SESSION OVERVIEW
Most teams assume deeper student relationships require more budget, more staff or more hours. New 2026 benchmarking data from university partners across Australia says otherwise. This workshop breaks service delivery down line item by line item, showing which investments actually move engagement, retention and belonging, and how partners used this analysis to set record performance in every category without adding headcount. The counterintuitive core: data-first strategy makes your team MORE personal, not less, freeing your people to focus on the relationships that make students feel they belong, with a quick nod to where AI and automation can responsibly supercharge it all.
Learning outcomes:
- Benchmark your service delivery line by line against sector data
- Lift results by reallocating effort, not expanding it
- Unify your team around a data-first strategy that increases personalisation
- Identify where AI and automation genuinely help, and where they don’t
Participants will leave with a practical playbook for setting record results in 2027 without more budget, more staff or more work. And if you happen to have more to work with, the sky is the limit!
PRESENTER
Josh Farr is the Founder of Campus Consultancy, an award-winning higher education consultancy. Josh and his team specialize in increasing student engagement and retention by delivering training to student leaders and student engagement staff. His experience working with more than 60,000 leaders from more than 100 universities and organizations, shows how investing in student communities leads to increased student engagement metrics and retention results! Josh is a 2x TEDx speaker, Australian Business Journal’s #1 Student Leadership Coach and 2024 LinkedIn ‘Top Voice’ in Leadership Development. You will leave a session with Josh feeling inspired and clear on exactly what to do to move the needle in your work and career.