughology the nation’s most talked-about training and development programme, and finally, Sir Ranulph Fiennes closed the conference with an awe-inspiring journey through just two of his epic expeditions in the last 40 years.

The highlight of the conference on Tuesday night was the AUDE Awards and Gala Dinner at Canterbury Cathedral’s Chapter House, hosted by writer and broadcaster, Gyles Brandreth.  Two members of the University of Kent Estates team were recognised at the awards.

Sarah Cooke, Head of Customer Services and Engagement, was Highly Commended in the Chair’s Award for Long Term Contribution. Sarah was reocgnised for continually developing her role and contributing within the Estates Department, the University as a whole, and to the local community. Sarah joined the Estates Department in 1989. She was shortlisted alongside three long-standing University Directors of Estates.

Emily Mason, Environmental Sustainability Assistant, was Highly Commended in the Emerging Talent Award category, for her project, Futureproof. It uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for staff and students from across the University to assess the impact of their activities and create bespoke, targeted action plans to improve. By developing Futureproof, Emily has delivered something with far wider-reaching impacts than we had ever envisaged.

Simon Fanshawe, OBE co-founder and partner of Diversity by Design expertly steered the conference through to a successful conclusion on Wednesday morning.

The AUDE Conference 2019 will take place at the University of Lancaster (University of the Year 2018).  This year’s event was organised by Assured Events, Manchester.