AI-dmissions

Most teams have dabbled with AI. Far fewer have figured out how to make it stick.

Antony Wambua has been on that journey, and in this session, he's sharing what he's learned, what surprised him, and what he'd do differently. From bringing a sceptical team on board, to moving beyond occasional use into AI that's genuinely embedded in how a team works, this session covers the territory most AI talks skip over entirely.

You'll also discover how to get dramatically more from AI than rewriting the odd email, building school context, creating reusable skills for recurring tasks, and a simple framework for moving from ad hoc to embedded.

Honest, practical, and grounded in real experience.

Your admissions team didn't get into education to answer the same email for the hundredth time.

Giuliana Bonvini has spent 18 years inside international education, as a student, agent, provider, and service partner, and now builds AI solutions for institutions that are ready to work smarter. In this session, she breaks down the difference between AI, automation, and AI agents, and shows you exactly which admissions tasks can be handed over today. Including a live demo built for your reality, not a generic business example.

Less repetition. More human connection. That's the A.R.T. of admissions.

32 years across finance and education. A genuine understanding of what it takes to market an independent school, an agency, or a small education business. And a practical, human-led approach to AI that actually fits around the way you work.

Sophy Walker helps education organisations get stronger marketing results without losing what makes them human. In this panel session, she's sharing the AI tips and tools she uses day-to-day - the ones that streamline workflows, sharpen strategy, and make a real difference without a steep learning curve.

Christina Adamopoulou has spent over 15 years growing enrolments, building brands, and navigating the complexities of international education across three countries. She knows what it takes to run admissions and marketing in a busy international school, and she's found ways to make AI work inside that reality, not around it.

In this panel session, Christina is sharing the practical, use-today approaches to AI-driven admissions and marketing that have made a genuine difference in her team's day-to-day work.

Global perspective. Grounded advice. Tips you can try before the week is out.

Melanie Burke brings years of strategic leadership experience across software, consultancy, and professional services to her role as Director of Admissions and Marketing at Ryde School. She understands what it takes to manage competing priorities, lead a team, and keep a school's admissions pipeline moving, and she's found practical ways to let AI take some of the weight.

In this panel session, Melanie is sharing the tools and approaches that have genuinely made her working week easier, honest, no-nonsense tips from someone who knows how busy the job really is.

AI doesn't work in isolation. It works when it has clean data, connected systems, and a clear process to plug into, and most education teams aren't quite there yet.

Olly Featherstone leads AI strategy at HubGem, working with education and non-profit organisations to develop practical AI use cases that genuinely improve how teams operate. In this session, he explores how a connected CRM platform like HubSpot, combined with embedded AI tools, can transform admissions, marketing, and student engagement workflows.

Practical examples. Real capabilities. And a clear picture of what it actually takes to make AI work inside your organisation.

Tracking enquiries. Planning open days. Watching competitors. Reporting to SLT. All with a team that was probably never quite big enough for all of it.

Oli Peter knows that reality well. As the founder of 15th Media, the independent education advertising agency behind campaigns for Westminster, Sedbergh, and Marlborough College, he spent years listening to admissions teams describe the same pain points. So in 2026, he built Mosaic specifically to solve them.

Oli will cut straight to the practical, which parts of your admissions workload AI can take off your plate today, and three tools built specifically for this job. You'll also leave with a prompt pack you can put to use straight away.

In this future-facing session, we introduce our "Research Playground" model, shifting the focus from rigid administrative tracking to how people actually make buying decisions. Drawing on proven growth strategies from global giants like Uber, Zara, and Amazon, we will explore how big organisations use AI to decode hidden intent signals, cut through volume, and deliver hyper-contextual experiences in real time and (most importantly) how this can be applied to schools.

Daniel Cohen is a recognised school growth expert who specialises in the intersection of data, education, and emerging technology. With over a decade of sales experience across the education and market research sectors, Dan has built a reputation for transforming raw data into practical enrolment strategies for school leaders

Parents are now researching schools invisibly - using AI tools long before they ever contact you. This "Shadow Funnel" means much of their decision is made before you know they exist. To stay competitive, schools must optimise not just for Google, but to be cited and trusted by AI.

Ruth is the founder of Top Schools, Hong Kong’s go-to consultancy for international school admissions in Asia and independent school admissions in the UK. A self-proclaimed “escaped Brit” who’s made Hong Kong her home for over 30 years, Ruth draws on her deep local experience - as a parent, former teacher, and relentless school sleuth - to help families find their child’s best-fit school. With her tried-and-tested ‘Finding the Fit Formula’, Ruth has guided more than 1,200 successful applications and built a thriving network of 70,000+ parents and educators. Her work supports not just families, but also corporates and schools across Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK - from stress-free school placements to strategic school marketing and admissions and staff recruitment. Ruth has collaborated with household names like HSBC, KKR, HKU and the South China Morning Post, where she co-founded the International Schools Festival in 2015. Ruth’s mission is simple: take the stress out of school admissions and put the fit back into the process.