About the event
Step into a day of insight and innovation at UBIQ’s exclusive Dubai workshop. Together with a panel of leading industry experts, you’ll explore how to navigate the shifting landscape of international independent education and leave equipped with strategies to stay ahead, closing with breathtaking views over Dubai’s skyline.
Our panel
With two more mystery guests to be announced, our panel is packed with thought leaders from the global independent education space.
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Miles Latham
Managing Director of Affixxius Miles is one of the most widely-experienced creative minds in the Global Education sector, combining a passion for storytelling with entrepreneurial drive. Since founding Affixxius Films, a UK top-20 commercial video agency, he has worked with over 500 schools worldwide, often acting as Executive Producer to ensure every project is distinctive and contextually grounded. With deep insight into British and international education, Miles turns the clichés of school marketing into original, impactful ideas. Outside work, he’s a devoted father, sports enthusiast, and avid cook and whisky collector. |
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Maddie Lingard
Head of Marketing at UBIQ A self-proclaimed serial intrapreneur, Maddie has quickly established herself as a bold voice in independent education marketing. With over four years’ experience spanning both B2B and client-side roles, she brings a rare blend of school-based insight and commercial expertise. Holding a Level 6 Diploma in Marketing—where her assignments centred on redefining school marketing through innovation—Maddie now leads UBIQ’s global marketing and events strategy. At UBIQ, she drives campaigns that challenge schools to push the boundaries of what’s possible within marketing and admissions, helping them connect more meaningfully with their audiences. Before joining UBIQ, Maddie transformed the communications and digital strategy of a leading UK independent school, setting new standards for how schools can stand out in a crowded market. A tech enthusiast with an eye for innovation, she continues to champion ideas and approaches that spark growth, engagement, and competitive advantage for schools worldwide. |
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Simon Jones
Founder of The Bonjour Agency Simon Jones is the founder of The Bonjour Agency, a Dubai-based media company helping international and independent schools tell their stories through photography, video, and podcasting. With over 15 years working with leading schools in the UK, UAE, Europe, and beyond, Simon has become a trusted partner for marketing and admissions teams seeking to engage parents, attract new students, and build lasting reputations. Beyond producing content, Simon is an advocate for making marketing simple, human, and scalable. A lifelong entrepreneur and early adopter of new technologies, Simon brings a practical, creative, and slightly disruptive perspective to how schools can stand out in the marketplace, not with bigger budgets, but with smarter ideas. |
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Daryll Middleton
Director of International Partnerships at UBIQ With over 15 years of experience working within the school marketing industry, Daryll has a wealth of experience in digital engagement and innovation within the independent education sector. He began his career at School Website before founding Teacheroo, the UK’s largest education job network, cementing his reputation for building platforms that transform how schools connect and communicate. Now Director of International Partnerships at UBIQ and having recently moved to Dubai, Daryll helps schools harness cutting-edge technology to deliver personalised digital experiences that strengthen enrolment and community engagement. |
event schedule
This one-day experience is designed to give you the tools, insights, and connections to respond to rising competition, evolving parent expectations, and digital-first admissions strategies. See the full timetable below.
8.00AM |
Breakfast and Registration |
8.45AM |
Welcome and Opening Remarks |
9.00AM |
The Current State of the Market |
9.30AM |
Coffee Break |
9.45AM |
UBIQ: Get Listed on AI What's next for search? Maddie will explore how AI search and LLM tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Deepseek are transforming how audiences seek information and make decisions. She’ll share a practical three-step framework to help schools appear at the top of search results across these platforms—so when prospective families search for “The Best School in Dubai,” your school is front and centre. |
10.30AM |
Guest Speaker: To Be Confirmed |
11.15AM |
Affixxius: The Theory and Practice of 'Standing Out' Miles will introduce a three-tiered approach to content production, showing how emotional engagement and rational persuasion work together to guide audiences along their journey. Packed with examples from both within and beyond the education sector, Miles’ session will also touch on the fundamentals of an effective distribution strategy, giving schools practical ideas to stand out in an increasingly competitive market. |
12.00PM |
Lunch Break |
1.00PM |
UBIQ: Leveraging Technology for High-Impact Personalisation Daryll will show how schools can harness cutting-edge technology to deliver truly personalised experiences for different audience personas. From dynamic content deployment to data-driven insights, he’ll share practical strategies that help schools engage, resonate, and convert by speaking directly to the priorities and motivations of each prospective family. |
1.45PM |
The Bonjour Agency: The End of School Marketing Photography? How AI is Redefining Storytelling and Reputation In five years, school photography won’t exist. Bold? Yes. But AI is already challenging how schools document, market, and protect their stories. In this talk, Simon will explore how tools from AI-generated visuals to automated video editing could replace many of the time-intensive, resource-heavy practices schools have relied on for decades. |
2.30PM |
Mystery Guest Speaker |
3.15PM |
Closing Remarks |
3.30PM - 6.30PM |
Drinks and Canapes |