So yesterday morning, six of us gathered at our new base, the Hub Westminster collaboration space — which has acquired slightly more furniture since this photograph was taken — and began pulling together the plans for this weekend’s ‘Universities: Past & Future’ event.

We started by simply reading through the profiles of people who have already signed up to come. What became clear was the wealth of ideas, energy, knowledge and experience that will be represented. The strength of the event will be having all these people in one place, and our job is to make sure that we all get the best out of being together.

I’ll post again soon about the practical preparations, how the format of the weekend will work, and what you need to bring.

In the mean time, here are the main themes we identified, as we read through people’s profiles — which should give some outline of the discussions you can expect over the weekend:

Personal stories

Living examples of new learning spaces

New experiments, projects & plans

Hacking existing systems

Self-initiated learning & how to make it legible

Qualifications, assessment & other ways of representing learning & achievement

Funding & economic models (personal and organisational)

Pedagogy

Community-based approaches

The role of technology

Creativity & play

Sustainability & transition

Schooling & alternatives to it

Learning from history

The past & future of science within the university

Does that cover the range of conversations you're hoping to have this weekend? Are there other themes we should have on the list? Let us know.

Finally, please do sign up on our Eventbrite page. (I know this is a bit of a duplication from the wiki, but it will allow the downstairs reception at Hub Westminster to let you straight in on arrival - otherwise they'll have to call one of our volunteers to come and escort you...)