Summer Schools 2025 draft programme published

The Digital Health Summer Schools 2025 programme has been published in draft.

Summer Schools is a residential two-day education and networking event for current and aspiring digital health leaders, taking place on 17-18 July 2025 at the University of Warwick.

The event opens with a keynote from Jonathan Brotherton, chief executive at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), who will share lessons learned from scaling the trust’s homegrown electronic patient record (EPR) with colleagues Colonel Mark Foster, chief clinical information officer (CCIO), and Prof Tanya Pankhurst, deputy chief medical officer for governance.

UHB colleagues Deborah McKee, head of digital healthcare and clinical systems delivery and Steve Ryan, deputy head of digital healthcare and clinical systems delivery, will join forces with Dr Penny Kechagioglou, CCIO at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire to compare the trusts’ paths to EPR implementation and beyond.

Kicking off day two is Prof Andy Hardy, chief executive of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, who will share his experience of leading digital transformation.

Ming Tang, interim chief digital and information officer at NHS England, and Helen Balsdon, national chief nursing information officer (CNIO), will discuss the health service’s tilt to digital in dedicated plenary sessions.

Integrated Care Board (ICB) and acute digital leaders will convene for a panel discussion on what shifting care to the community will look like in practice.

Already confirmed are John Mitchell, associate director of digital at NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB and Abigail Harrison, chief digital and infrastructure officer at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT.

Two members of the NHS 10 year health plan working groups will take part in a session on leadership in a changing system.

David Walliker, chief digital and information officer (CDIO) at Manchester University NHS FT and Hayley Grafton, CNIO at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and the CNIO Advisory Panel chair will provide an insider perspective on contributing to the plan and discuss what is next for digital health leaders facing national strategic change.

Later on day one, the Network Spotlight sessions focus on the development of digital leadership roles, delivered by high-profile NHS leaders. 

Beverley Bryant, chief digital officer across three Dorset NHS trusts, will take part in a day two plenary covering her experience of leading digital at a national level, her work on Dorset’s strategic EHR programme and how she is supporting the next generation of digital leaders in the county.

Dr Jessica Morley, a former tech advisor for the UK government who has contributed to the development of policies and frameworks for the ethical use of data-driven technologies, will cut through the AI hype in her day one keynote exploring how AI can be used to support NHS values.  

Morley partners with Dr Joe Zhang, an NHS doctor, former data scientist and published researcher, to deliver what is expected to be a popular workshop on making AI work in practice: the practicalities, pitfalls, and ethical considerations.

Also, Dr Simon Wallace, chief medical information officer and director of business strategy for Microsoft UK and Ireland, will discuss AI copilots within the NHS.

Day one breakout sessions will be hosted by Networks sponsors Alcidion, AWS, Altera, Bridgehead, CereCore, Dell Technologies + AMD, Imprivata, Intersystems, Microsoft and Salesforce. 

Attendees will take away practical guidance across topics such as EPR deployments, writing convincing business cases, the role of EPRs in the NHS 10 year health plan, AI hackathon, cyber security lessons learnt, leveraging data from legacy apps, paper and images.  

On day two attendees can take part in hands-on workshops learning from industry experts and education providers, including:

• Bridging the gap: applying innovation frameworks in real-world contexts – Imperial College London
• Decision-making under uncertainty: using Lego to link leadership to economics – Imperial College London
• Essential business skills for digital health leaders – Chris Fleming, partner, Public Digital
• Approaches to procurement under scrutiny
• Building a collaborative community for standards development – Sparked UK
• Cyber security from a national perspective – Mike Fell, executive director of national cyber security operations, NHSE

The evening of 17 July will see attendees celebrate the achievements of outstanding leaders and rising stars at the Digital Health Awards.

After a networking dinner, the new CCIO, CIO, CNIO, CSO and Future Leader of the Year will be revealed in the presence of their peers.

Summer Schools concludes with a plenary panel ‘Where next for digital health?’ in which key speakers will discuss plans for the single patient record, the NHS 10 year health plan and spending review, and have the opportunity to quiz NHS leaders and industry experts.

Summer Schools is exclusively for members of the Digital Health Networks and will be CPD accredited by The Federation of Informatics Professionals.

Why not bring your aspiring digital leaders for the two-day residential education retreat for invaluable learning and networking with senior NHS IT leaders? 20% group discounts are available.

Spaces are limited. Prices start from £385 +VAT. Secure your place today and register here.