AUCSO heralds record attendance at 2022 Annual Conference

AUCSO is the leading organisation for security professionals working in higher and further education around the world. Due to COVID-19, the 2022 Annual Conference was the first in-person gathering since 2019. The programme was packed with high-profile speakers and underpinned by a number of captivating subjects relevant to security in the tertiary education sector.

The AUSCO Conference afforded delegates the opportunity to participate, network and derive maximum benefit from the three-day programme. The social networking event held at The Royal Armouries was one of the highlights of the event.

The key focus for the Annual Conference was evolving risks and how they’re impacting the security sector across the world. Alongside the speaker programme, upwards of 40 exhibitors supplying specialist security services to the sector allowed delegates to explore new ideas and innovations. Exhibitors included The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, CrimeStoppers UK and ProtectEd.

AUCSO’s chief operating officer Julie Barker explained: “The speakers were chosen to reflect pertinent current issues and those emerging within the sector and wider industry today. It was fantastic to listen to Nicky Old from Universities UK talk about the opportunities and challenges currently facing the Higher Education sector, among them student and staff mental health and well-being, suicide prevention, the supply and use of drugs drug use prevention, as well as sustainable funding for universities, fair access, quality and value and the ongoing issues relating to pay and pensions.”

Barker added: “The Office for Students provided an excellent session and update on its work around ‘Harassment and Sexual Misconduct in Higher Education’, which was published last year. We’re delighted with the breadth of content delivered by all of this year’s speakers.”

Manchester Arena terrorist attack

One of the keynote speakers at conference was Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett (who was killed during the Manchester Arena terrorist attack back in May 2017). Since that tragic episode, Figen has worked tirelessly to promote peace, kindness and tolerance by speaking at schools, colleges and universities. Indeed, she has served as the driving force behind Martyn’s Law, which is focused on requiring the management teams at publicly accessible locations to improve security in the face of the ongoing threat from terrorism.

Nick Aldworth, former UK counter-terrorism national co-ordinator for Protect and Prepare (and London’s counter-terrorism protective security and preparedness lead during the 2017 terrorist attacks) joined Figen on stage. In 2019, Aldworth joined forces with Murray to campaign for the much-discussed Protect Duty, a law requiring venue operators to consider the risk of terrorist attacks and then invoke security measures proportionate to the risk to protect the public.

Other key speakers at AUCSO’s 2022 Annual Conference included Dr David Rubens (CEO at the Deltar Group and executive director of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management), Amy Norton (head of equality, diversity and inclusion at the Office for Students), Detective Inspector Steve Leach (who’s part of the team that was responsible for creating the force-wide Cyber Crime Unit), Tim Lambon (director of CRISIS24) and Liam Watson representing Drugstraining.com.

Outstanding success

AUCSO chair Les Allan noted: “The 36th edition of AUCSO’s Annual Conference was an outstanding success and I would like to extend our gratitude to everyone involved in the behind-the-scenes preparation for the event. This includes our sponsors and exhibitors for their support and the guest speakers for their time and willingness to engage with AUCSO, but most of all we extend our grateful thanks and appreciation to our delegates for continuing to participate in our Association and support its continued growth year-on-year.”

Further, Allan observed: “We are particularly pleased that our engagement with speakers at conference is leading to new and enhanced collaborations with organisations such as Universities UK, The Office for Students and the Suzie Lamplugh Trust.”

Laurence Perkins, head of security at the University of Leicester and chair of AUCSO’s Midlands Region, stated: “It was fantastic to be able to attend an in-person AUCSO Annual Conference for the first time since the pandemic took hold. Nothing beats engaging with colleagues and listening to speakers in the live setting. It was a well organised and thought-provoking event.”

On the final evening of conference there was a glittering Gala Dinner held at the prestigious Aspire venue in Leeds, where the winners of the AUCSO Awards were announced.

Plans are already underway for the 37th AUCSO Annual Conference, which will be hosted in Edinburgh by Heriot-Watt University.

*View highlights of the 2022 AUCSO Annual Conference on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=6oN5NIsJh6Q&feature=youtu.be