Yorkshire Universities Development Plans 2017

Attend this event to hear the Yorkshire Universities Development Plans – Informing you are THREE of Yorkshire’s leading University heads who will be presenting their investment/development plans for the next few years!

Join us at the Civic Hall in Leeds on Tuesday 21st March to hear the Yorkshire Universities Development Plans over the next few years and network with peers from the Construction & Property Industry!

In attendance will be Architects, Surveyors, Engineers, Project Managers, Business Development Managers, Solicitors, Lawyers and many more Construction and Property Professionals, there to hear about the Yorkshire Universities Development Plans and network with like-minded individuals.

Yorkshire Universities Development Plans 2017 Event Sponsorship

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Consider Sponsoring this event – Sponsorship Packages can be viewed here.

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Yorkshire Universities Development Plans Event Format

• 1530 – 1600; Registration
• 1600 – 1645; Networking with Wine, Beer and Soft Drinks
• 1645 – 1815; Speaker Presentations
• 1815 – 1900; Networking with Hot Food, Wine, Beer and Soft Drinks
• 1930 – 2200; After Event Speakers Dinner (VIP TICKET HOLDERS ONLY)

Yorkshire Universities Development Plans VIP Tickets

We have an exciting new opportunity for you – buy a VIP ticket to this event and come to dinner straight after the event with the speakers who have accepted an invitation, see below.

Great food, good wine and excellent conversation.

Yorkshire Universities Development Plans VIP Ticket Privileges

• FREE attendance at Speakers Dinner
• Reserved seating in the front two rows at the event
• Guaranteed tickets at Sold-Out events
• Only 15 VIP Tickets available at each event
• VIP Name Badges
• Maximum two VIP Tickets per Company

Yorkshire Universities Development Plans VIP Dinner Venue – Blackhouse

Come to dinner and join:

• David Hemming – Leeds Beckett University
• Colin Blair – University of Huddersfield

Yorkshire Universities Development Plans Speakers

Dennis Hopper, Director of Facilities Management; University of Leeds

Dennis joined the University in 2002 as Director of Residential and Commercial Services and was appointed as Director of Facilities Management in 2009. His responsibilities currently include management of the residential estate, catering operations, conference and event management, sport & physical activity, estate management, and campus support services. He is also responsible for sustainability of the University’s built environment.

Dennis studied hotel management and became a hotel General Manager at the age of 26. He worked on developing new catering concepts with Bass Inns and Taverns and later became a regional manager with Bass in the midlands, responsible for a portfolio of new catering and bar concepts. He also spent four years as a Management Consultant, working with Capita, ICL and Tricon Foodservice Consultants for clients such as Cadbury Poland and the Dublin to Belfast Railway Company, designing and implementing management systems such as ISO9000 and HACCP. Dennis joined the University of Edinburgh in 1998 before moving to Leeds in 2002.

David Hemming, Director of Estates; Leeds Beckett University

David Hemming joined Leeds Beckett University as the Head of Estates in February this year. Prior to that, he spent 20 years serving in the Royal Engineers. In his early military career, he took the high-risk approach and specialised in Bomb Disposal and Technical Engineer Reconnaissance. With the advent of children, he took a lower risk approach and specialised in the provision of infrastructure, focussing on support to the ‘AIR component’. Both strategies have allowed him to clock up the air miles and have seen him serve in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Europe and North America. He has a keen interest in the use and development of BIM, having spent more years than he cares to count working out of a tent in the middle of nowhere, he has come to the conclusion there must be a better way to do things! He is so convinced that BIM is the future; he is about to embark on Doctorate to prove it!

Colin Blair, Director of Estates & Facilities; University of Huddersfield

Colin Blair has been with the University of Huddersfield for over 25 years and has been instrumental in managing the transformation of its academic estate into one of the best examples in the HE sector.  As part of a dynamic and entrepreneurial senior management team he oversaw the disposal of the entirety of the University’s residential portfolio to the private sector and the consolidation of its academic activity onto a single campus at Queensgate.

Prior to joining the University, Colin worked as a Building Services Design Engineer within contracting organisations.  Colin is a Chartered Engineer, gained an MSc (Distinction) in Facilities Management and was named a BIFM Graduate of the year in 2000.

Colin has recently stood down as Treasurer of the Association of Directors of Estates (AUDE) having completed eight years on the National Executive Committee of the Organisation.  Colin is currently a Governor of Wakefield Grammar School Foundation and also provides property advice to other local schools, colleges and charities.

In 2015 Colin became the first ever recipient of the Association of Directors’ of Estates (AUDE) Chair’s Award for Long Term Contribution.

Colin is committed to ensuring that students, staff and visitors are provided with the best possible facilities and services and that the high quality, diverse Estates Portfolio is used to raise the profile of the University both nationally and internationally.