This year, King's hosted its largest-ever party conference programme bringing together experts from across King's, MPs, ministers and leading commentators to discuss many of the key challenges facing this parliament.
Key themes
In total the events featured 50 different speakers, including seven current of former ministers and nine sitting MPs. They were joined by 14 King's academics from across the Policy Institute at King's, the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, the King's Institute of Artificial Intelligence, the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care and five members of the university's visiting and honorary faculty.
Key themes discussed across the panel events included the health and care workforce and NHS 10-year plan, defence and security, AI, the mental health crisis and education.
The events were enhanced by findings from five new pieces of research, produced specifically for party conference season by the Policy Institute, which explored how the public currently view several of the parties and their supporters, as well as new polling and a policy report on care work in the UK.
Across the programme, King's experts brought their research and insight to every panel, including professors Graham Lord, Anand Menon, Wyn Bowen, Sir Simon Wessely, Baroness Alison Wolf, Irene Higginson, Annette Boaz, Rachel Mills, Elena Simperl, Damian Grimshaw, Michael Sanders, Jon Davis, Bobby Duffy and Dr Julia Ellingwood and Tania Rhodes-Taylor.
Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at King's said: "Party conferences provide a brilliant opportunity to engage directly with ministers, MPs, peers and other policymakers, strategists and practitioners. The programme that we put together was very deliberately focused on showcasing some of King's key strengths - and seeing King's research and expertise being so highly valued by key decision-makers was a real pleasure. The sessions were packed out showing a real interest in King's work, and the feedback and new connections created show these are not just one-off events but the start of ongoing relationships."
Tania Rhodes-Taylor, Executive Director of Communications & External Affairs at King's added: "Universities have an important role to play in providing the evidence and research insights needed to shape policy and address national and international challenges.
"Our party conference programme this year provided a hugely valuable opportunity for some of our leading academics to share their expertise on some of the most pressing issues facing policymakers, such as AI and the future workforce, health and care and security and defence - providing a space for audiences to ask considered questions and thought leaders to engage in challenging debate."
King's scholars have always shaped thinking, policy and practice around the world and as highlighted in our Strategy 2030, looking ahead, King's is building capacity to ensure we can deliver critical skills and insight for a rapidly changing world - including in global security, the creative industries, business, law, engineering, health and life sciences.
Making AI work for everyone
Co-Director of the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence Professor Elena Simperl was joined at the Labour Party Conference by King's AI and Workforce Futures Programme Lead Professor Damian Grimshaw, the Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, and Alex Rossiter from the TUC to discuss how to move from fear to action on AI and how AI can work for everyone.
The panel showcased research from the AI and Workforce Futures programme at King's which which is exploring how AI is transforming the world of work and solutions and responses to these new challenges.
As we move into a new era where many firms and organisations are adopting AI, there is a huge opportunity to redesign and improve the way we work and to use robust evidence to shape how we respond and find solutions to new challenges facing the workforce.Crucially, we must take the current conversation on AI and jobs beyond the existing focus on data, which is derived heavily from existing white-collar professions, to look to new skills, infrastructure and specialist roles that will help power an AI-enabled economy.
Professor Elena Simperl, co-director at King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence
Health and care
Across the party conferences King's hosted a number of events on health and care. The health and care focussed events showcased research from across King's, including new polling and a policy report on the "careforce" - the full network of people who provide care in everyday life - from the King's Better Health & Care Hub.
Recent findings from the King's Policy Institute highlighted that nearly two thirds of people will find themselves caring for someone, yet the majority of the public underestimate this. These findings were highlighted at a Labour panel on the health and care workforce and a panel at the Greens on future of the health and care workforce and the vital role care workers play in communities across the country.
A session on delivering the NHS 10-year plan was held at Labour Conference and on a prevention-first approach to addressing the mental health crisis at the Liberal Democrats.
One of the strongest messages from our panel at the Green party conference was about the unsung heroes that support our health and care workforce. It's about the unpaid carers and volunteers such as community first responders who attend medical emergencies in their local areas often providing essential lifesaving treatment and support in those crucial minutes before the ambulance crew arrives. These are the people who support us and our families, often quietly, every single day.Supporting and valuing the contribution of all those who make up the entire health and care workforce is paramount to people's future health and care.
Professor Annette Boaz, King's Better Health and Care Hub
Defence and Security
King's bought together policymakers, political figures, journalists and researchers to examine the UK's defence and security priorities for the panel Defence and security in an uncertain world at the Labour Conference.
Chaired by Professor Wyn Bowen, Head of the School of Security Studies, who was joined by Calvin Bailey MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister of Veterans and People) and King's alumnus, the discussion explored the changing security landscape and the choices facing the UK and its allies, including the future of NATO, deterrence and great-power competition.
The discussion considered how the nature of threats facing the UK is changing, what the war in Ukraine can teach about modern warfare, and how Britain's approach to defence and security is viewed both domestically and internationally.
Our panel offered a valuable opportunity to bring together perspectives from politics, policy, journalism and academia to explore some of the most pressing defence and security questions facing the UK and its allies. Working in partnership with the Policy Institute we were able to bring together a diverse range of voices and create a space for constructive, informed discussion with an engaged audience.
Professor Wyn Bowen, Head of the School of Security Studies
