Higher Education Strategy Forum: Our Round-up

On 1 and 2 October, we sponsored the ah!media Higher Education Strategy Forum. It was two days of great conversations with IT, estates and leadership teams from institutions across the UK. We spoke with many delegates, and the discussions at our stand were engaging, to say the least.

A few clear themes came up again and again:

1. If a safeguarding concern came up today, could you retrieve the call records from a staff member's personal mobile?

2. Do your facilities, security and maintenance teams have a managed way to communicate, or are they on personal phones with no IT oversight?

3. Could you prove to a regulator that every business call across your institution was recorded and stored?

4. Are staff contacting students from personal numbers because there's no institutional alternative?

5. What replaces your desk phones, across every building and site, when the PSTN switches off in January 2027?

A sixth theme surprised us. Many institutions told us their international students struggle to get settled when they arrive, often without a local phone or bank account. Could the university offer them an eSIM connected to the institution, to make settling into campus life easier?

Tango Extend answers all six. It gives every member of staff one institutional number on the phone they already carry. Setup is one QR code, with no app and nothing new to learn. Every business call is managed, recorded and retrievable, and personal calls stay private. The same approach means a university can have new students connected from the day they land.

An exclusive offer for Higher Education

Following the forum, we're offering a free 6-month pilot to five Higher Education institutions, with full product access and direct input to our product team. Places are limited, so find out more and apply here.

A big thank you to Strategy Networks for a superb event, and to everyone who stopped by to talk. We look forward to continuing the conversation.