News Corp Australasia Executive Chair Michael Miller and Xero chair and University of Sydney Chancellor David Thodey have confirmed they will be speaking at HE FEST, alongside a range of sector thought leaders including:
- Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy
- VC’s George Williams and Bruce Dowton
- Shadow Education Minister Julian Leeser (Yes, we of course continue to invite Jason Clare as well, but he remains too busy to attend)
- UK HE Brand and social licence expert Zeenat Fayaz
- Leading journalists and PR practitioners
- More than a dozen HE leaders in marketing, student recruitment, fundraising and communications, and other sector thought leaders.
Australia’s 2026 Marketing Leaders Named
Higher Education institutions are ditching hubris and reflecting the challenges and uncertainties that prospective students face in their latest marketing campaigns.
We are delighted to announce shortlisted candidates for the Best Tertiary Education Marketing Award today, amid a record number of entries to the 2026 Future Campus Awards.
This year's marketing campaigns demonstrated a really positive trend to meeting students on their own terms, rather than relying on traditional tropes of meeting the bar for excellence or gaining entry to an elitist club.
There was an exceptional field of marketing campaigns submitted with shortlisted entrants including:
Justin Laing and team at the University of the Sunshine Coast;
Renée Murphy and team from University of Canberra;
Simon Cormack and team from RMIT University;
David Rogan and team from University of Technology Sydney; and
Michaela Lobb and team from University of New England (AU)
We will be publishing more about the strengths of their entries in coming days and HE FEST 26 will include presentations from a range of shortlisted thought leaders.
Join us in Sydney for the conference on 22-23 September, when award winners will be showcased and announced: www.hefest.com.au
Burrow on board
Social media monitoring and risk mitigation agency Burrow has signed on as a sponsor of HE FEST 26 – recognising the value of engaging with HE leaders and marketing, communications, fundraising, recruitment and strategy staff from across the country.
Burrow is a Sydney-based company offering 24/7 social media monitoring, identifying issues as they arise for clients.