There are a remarkable number of companies and other organisations that have decided that Universities are a soft touch for conference attendance.  They put on a string of 'absolutely essential' one day events, almost always in London, with a series of 'high profile' speakers - and then charge between £300 and £500 for registration and a lunch (which is sometimes quite good, I must admit).  Today I have been assailed by invitations, often personalised ones (the joys of mailmerge), to attend quite a number all built around the theme of the delivery of teaching excellence under the new government.

It is certainly the case that a good cross-university conference can be an excellent opportunity to gain some insight on the thinking of key policy-makers, to hear how particular issues are being tackled in other universities, and to network with a variety of colleagues during the breaks.  I have been at some excellent events of this nature at UUK headquarters in Woburn Place. The charge for these tends to be little more than the cost of refreshments.  UUK meetings also draw in politicians, heads of relevant bodies and key thinkers from various lobby or mission groups.

But there is one particular organisation whose meetings I delete from my attention as soon as I see their logo - knowing they will all be fronted by the same ex-media-commentator and that their charges will be unjustifiable.

What do I look for in a conference intended to aid an understanding of the policy context or higher education's strategic concerns?
1. I look for high profile speakers who I haven't heard or met before.  Once I've heard them once I don't want to hear them again until there is some new development in their field.
2. I look for speakers who come from universities that are similar in mission to Sheffield.  Where that isn't the case any discussion is likely to be dominated by the concerns of very different parts of the whole higher education sector.
3. I look for a programme that is not packed with lots of short interventions - thereby ensuring that a lot of people will of necessity turn up to ensure good numbers.  I should point out that even with high fees, many conferences do not pay their speakers even their expenses - and sometimes ask them to register and pay the registration costs (presumably in the assumption that the vanity of senior colleagues to be heard will ensure that they will acquiesce).

On this basis every one of the conference notices I have received today has gone in the bin or been greeted with a quick deployment of the 'delete' button.   

But you may regard me as a hypocrite.  Something that I did do today was to send off my mini-biography for the programme of a conference that I am speaking at towards the end of June. It's actually a meeting that accords with my three criteria above.  I've been invited because of two things that I do - firstly that I am a member of the Higher Education Funding Council's Strategic Advisory Committee on Teaching Quality and the Student Experience (this is the committee that advises the HEFCE Board on all aspects of teaching policy); and secondly (as I have reported in previous posts on this blog) I am the co-chair of the Higher Education Academy's national network of Pro-Vice-Chancellors for Learning and Teaching.  Speaking at the conference will mean an overnight trip to London and no expenses or fee (although I don't have to pay for registration for this particular organisation).  But the other speakers are ones I want to talk to over coffee or lunch to get their views on where we are heading in the new world of a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.  On the other hand, I was signed up for this one before we even had the election.