More than 80 Human Resources (HR) professionals from 20 countries across the Commonwealth came together at the University of Waterloo, Canada, last month for the 8th ACU HR in HE Community Conference.

With a diverse programme, spread over three days delegates heard from expert speakers, including Jamil Salmi, formerly of the World Bank; Professor Angela Hildyard, who is an equity and diversity specialist from the University of Toronto; Professor Peter Rathjen, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide; and Mike Lipkin, an expert in what motivates people to connect.

Focusing on the theme Universities of the Future: Global Perspectives for HR, delegates discussed the challenges and opportunities of the future for HR in higher education, including getting ready for the new digital age, and shared issues and solutions.

Marilyn Thompson, Associate Provost Human Resources at the University of Waterloo, said: 'The University of Waterloo was pleased to host the 2018 ACU HR in HE Conference – focusing on the theme Universities of the Future: Global Perspectives for HR, it was the perfect opportunity to learn from member institutions about their own journey to excellence and innovation, and think about how HR will be vital for any university to achieving its goals and mission. The conference provided the perfect opportunity to meet colleagues who are driving operational performance through HR strategy, policies, and programmes.'

As part of the ACU's commitment to supporting academic mobility, 13 delegates – from assistant registrars to HR directors – from 9 countries (Barbados, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and the UK) were awarded bursaries to support their attendance.

Bursary holder, Shailendra Singh Gungah, Director of Human Resources at the University Of Mauritius, said: 'It was a wonderful conference, with phenomenal speakers of a world-class level. It was a real honour and privilege to be part of this extraordinary event and meet such wonderful people. I would like to thank the ACU for providing me with a bursary, which helped make it possible for me to attend, and also offer a big thanks to the team for the impeccable organisation of the conference. You can count on our support for your future projects!'

The ACU would like to thank the University of Waterloo for hosting this year's conference and showing us round their incredible campus, and also our sponsors Jobs.ac.uk, Gallagher, Workday and PWC Canada for their support.

• Find out more about this year's ACU HR in HE Community Conference here

Join the HR in HE Community

Are you a HR professional working at an ACU member university? Join the ACU HR in HE Community today and become part of a network of like-minded professionals, who share ideas, knowledge and best practice – email [email protected] to register your interest.