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Higher education

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At every stage

Meaningful experiences throughout the university journey

Universities are built on relationships: with prospective students, current students, alumni, supporters, partners and communities.

We help institutions create the moments that strengthen those relationships, build belief around their ambitions and inspire people to take the next step.

Students and staff networking at a UCL event

Connections that last

Every interaction contributes to the relationship

Someone may first encounter an institution as a prospective student, return as an alumnus, become a volunteer or advocate and, over time, choose to support its mission.

Those relationships are rarely shaped by one event alone. They develop through a series of experiences, conversations and moments of connection.

Where we help

Building belief around campaigns

Campaign launches and engagement programmes that help internal and external audiences understand the ambition, see their place within it and become advocates for what comes next.

We can support the wider journey from early campaign thinking and stakeholder engagement through to creative development, international launch activity and ongoing momentum.

Strengthening alumni relationships

Experiences that reconnect alumni with the institution and with one another, build pride and belonging, and create meaningful reasons to remain involved.

This may include flagship events, international programmes, reunions, leadership gatherings and wider engagement journeys.

Bringing supporters closer to impact

Thoughtfully designed donor and supporter experiences that make the institution’s work tangible and bring people closer to the ideas, people and outcomes their involvement makes possible.

The emphasis should be on trust and connection, not simply hospitality.

Creating community and belonging

Experiences that welcome people, mark important transitions and strengthen a sense of shared identity across students, alumni, staff and wider communities.

Convening leadership and influence

Gatherings that bring senior stakeholders, partners, academic leaders and advocates together around important ideas, institutional priorities and opportunities for action.

Marking important institutional moments

Anniversaries, milestones, openings and celebrations that honour the institution’s story while creating energy around its future.

Alumni guests together at a bar

Strategic support

Helping teams see the bigger picture

Sometimes the need begins with an event. Sometimes it begins with a wider question.

  • How should events support a campaign?
  • Where are internal resources being stretched?
  • Does the programme reflect the institution’s priorities?
  • Are events creating enough value for their audiences?
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Working with complexity

Built around the realities of higher education

Universities are complex organisations. Projects often involve multiple teams, senior stakeholders, competing priorities and long decision-making processes.

We understand those realities and know how to work within them.

Our role is not to impose an agency process. It is to help the institution move forward with clarity and confidence.

Performers on the UCL 200 stage

Global engagement

Engaging university communities around the world

University communities are global, and the experiences created for them need to reflect different locations, cultures and relationships.

We support institutions with international alumni engagement, campaign activity, leadership events and stakeholder programmes across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia.

Whether delivering one important gathering or coordinating a series of connected moments across several locations, we provide consistent leadership while ensuring each experience feels relevant to its setting and audience.

Our work

Different needs.
One connected approach.

From building belief around a campaign to strengthening alumni relationships and deepening supporter engagement, we help institutions create experiences that move people and relationships forward.

Speaker at the podium

Building belief around a campaign

Helping institutions and organisations turn ambitious ideas into moments that create momentum, align stakeholders and inspire advocacy.

Read the case study
University of London Alumni Celebration 2026 at Senate House

Strengthening a global alumni community

Building experiences that reconnect alumni across borders, deepen engagement and strengthen a sense of belonging.

Read the case study
UCL global campaign launch series

Bringing supporters closer to impact

Designing experiences that turn interest into understanding, understanding into connection and connection into long-term support.

Read the case study

What our clients say

“Launching Here, it will happen in UCL’s bicentenary year was a defining moment for our university. We wanted to do more than announce a campaign. We wanted people to experience the ambition, optimism and sense of possibility at its heart, and to feel inspired to be part of what comes next. Assemble played an important role in helping us realise that ambition. Their creativity and production expertise helped translate our vision into experiences that were bold, engaging and unmistakably UCL, from our flagship launch at the British Museum to celebrations with our international community.

The response from our alumni, donors and friends has been wonderful. We’ve created real energy and momentum around the campaign, and Assemble’s contribution helped us begin this important chapter in a way that felt both ambitious and deeply human.”

Angharad Milenkovic Vice President (Advancement), UCL

“The U21 Annual Network Meeting and Leadership Summit was a cornerstone of the University of Glasgow’s 575th anniversary celebrations, bringing together global leaders to address the key opportunities and challenges shaping the future of higher education. Throughout the planning and delivery of the Summit, Assemble played a pivotal role combining strategic insight with creativity, professionalism, and exceptional attention to detail.

Their team integrated seamlessly with colleagues across the University, taking the time to understand our ambitions and helping us deliver an event that reflected both the University’s global reputation and impact, and the significance of our 575th anniversary. Their collaborative approach, expertise, and commitment to excellence were instrumental to the Summit’s success. I would not hesitate to recommend Assemble to any institution seeking a trusted and highly effective event partner.”

Rachel Sandison OBE Deputy Vice Chancellor (External Engagement), University of Glasgow

“We hired Assemble Events to manage the elements of our annual alumni weekend that required some real technical expertise. Emma worked tirelessly with our colleagues in the colleges and departments to ensure that they were up to speed with the technology and could confidently deliver a hybrid experience for their alumni. We couldn’t have done it without her!”

Christine Fairchild Former Director of Alumni Relations, University of Oxford

“Working with Emma and her team from Assemble Events is always a pleasure. Their calm, well-organised approach to their work and their planning is consistent, reliable, and reassuring. Their breadth of experience, operating nationally and internationally, is invaluable. We value our partnership with Assemble Events on the CASE Global Leaders Programme immensely.”

Sue Cunningham President & CEO, CASE

“Assemble Events came in to support our team during a really busy period. With their help, our whole new team was supported in taking on our summer graduation ceremonies for over 5000 students. Not only did they support the team, they upskilled them too. We were delighted with the support provided by Assemble Events. They provided us with expert guidance and advice, were reliable, efficient and always on hand in the lead up to the event and beyond. They helped us make sure each day of the event ran smoothly and that all stakeholders were managed beautifully.”

Chiara Martinelli Interim Head of Events and Ceremonies, Queen Mary, University of London

“Our longstanding collaboration with Assemble Events has been excellent and continues to grow year on year. The team plays a valued role in designing and delivering Alumni UK’s central online learning and development offer, particularly our Sector Spotlights, disability inclusion events and flagship annual festival, Alumni UK Live. Their professionalism, creativity and attention to detail, combined with a strong understanding of our objectives and global audience, help us deliver engaging, accessible and high-quality events. We greatly value their collaborative approach and commitment and look forward to building on this successful partnership.”

Maria Tsakali Alumni UK, British Council

“We commissioned Assemble Events to help us map out the work required to develop our student recruitment events strategy. Emma took the time to understand the unique nature of our institution and through working with colleagues and existing data, Emma was able to synthetise our challenges and guide us through creating a realistic action plan to overcome them.”

Jack Tomlinson Former Head of Marketing, St George’s, University of London

“What sets Assemble apart is that they feel less like an agency and more like a trusted partner. They understand the higher education sector, they understand the audiences we’re trying to engage, and they care as much about the outcomes as they do the event itself. Combining strategic thinking, creative insight and exceptional delivery, they’ve built a reputation that makes them an obvious choice for universities looking to bring people together in meaningful ways. Quite simply, once you’ve experienced that combination of sector understanding, partnership and quality, it’s hard to see why you’d ask anyone else.”

Mark Leach MBE Founder and Editor in Chief, Wonkhe

“At LTU we have now had the absolute pleasure or working with Assemble Events for a number of key projects. We are looking forward to future opportunities to work with assemble and would recommend them to anyone who wants the highest quality of consultancy for all elements of the assemble portfolio.”

Ruth Wilson Director of Student Support and Engagement, Leeds Trinity University

“It has been great to work with Emma on our campaign event planning. Her insight was particularly helpful whilst we were brainstorming ideas. We now have executive buy-in for an exciting programme of launch events that is tailored to our various audiences. Thank you Emma and Assemble Events.”

Paula Gould Head of Campaign Management, University of Sheffield

“Working with Assemble has been a genuinely collaborative experience. The Assemble Events team took the time to understand our objectives, our alumni community and the experience we wanted to create. They brought creativity and fresh thinking to the process, while remaining practical, responsive and focused on delivery. Their support helped us develop an event that felt distinctive, welcoming and right for the University of London and our graduates.”

Andrew Williams Head of Alumni Engagement, Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, University of London

“Working with Assemble Events, and Nikki specifically, not only provided the practical advice and logistical support that we needed during a busy time, but it was a pleasure to work with them. Communication was clear and the whole process was driven with energy and positivity. Ultimately, we had confidence in a well-planned trip, which ran very smoothly. Thank you!”

Caroline Wallard Development Director & Fellow, St John’s College Oxford

“Working with Assemble on the launch of UCL’s Here, it will happen campaign was a genuinely exciting experience. We had an ambitious creative vision and a complex programme to deliver, and the team brought the imagination, expertise and energy to help us realise it.

Throughout the process, Assemble combined brilliant creative thinking with impressive attention to detail, helping us translate our ambitions into engaging and memorable experiences. They challenged us constructively, worked incredibly closely with our teams and really understood what we were trying to achieve.

The result was a series of high-quality experiences that captured the spirit of UCL and created a real sense of excitement and connection among our alumni and supporters. We’re hugely proud of what we achieved together.”

Emma Hallett Executive Director of Alumni & Donor Engagement, Office of the Vice-President (Advancement), UCL

“I had the pleasure of partnering with Assemble Events to deliver my university’s presence at a large international sustainability conference in Thailand. Assemble supported my project team by providing specialist event support and project management that allowed our team, operating across divisions and global campuses, to deliver a top-quality series of events engaging key cross-sector stakeholders.

Assemble brought both experience in overseas events management and a valuable network of international contacts that helped make a complex project run smoothly. Assemble helped us find excellent venues for in-person events, negotiate contracts with overseas vendors, manage online registration processes for public events, interface with conference organisers, and publish a sleek final report showcasing how the project met its KPIs.

The team was brilliant to work with, demonstrated consistent professionalism and kindness, anticipated potential obstacles before they arose, and calmly addressed and overcame challenges when they did arise. They were a delight to work with on all fronts.”

John Coggin Head of Research Advocacy, University of Nottingham

“The University of London has worked with Assemble Events and Emma over the past four years on a range of events, and Emma and the team have been fantastic to work with throughout.

Initially Emma and the team ran our graduations and associated events, working alongside a small team to deliver our graduation ceremonies as we recovered from the pandemic. This involved everything from strategic advice and planning through to the details and operational delivery of the ceremonies on the day – always with a smile, good humour and exceptional attention to detail to ensure the best experience for both our internal clients and our guests.

And Emma was then a trusted advisor as we developed our own internal events team, moving us from Assemble Events’ commissioned services to setting up our own in-house team, which is now flourishing. This involved guidance on the scope and help with interviews, and meant the new team had guidance and support throughout.

The service is fantastic, always customer focused, and I’d highly recommend Emma and the team to anyone who wants first class strategic advice and operational support to make their events shine.”

David Ferguson Deputy Director, Communications & Events, Strategic Communications & Marketing (SCM), University of London

Ready to begin?

Let’s create something extraordinary.

Tell us about your event and we’ll be in touch: