Having effective heads of department and heads of academic sections is vital for all higher education providers, yet the opportunities for the professional development of this group of academic staff remain limited.
The Academic Leadership Programme (ALP) is designed to support these colleagues; the next generation of academic leaders. It is only available to be commissioned by an institution or a group of institutions. The emphasis of the programme is on future leadership rather than leaders, reinforcing Advance HE’s belief that leadership can be demonstrated at any level and is value-driven not hierarchical in nature.
The programme has had a global impact having been delivered with institutions in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Central Asia. We have a flexible model of delivery that can be tailored to your institution's requirements. The programme is available online, face-to-face or hybrid and includes synchronous and asynchronous elements.
Please note that this programme is only available for institutional purchase and is not run as an open programme for individuals.
Want to find out more?
If you would like further information about the programme complete the form by clicking below and we will send you an information sheet with more details.
The programme has been excellent. A particular strength has been the atmosphere in which it’s been delivered which has created a real sense of teamwork and sharing of experiences. The focus on influencing and leading change will really help me in how I approach day-to-day challenges and obstacles as well as how to approach more complex ones in the University."University of Bahrain participant
Our approach
The programme introduces participants to the most important dimensions of academic leadership and gives them time and space to think about ‘shifting gear’ from successfully thinking about their leadership role, to ensuring that their leadership outputs and outcomes are firmly embedded in a future practice that will help deliver the institution’s strategic objectives.
Our approach is to introduce ideas and techniques during the sessions to then encourage individuals to put these into practice on a trial basis in their own department. The programme can be delivered online or face-to-face. The content is a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous delivery - including live recordings and using approaches that model good practice.
Learning outcomes
Participants will explore the nature of academic leadership; different leadership models and how they might be applied to different academic situations and the importance of devolved and distributed leadership. As an integral part of this module participants will develop their influencing skills and how to work effectively with stakeholders – skills that will be developed further in subsequent modules.
Institutional benefits
Institutions that undertake an Academic Leadership Programme benefit through:
- participants being able to grow as leaders in their institutions in the key area of heading learning and teaching and transforming professional practice
- developing confident and effective academic heads and teaching and learning leaders who are able to cascade their learning to others in their departments.
Collaboration with University of Ljubljana
Staff at the University of Ljubljana have been undertaking Leadership Development Programmes, delivered by Advance HE. The university identified leadership development and capacity building as a key strategic priority for 2020 and engaged Advance HE to design and deliver a programme of CPD aimed at supporting academic staff to acquire and develop key leadership attributes.
The programme was designed to support colleagues at the university with the emphasis of the programme focused on future leadership, reinforcing Advance HE’s belief that leadership can be demonstrated at any level and is value-driven not hierarchical in nature. The programme was designed for those working in leadership positions across the institution, including Heads of Departments, Deans, Assistant Deans and Programme leaders.
