The launch of a new strategy for the association is a chance to look at the work we have been doing and to shake it up fresh for the coming period through to 2031. The strategy has been produced with input from members throughout, and via an extensive programme of interaction with stakeholders over ten months, and we are pleased to share it with you today confident in our belief that it is a realistic response to those many preparatory conversations. In support of this we have also produced a statement ‘AUDE: Who we are’ which backs up the strategy by reminding us not only what we want to do, but the way in which we want to do it
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Self-evidently universities are going at different speeds in their adoption of digital technologies to support estates decision-making. We can all only travel at the speed resources allow, and this is understood. But as we look ahead to an estates and facilities future that is ever more enabled by digital technologies, including AI, we now have colleagues that are a step or two further down the road that we can learn from.
We are very grateful to all that have contributed to this new publication. The theme is a large one, and it gets ever more important. The headline of our climate position is relatively simple to understand. The UK should expect warmer but wetter winters, and warmer but drier summers - a cycle of floods and droughts. The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 asked governments to commit to actions which would keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The current trajectory is a rise of 2.7 degrees, with worst case scenarios of around 4 degrees. This isn’t theoretical, it is happening now.
The Higher Education Estates Management Report 2024 (EMR) is now available, and at a point where university finances have become headline news. As always the report creates benchmarking opportunities for university estates teams, and helps them understand long-term trends on estates income and expenditure. As every institution closely examines its financial position we can see clear and unhelpful trends in the overall operating costs of the estate, driven by energy and insurance price rises; an overall rise in estates income eaten away by inflation; a small, slow but steady erosion of the condition of the estate as maintenance budgets are squeezed; and capital spend not yet recovered to anything like its pre-pandemic level.
Increasingly the association is interested in the ways in which inclusive design can make our buildings and campuses better working and living environments for the widest possible range of people. Serving the needs of neurodiverse members of our university communities is a key part of inclusive design – our new guide will quickly get you beyond ‘beginner status’ on this theme.
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Offering estates directors in higher education a clear and practical understanding of the legal landscape surrounding sex and gender rights.
This session will unveil the refreshed AUDE Self-Assessment Toolkit (AUDESAT)—a transformative resource developed in partnership between the AUDE Professional Development Group and Provelio.
SAUDE Regional Meeting
Date: 23 and 24 October 2025
Timings: 23 October: Visit to the Vattenfall/Midlothian Energy district heating plant at 15:00 followed by evening dinner at 19:00
24 October: SAUDE Meeting from 9:00 – 15:00.
Venue: Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Cost: The event is free. Overnight accommodation is £100 (incl. VAT) per person and evening dinner is £40 (incl. VAT) per person.
If you have any queries, please email info@aude.ac.uk
AUDE has re-launched their existing Sustainability Leadership Scorecard (SLS), with a new look and feel and easier access. It is a free, online and available to all AUDE and EAUC members.
Is your institution planning a new build or refurbishment capital project?
The AUDE Capital Cost Database is an online repository of cost data from completed capital projects of all types and sizes from across the higher education sector.
The Higher Education Estates Management Report 2024 (EMR) is now available, and at a point where university finances have become headline news. As always the report creates benchmarking opportunities for university estates teams, and helps them understand long-term trends on estates income and expenditure.
AUDE are pleased to be partnered with the following businesses:
Over 30 years of experience across over 200 Higher and Further Education Institutions.
Multidisciplinary engineering practice Buro Happold works across sectors and scales to deliver sustainable projects and strategies for our clients, with a portfolio including over 100 Universities.
EQUANS improves lives through better living and working environments. We help to balance performance with responsibility, enabling progress in a harmonious way.
LitmusFM provides facilities management consultancy and asset management services to University settings across the UK. We aim to reduce waste and inefficiency in service design, construction, asset management protocols and maintenance and replacement processes, saving money and delivering real value.
Maris Education is a division of Maris Interiors LLP and specialises in providing fast-track, design, fit-out and refurbishment solutions for universities.
Provelio are leading experts in the management, delivery and digitisation of estates, programmes and projects across the property and construction sectors. We specialise in estates management thinking; and seek to do work that integrates space, energy, projects and operations.
Savills is one of the world’s leading multi-sector global property advisers, with an international network of over 600 offices and more than 39,000 professionals across 70 countries.
Sheppard Robson is one of the most established architecture, interior design and masterplanning practices in the UK, with a long track record across the higher education sector.
With over 30 years FF&E experience Southerns Broadstock Interiors offer a consultative approach to ensure we deliver a solution which is tailored to your furniture needs.
