By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Graeme Atherton says equitable access to higher education for all is seemingly a global priority but unless we start to see global leadership on this, it will become an empty aspiration rather than a genuine goal. Deren Temel contends that Africa cannot wait until 2030 for the next set of global goals to tackle the need for quality higher education, and suggests the sector partners with basic education to achieve its goals and focuses on improving teacher training.
And Ranjit Goswami suggests that minimum standards in higher education need to be adjusted periodically at a time of massive expansion to accommodate higher education for all.
In World Blog this week, Margaret Andrews says a strategy to position your academic programmes in an increasingly competitive world should begin with a series of questions about foundations, current positioning and the competitive landscape.
In our series on ‘Transformative Leadership’ in which University World News is partnering with The MasterCard Foundation, Marcelo Knobel and Renato H L Pedrosa reflect on the transformative leadership that brought Brazil’s University of Campinas within 50 years to its leading position in the region today, and how it might increase its future impact.
In Features, Jan Petter Myklebust writes that the negative assessment of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology by the European Court of Auditors is the latest in a series of blows to beset the institution. And Esther Nakkazi unpacks a call by Harvard’s renowned scholar Calestous Juma for Africa to create ‘innovation universities’ that include commercialisation at their core if the continent is to achieve economic transformation and inclusive growth.
Lastly, a reminder to readers that University World News will be holding a webinar on emerging issues in transnational education on 24 May. You can register here. Read more...
Appreciative Leadership: Supporting Education Innovation
Appreciative Leadership is unique among leadership theories both past and present. This uniqueness includes its strength-based practice, search for the positive in people and organizations, and the role this plays in organizational innovation and transformation. More...
Leading and Managing Research
This subject provides an overview of key elements of research leadership and management in an institutional setting, to provide participants with knowledge and insights in areas such as:
- public policy settings and funding frameworks for research institutions
- commercial, community and philanthropic engagement (clients, partners, sponsors)
- institutional policies and strategies (internal systems to support research programs and research training, resourcing, ethics and reporting, publications, intellectual property)
- managing researchers and research projects (making plans, setting priorities and managing the needs and expectations of different stakeholders). More...
Sustainable Tertiary Education Leadership and Governance
This subject provides an overview of the elements supporting the promotion of sustainable leadership and governance practices in tertiary education. It will provide participants with knowledge and insights in these areas:
- History of tertiary education sector’s engagement with sustainability development
- Roles and responsibilities for leadership by governing bodies and executive officers
- Accounting for sustainability
- Tertiary institutions as drivers for the promotion of sustainable citizenship
- Case studies and exemplars of sustainable practices in tertiary education. More...
Sailing together or sinking in rough seas: leadership development in higher education
By H. Davis, S. Jones, R. Bolden and P. Gentle. Following on from Alison Johns’ recent Guardian post, Five ways to improve leadership in universities, we look to ways to develop leadership capacity for the many who contribute towards leadership in higher education. Johns asserts that university leaders would do well to consider a focus on creating development opportunities, proactively improving diversity, addressing work-life balance, attracting leaders with outside experience, and analysing the motivations of potential leaders. More...
Mindful Speech: Required for #HigherEd Leaders
Following the Leads in Higher Ed
True in Both Directions
By Matt Reed. I wasn't surprised to read that a majority of college presidents say that people from outside of higher education are less likely to be successful at leading colleges. Flip the question around and nobody would argue. Would a lifetime academic be likely to be better at running a Fortune 500 company than someone from within the industry. More...
Repurposing Your Scholarly Skills
By Elizabeth H. Simmons. Nervous about a new leadership role? Review your scholarly skill set and prepare to apply it in a fresh context, says Elizabeth H. Simmons. Read more...
Choosing to Lead
By Judith S. White. On each campus, we often consider a small group of people leaders, but leadership is a collective activity that requires creativity and initiative at every level of institutional work, writes Judith S. White. Read more...