This week, Boundless Learning welcomed senior leaders from across our UK university partnerships to Salesforce Tower in London for our annual UK Partner Appreciation Event. Now a fixture in the calendar, the event brought together academic, professional, and industry leaders for a day of thoughtful discussion, practical insight, and relationship-building at a pivotal moment for UK higher education.

Against a backdrop of continued financial pressure, heightened competition, and rapid technological change, this year’s event was designed with a clear purpose: to step back from day-to-day delivery, reflect on what we learned together in 2025, and align on how we can best drive sustainable growth, learner success, and innovation in 2026 and beyond.

This year’s event was also notable for the strong presence of senior Boundless Learning leaders from the United States, including CEO Josh Richards, CFO Steve Marconi, SVP of Acquisition and Retention Heidi Diedrich, Chief Legal Officer David Smagula, and VP of Human Resources Morris Scott, reinforcing the strategic importance of the UK within Boundless Learning’s global partnership ecosystem.

The day opened with a networking breakfast and formal welcome, setting the tone for open dialogue and collaboration. Boundless Learning’s leadership reflected on key accomplishments across our UK partnerships in 2025, reviewed broad financial and market trends, and outlined the strategic areas that will shape our work in the year ahead.

A consistent theme emerged early: UK academic partnerships remain central to Boundless Learning’s global strategy. At a time when many institutions are reassessing portfolios, delivery models, and external relationships, the importance of trust, transparency, and shared objectives has never been greater.

The morning sessions focused on the digital and operational capabilities Boundless Learning is bringing to its UK partners, with particular emphasis on technology, data, and AI-enabled innovation.

Rather than innovation for its own sake, discussions centred on how new tools and platforms are enhancing the learner experience, supporting institutional teams, and driving sustainable commercial outcomes in an increasingly challenging market. These themes were explored through contributions from Lauren Gomez, Vice President of Technology and Innovation, and Gareth Pivacic, Senior Director of Technology.

One of the most resonant sessions of the day focused on integrated candidate journey management, spanning initial discovery and marketing, through enrolment, and into student success and programme completion. Senior leaders from the Marketing, Enrolment, and Student Success teams explored how closer alignment across these functions is enabling more granular insight into candidate behaviour and programme performance.

In a market characterised by rising acquisition costs and shifting learner expectations, the discussion emphasised quality over volume: prioritising qualified applicants, improving conversion at critical points in the journey, and supporting learners throughout their studies to maximise both educational outcomes and long-term value.

Attendees also reflected on the importance of institutional context, recognising that online provision should not operate in isolation, but instead be closely integrated with wider admissions, academic, and student support structures within each institution.

The session also featured contributions from senior members of the Boundless Learning leadership team, including VP of Marketing Laura Jarrell, VP of Enrolment Services Chris Barley, VP of Student Success and Retention Darlene Pittman, and Senior Director of Forecasting and Planning Jacob Farmer.

The afternoon opened with a keynote reflection on the state of online higher education with UK online learning expert Neil Mosley. Looking back on 2025, the session highlighted developments that are likely to shape decision-making in the year ahead, from intensifying competition and evolving marketing dynamics to questions of differentiation, legitimacy, and sustainability.

A central provocation was the need to challenge established orthodoxies in online student recruitment. As digital environments change and 'zero-click' journeys become more common, institutions and their partners must rethink how they engage prospective learners, communicate programme value, and measure success.

Highlights included pilot initiatives, such as the University of Leeds’ exploration of the Boundless Learning Academy courses for colleague development, illustrating how best-practice approaches to online learning can be standardised, shared and adapted across institutions. These sessions were led by Joël McConnell, Senior Director of Portfolio Management and Growth, Matt Cornock, Head of Online Learning at the University of Leeds, and Andrea Marcinkus, Senior Director of Research and Insights.

Speakers from both CrossKnowledge and Salesforce, including Senior Regional Vice President for Education in the EMEA Bas Ten Holter, added a broader ecosystem perspective, particularly around lifelong learning, B2B opportunities, and the role of enterprise-grade platforms in supporting marketing, enrolment, and student success at scale.

Discussions focused on practical alignment, how partners can explore new models, pilots, and use cases that respond to skills demand while remaining financially and operationally viable.

A further theme running through the day was quality in online learning design. Led by Kelly Cocks, Senior Director of Product Solutions, and Cathy Thomas-Varcoe, Senior Manager of Learning Design Solutions, the session underlined online education should be viewed not as a collection of discrete modules, but as an integrated system, one that requires continuous evaluation, regular refreshes, and close alignment with evolving learner needs and market expectations.

Attendees discussed how AI-enabled approaches can support programme review and enhancement, and how Product, Learning Design Solutions, and academic teams can work together to maintain academic rigour while improving agility. For UK partners, clarity around process, governance, and quality assurance remained a critical priority.

The final sessions returned to the question of growth: how new programmes are identified, modelled, and brought to market, and how realistic forecasting and clear decision-making are essential in a more constrained higher education context. The message was deliberately measured: growth remains an ambition, but focus, evidence, and alignment matter more than ever, and especially in the UK.

The day concluded with a session hosted by Josh Richards, CEO of Boundless Learning, which was a reflection on the event’s key themes and outlined clear calls to action. This was followed by an evening social at The Drift, which offered a more informal setting to continue conversations and deepen relationships. With a strong community of practice and partners committed to excellence in online higher education, these discussions were deliberately oriented toward translating shared insights into concrete actions in the weeks and months ahead.

As we look ahead, one message stands out: partnership is not static. It requires ongoing engagement, adaptability, and a willingness to challenge assumptions on both sides.

We're grateful to our UK partners for their continued trust and collaboration, and we look forward to working together to deliver meaningful impact for learners, institutions, and the sector as a whole.