TrailBlazers is more than a development programme – it’s an experience that can change the way you see yourself, your potential and what might be possible for your career. It’s a chance to step outside your comfort zone, discover strengths you didn’t know you had, build confidence and resilience, and connect with an incredible community of ambitious people professionals from across Higher Education.
Through immersive experiences, new challenges and honest conversations, TrailBlazers gives you the space to pause, reflect and think differently about what comes next. You’ll be supported to stretch yourself, learn from others and develop the skills and confidence to take your next steps, whatever those steps might look like.
And the experience doesn’t end when the programme does. TrailBlazers creates lasting connections, with delegates continuing to support, challenge and champion one another long afterwards. From new friendships and networks to opportunities to learn alongside senior sector leaders, TrailBlazers can open doors you never expected – while giving you the confidence to walk through them.
At its heart, TrailBlazers is about spotting potential, celebrating emerging talent and giving people the space to shine. It’s about discovering just how much more you could achieve when someone believes in your potential – and, perhaps most importantly, when you start believing in it too.
Hear more from previous TrailBlazers as they share their experience of opportunities that followed:
Reflections from Across the Pond by Tom Jones
Reflecting on My Time with the UHR Executive by Kate Walmsley
Reflecting on CUPAHR 2024 by Allyson Chernouski
Being a TrailBlazer opens the door to further opportunities to learn, grow and develop your career. From a place at our Senior Summit, learning shoulder-to-shoulder with sector leaders, to the opportunity to attend CUPA-HR’s Annual Conference and Expo in the USA or take on a co-opted position on the UHR Executive Committee, TrailBlazers can continue to build experience, confidence, networks and knowledge long after the core programme has finished.
2026: Amy Mills, University of Leeds
Sharna Piercy, University of the Arts London
2025: Isobel Stokoe, University of Oxford
Mariam Wahid, University College Birmingham
2024: Katrina Gillett, University of Sheffield
Robishia Temple, Queen Mary University of London
Tom Everett, University of Edinburgh
2026: Emma McDougall, University of Glasgow
2025: Tom Jones, Teeside University
2024: Allyson Chernouski, Abertay University
2026: Chloe Evans, University College London
2025: Lisa Bryant, University of Brighton
2024: Kate Walmsley, University of Southampton
With huge thanks to the generous support from Oracle and the continued involvement of Leatham Green.
