AEGIS CONFERENCE 2026
A one-day conference dedicated to the welfare of international students, with a focus on mental health, safeguarding and compliance – for all those supporting international students across the sector.
Wednesday 18th March 2026
Woburn House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HQ
Book & pay by 31 December AEGIS Member: £250 plus VAT / Non-Member: £300 plus VAT
Book from 1 January AEGIS Member : £300 plus VAT / Non-Member: £350 plus VAT
Exhibitor stand including one delegate: £450 plus VAT (£125 plus VAT per extra delegate)
Programme
9.30 Registration
10.10 Welcome
10.15 Keynote Speaker: Dr Dominique Thompson, Former GP & young people’s mental health expert – Proactive support for international students
11.15 Tea & Coffee Break
11.45 Cultural Awareness Panel
12.15 Alex Dave, Safeguarding Lead at LGfL – Are You Ready? Proactive Risk Management for Children Using Generative AI
13.15 Lunch (AEGIS AGM 14.00 – 14.30)
14.30 Kris Robbetts, Education Lawyer & Partner at VWV LLP – Complex and sensitive scenarios involving international students
15.15 Compliance Panel
15.45 Luna Award Presentation
16.00 End of Conference
Speakers
Our speakers and panels (see below) will address key themes of today – from the largely unchartered subject of safeguarding in AI for both schools and homestays, to legal opinion on the responsibilities of the different parties involved in supporting international students, how to find practical ways of supporting today’s young people and their mental health, the vital importance of addressing cultural awareness, and how schools and guardians are approaching the ever more complex area of UKVI compliance.
Proactive support for international students
Being a young person in the 21st century means navigating a very different world to the one in which many of us grew up. Students are under 24/7 pressure to be ‘always on’ and their ‘best self’ and they need to be prepared for a challenging world. COVID19 added an extra layer of pressure to the mix. Dr Dominique Thompson is the UK’s leading expert on student mental health, and she will reveal why young people may be struggling more, and what we can all do to help students to develop the life skills they need to thrive in this new and changing world.
Dom now works as an international independent mental health consultant and speaker, whilst holding roles including most recently; President of the Student Health Association, membership of the UK government’s Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce, and Clinical Advisor to NICE and Student Minds.
Are You Ready? Proactive Risk Management for Children Using Generative AI
It is estimated that over half of children from primary age and up are now using Generative Artificial Intelligence. But what safeguarding risks does this technology present? And what can you do to ensure children are safe and supported to use it in a healthy and ethical way? This presentation will share practical examples of things we can all do to adopt a safeguarding first approach to using AI.
Alex’s role is to support schools with ensuring that they meet and indeed exceed their statutory duties to keep children safe from harm, and in particular relating to online safeguarding. Alex has for the past 20 years, worked predominantly in education and social care managing services and leading safeguarding practice.
Complex and sensitive scenarios involving international students
Clarifying where the responsibilities of schools and guardians begin and end, and how to navigate legal and safeguarding grey areas
Having worked in and for educational institutions since 1999, Kris has a deep understanding of the particular pressures they are under and the unusual challenges schools and universities can face. His work centres around issues arising from the educational process – admissions, complaints, exclusions, fitness to study, safeguarding, fitness to practice, information sharing, discrimination and the resolution of disputes in contract and negligence.
In the independent schools sector, Kris works with Senior Management Teams and Governors on complex cases that often involve critical incidents and safeguarding issues. As a former resident assistant Housemaster, Kris is experienced in advising on the legal and regulatory issues arising from boarding, including educational guardianship, and has worked with AEGIS to raise awareness and standards in this area.
A panel of AEGIS-accredited guardians from key countries will share insights into challenges facing international students, and explore how economic and political factors at home are shaping parents’ decisions to send their children abroad.
A panel of member schools will discuss how recent UKVI rule changes and increased scrutiny around compliance have impacted their processes, while AEGIS Gold Standard guardians will share insights from their latest AEGIS inspection experiences.
Sponsors
Meet our Sponsors and visit their stands during breaks and lunch
StudyTravel has over 30 years’ experience in connecting agents and educators in print, online and in- person. StudyTravel Magazine reaches an expansive audience of 22,000 agent readers across 129 countries, providing news, statistics and market insights on all of the industry sectors.
ST Alphe Conferences provide an opportunity for international educators to meet with reference-checked study travel agents from around the world. Through 1-1 meetings and networking events, you can develop and grow your agent network.
Our online platform, StudyTravel Network (STN), connects you to over 8,500 active users in the study travel industry. Users can seamlessly share content, send messages, and arrange meetings using the integrated Meeting Manager system. Use the StudyTravel mobile app, available on android and Apple app stores, to access key features of STN on the go!
At Fragomen, we are a firm of more than 6,000 immigration-focused professionals and staff spanning more than 60 offices worldwide. Immigration has been our sole focus for 70 years, and today we offer support in more than 170 countries. We are problem-solvers, innovators and established thought leaders in immigration—and our firm is recognized year after year by Chambers, Best Lawyers and Who’s Who.
We contribute to conferences and seminars around the world, gather vast amounts of immigration data and leverage it for clients, author respected publications, and never stop working to design the future of our industry. As immigration around the world becomes more and more complex, we rely
on many of our professionals’ years of experience working in government agencies and in-house corporate immigration departments to advance world-class, compliant immigration solutions.
Safehire.ai is an AI-powered Safer Recruitment platform designed to support schools, trusts and education professionals in making more confident, insight-led hiring decisions. By analysing publicly available digital data and deep web sources, our technology highlights potential safeguarding risk signals that traditional checks may overlook. Human-verified results reduce noise and provide clear context, helping busy teams and safeguarding leads protect their communities more effectively.
Safehire.ai strengthens safer recruitment for organisations entrusted with the care of children and vulnerable people, complementing existing safeguarding frameworks with faster, smarter screening.
AI-powered safer recruitment for schools and education organisations.
SKOLA is a junior English language summer school in Regent’s Park for 5-to-17-year-olds. They welcome over 1200 students from 70 countries making it one of the most popular schools in central London. Their residence for 12-to-17-year-olds is in historic Marylebone. It is a short walk from the school and has single-room accommodation. Students learn English in the morning, have lunch, and then follow an afternoon programme of sports, arts, excursions, and leadership. With over 50 years of experience make skola.co.uk your next visit.
https://www.skola.co.uk/
info@skola.co.uk or WA +44 7340 516781
ICEF facilitates access to the right relationships, insight, and training, driving growth for educational institutions, student recruitment agents and relevant service providers.
At the heart of the international education community for over 30 years, ICEF connects the industry and worldwide networking events, provides the latest market intelligence, and improves industry standards through professional development and agency accreditation.
Book & pay by 31 December AEGIS Member: £250 plus VAT / Non-Member: £300 plus VAT
Book from 1 January AEGIS Member : £300 plus VAT / Non-Member: £350 plus VAT
Exhibitor stand including one delegate: £450 plus VAT (£125 plus VAT per extra delegate)
Cancellations made less than 14 days prior to the event will not receive a refund. Cancellations made between 15 and 30 days prior to the event will incur a 50% cancellation fee. Cancellations made more than 30 days prior to the event will receive a full refund.
Please note: In the event of train or travel disruptions, refunds will not be provided. We recommend planning your journey accordingly to avoid any inconvenience.
AEGIS – Where the welfare of international students comes first
Woburn House, London
Conference Venue
We’re pleased to be hosting the conference at Woburn House, located in the heart of London’s Tavistock Square. Just a short walk from major transport links, this historic and versatile venue offers a welcoming and professional setting – perfect for a day of connection, learning, and collaboration.
Plan your journey here: Woburn House