Degrees, Debt And Disruption - The Future Of Higher Education In The AI Age

During this session, we will be questioning the role of undergraduate study in the age of AI and whether it is still worth getting a degree? The value of a higher education degree has increasingly been under the spotlight since undergraduate tuition fees were first introduced in 1998 and particularly since they were trebled in 2006 and again in 2013. Throughout this time participation in higher education has increased, such that around one in two young people now go to university by age 25, and the Government estimate than just under one-third of the costs in tuition fee and maintenance loans will be picked up by the taxpayer. With the educational and labour market disruption caused by the rapid expansion of AI, and increasing disquiet over mounting student debt, we will be asking who will pay for higher education in the future? What is the role of undergraduate study in the age of AI? And is it still worth getting a degree? Panellists: • Chair: Chris Smyth (Financial Times) • Gill Wyness (UCL / LSE) • Glen O'Hara (Oxford Brookes University) • Debbie McVitty (Wonkhe) • Sarah Bevan (Universities UK) - Gill Wyness is a Professor of Economics, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) at the University College London Institute of Education. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. Gill's main research area is the economics of higher education, with a particular focus on inequalities in university participation and attainment, and the drivers of it – including higher education finance, information advice and guidance, and school factors. Glen O'Hara is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes University. His research examines British central governments' economic and social policies, focusing especially on the period since the First World War and he has written and edited a number of books on this subject. Glen's most recent book, published in February 2026, is New Labour, New Britain? How the Blair Governments Reshaped the Country. Dr Debbie McVitty is Editor of Wonkhe, where she curates Wonkhe's output of higher education news, commentary and analysis across multiple platforms. Debbie is a former chief of staff at Universities UK, director of policy at the University of Bedfordshire, and head of policy at the National Union of Students, and is a founding member of Wonkhe’s editorial group. Debbie is interested in the social impact of HE, learning, teaching and curriculum, and change and innovation in higher education. - Tickets are now available via Eventbrite. Discounts are available for groups (10+ people) and school bookings - get in touch here. Artwork by Alys Jones Illustration.