Wednesday 4 November
Day Two Agenda: Explore and go further
The big picture in the morning, the people putting Gecko to work in the afternoon, then a celebration of the year's standout successes, and drinks.
Arrival and breakfast
Coffee, breakfast and a first look at the exhibition.
Gecko session
The changing landscape of AI
How we got here together, how fast AI is moving, and what Gecko is building next.
Matt opens Day Two by stepping back to look at the bigger picture. He'll trace the journey from trusted student data to conversations, chatbots and now AI agents. He'll show how quickly AI is changing the way people work and the way students expect to be served. And he'll set out what institutions can do now to get ready, starting with governance. The session ends with a first look at something new. You'll leave with a clear view of where AI is heading and practical first steps for your team.
Customer voices
No spin: the sector, from the inside
Ruth Swan returns with an honest read on a tough year for the sector, and where teams are finding room to move.
Ruth returns to Forum with a view from inside a university: what's shifted over the last twelve months, what's making the job harder, and where institutions are choosing to put their energy. Not a forecast from the outside, but the reality from someone living it, and how we can support each other through it.
Coffee and exhibition
Coffee, and time to meet our partners in the exhibition space.
Customer voices
Test, learn, repeat: how Leeds levelled up its biggest events
How the University of Leeds used small trials and steady improvement to grow the impact of its largest events.
Big events rarely get better by accident. Olivia and Kharmen share how Leeds treated each event cycle as a chance to test something new, kept what worked, dropped what didn't, and evolved their approach as Gecko developed alongside them. Expect the real detail: what they tried, what surprised them, and what they'd tell a team just starting out.
Gecko session
A new pace for Product
Explore what's changed in Gecko over the past 12 months and how AI is helping us deliver value to our customers in a whole new way.
Hear from the team behind the latest features and discover what this new pace means for what's coming next.
Gecko session
Agentic era of AI in your student engagement and CRM
Following on from the announcement in Matt's keynote, a closer look at what's in store.
Matt opens Day Two with some exciting news. In this session he and Jonny pick up where the keynote left off: more on what's coming, what it means for the way your team works with students, and where agentic AI fits into your student engagement and CRM.
Lunch and exhibition
Eat, catch up with peers and meet our partners in the exhibition space.
Customer voices
Panel. Further Together: stories of growth with Gecko
Institutions at very different stages on why they chose Gecko, what changed along the way, and where they're going next.
What does going further actually look like? Institutions from further education and UK higher education share how their use of Gecko has grown, from a college only just starting out to long-standing partners on their next chapter. Where they started, what changed along the way, and the wins that made the biggest difference. Short openers from each panellist, then plenty of time for your questions. Honest, practical stories you can take straight back to your own team.
Customer voices
A Portal to WP
How the uni of Notts are creating a hub to support students and increase engagement to bridge gaps in participation
One portal. New possibilities. Discover how the University of Nottingham is using the Gecko Portal to rethink student support and widening participation. Alexandra Crook shares how it's changing day-to-day work for staff, connecting students with opportunities and bringing a more joined-up student experience to life.
Coffee and exhibition
A last coffee and a final chance to visit the exhibition.
Gecko session
Summary of success and wrap: our 2026 standouts
Ten standout customer successes from 2026, and the first moves to make when you're back at your desk.
We close Forum by celebrating ten of the year's standout successes from across the Gecko community, then pull two days of ideas down to the handful worth doing first. You'll leave with a clear starting point for Monday morning.
Evening
Drinks at The Beverly
Carry the conversations on after the close. Details to follow.
Your Questions, Answered
This event is for Gecko customers and partners (though if you’re a future-customer and would really like to attend, please email chris@geckoengage.com).
Most attendees will be hands-on users of Gecko/their CRM OR their team leverages Gecko to help with student recruitment, admissions or marketing at their institution.
This event is free to attend for Gecko customers and partners. Attendees are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements.
Please reach out to your Account Manager if you’d like to meet with the Gecko team outside of the core event hours (if you are travelling to Edinburgh the day before the event, for example). Additionally, there will be time to catch-up with your Account Manager during the event, and break-out rooms will be available.
Based on past events, clients saw most value from arriving in Edinburgh the day before the event, and leaving the day after (so they can partake in all of the networking festivities after-hours). We understand this might not be possible for all, however. So we advise that you arrive into central Edinburgh before 9am and depart after 6pm to ensure you don’t miss any of the sessions on the conference day.