Available to Advance HE Members only
In a time of rapid transformation and global complexity, higher education leaders face unprecedented challenges - from AI transformation and financial pressures to navigating political contexts and building resilient, inclusive institutions.
Executives at the Leading Edge is an exclusive series of monthly two-hour online events designed for Executive Leaders in higher education. Each session features provocative keynote inputs from global thought leaders on themes that matter most across resilient leadership, institutional transformation, navigating political contexts, AI-enabled change, and leading on contested topics.
Co-created with senior university leaders and scheduled for international participation, these curated conversations move beyond talk to deliver purpose-driven and actionable insights that support your institutional priorities through diverse perspectives.
The sessions will offer a rare opportunity to connect with peers across continents, share insight, and explore solutions to shared challenges.
The request to participate form is now open. Apply early to increase your chance at securing a space.
Are you interested?
The request to participate form is now open for Executives at the Leading Edge.
Why join?
Global Peer Network
Connect with Vice-Chancellors, Principals, and Executive Leaders from around the world who share your challenges and ambitions.
Actionable Insights
Move beyond generic conferences to curated conversations designed to deepen understanding, surface new perspectives, and translate insight into action
International Perspectives
Gain fresh viewpoints on wicked problems through approaches rooted in inclusion and shared responsibility across borders.
What Makes This Different
- Co-created with senior leaders: Each session is designed in partnership with university executives to ensure relevance to your institutional priorities.
- Beyond surface-level discussion: These curated conversations provoke thinking and move toward meaning-making and actionable insight.
- Adaptive approach to wicked problems: Tackle complex challenges that don't have simple solutions through inclusive, boundary-spanning dialogue.
- Strategic reflection and peer learning: Create space for new thinking and leadership styles with the right people and the right provocations.
- Efficient time investment: Just two hours monthly to gain renewed understanding of global issues and how to tackle them.
Who is Executives at the Leading Edge for?
Executives at the Leading Edge is designed exclusively for senior leaders who shape the strategic direction of higher education institutions worldwide.
- Vice-Chancellors
- Principals
- Provosts
- Chief Executives
- Deputy Vice-Chancellors
- Pro Vice-Chancellors
- Executive Directors (Academic, Research and Professional Services)
- Chief Operating Officers
- Chief Information Officers
- Deans
Global Participation Welcome - Sessions are scheduled to accommodate time zones worldwide, bringing together leaders from across continents to share insights and explore solutions to shared challenges.
Executives at the Leading Edge gives participants access to a trusted peer community where they can engage with global thought leaders on the questions that keep them up at night - from AI transformation and political pressures to building resilient, inclusive institutions.
These aren't generic conferences; they're curated conversations co-created with senior leaders that move beyond discussion to actionable insight.
You will gain international perspectives that help you see key sector challenges from a different angle and make better decisions for your institution's future.Fiona Lennoxsmith – Head of Leadership, Governance and Management – Advance HE
Thought-provoking sessions
Each monthly two-hour session features provocative keynote inputs from global thought leaders, co-created with senior university leaders to address the challenges that matter most.
The request to participate form is now open. Apply early to increase your chance at securing a space.
Navigating a Political Context
8 May 2026, 08:00-10:00 BST
Political forces are increasingly shaping higher education - from funding debates and regulatory change to shifting ideologies and global tensions. Institutions now operate in environments marked by volatility, competing agendas and intense public scrutiny. Effective leadership requires not only authority but the ability to influence across systems with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
This session explores:
- How leaders navigate political complexity while upholding institutional mission and values
- What it means to lead through polarisation, policy uncertainty and multi‑level governance
- How institutions build strategic capacity to engage, adapt and lead in politically charged environments
This is an opportunity to engage with complexity, share leadership experiences and explore actionable strategies for navigating political terrain with integrity and purpose.
Chair:
Professor Braden Hill, Edith Cowan University
Co-Chair:
Sarah Hubbard, Senior Consultant in Senior Leadership and Strategic Transformation, Advance HE
Contributors:
Angela Hill, Solomon Islands
Professor Hans de Wit, Boston College, USA
Professor Victoria Lindsey - British University of Iraq
AI‑Enabled Transformation
9 June 2026, 08:00-10:00 BST
AI forces us to ask the question of what universities are for. AI is reshaping the core functions of higher education - from research and teaching to operations and institutional strategy. Its impact is never neutral: AI reinforces existing patterns, whether they are strengths such as innovation and agility, or challenges such as inequity and fragmentation. In this context, institutions must lead with clarity, responsibility and a deep understanding of the systems they are shaping.
This session explores:
- How institutions are approaching AI as a strategic enabler in ethical, inclusive and future‑focused ways
- What it means to lead transformation that balances innovation with integrity and experimentation with trust
- How institutions are building cultural, structural and relational capacity for AI‑driven change
- Where collaboration across institutions can drive sector‑wide impact and influence policy and investment
This is an opportunity to deepen collective understanding, interrogate strategic choices, and shape responsible and impactful pathways for AI‑enabled transformation.
Chair:
Professor Michael Rovatsos, University of Edinburgh
Co-Chair:
Sarah Hubbard, Senior Consultant in Senior Leadership and Strategic Transformation, Advance HE
Contributors:
Professor Danny Lui, Sydney University
Professor Kate O'Riodran, University of Sussex
Eva Applebaum, Gate One Consulting
Leading Systemic Change for Inclusive Learning
8 July 2026, 08:00-10:00 BST
Across the sector, excellent and inclusive learning and teaching already exist - yet too often they remain isolated pockets rather than embedded institutional practice. As expectations rise and scrutiny increases, institutions must move beyond celebrating good practice to creating the conditions where it becomes consistent, systemic and trusted by all students.
This session explores:
- How senior leaders build the accountability, structures and support needed to move from isolated innovation to institution‑wide consistency
- What it means to align policy, culture and day‑to‑day academic realities so inclusive, high‑quality teaching becomes the norm
- How leaders can use their levers of influence to embed habits, shift culture and ensure students experience equitable learning wherever they study
This is an opportunity to engage with sector‑wide challenges, share leadership experiences and explore actionable strategies for creating environments where inclusive, high‑quality learning and teaching can flourish at scale.
Chair:
Dr Elliott Spaeth, Senior Consultant in Inclusive Education, Advance HE
Leading institutions as resilient systems
Took place on 4 March
Higher education institutions are facing converging pressures - from climate disruption and geopolitical volatility to rapid technological change and tightening finances. Building resilience now requires more than operational continuity; it calls for strategic evolution. Institutions must move beyond reactive decision‑making toward generative approaches that balance mission, values and long‑term viability.
This session explores:
- How institutions worldwide are designing strategies for human‑centred, sustainable and financially responsible transformation
- What it means to lead through uncertainty while maintaining coherence, purpose and solvency
- How to build systems that are robust, values‑driven, adaptable and capable of renewal
This is an opportunity to reflect on shared challenges, build strategic clarity and strengthen leadership practices that support resilient, values-led transformation.
Chair:
Professor Yusra Mouzughi, University of Birmingham Dubai
Co-Chair:
Sarah Hubbard, Senior Consultant in Senior Leadership and Strategic Transformation, Advance HE
Contributors:
Georgina Randsley de Moura, University of Kent
Ahmad S. Dallal, The American University in Cairo
Joan Lurie, Orgonomics
Transforming Institutions Through Inclusive Leadership
16 April 2026, 08:00-10:00 BST
This event is now fully booked.
Inclusive leadership is increasingly recognised as a catalyst for meaningful institutional transformation. When leaders create cultures where belonging, representation and diverse perspectives are embedded into decision‑making, institutions become more adaptive, innovative and aligned with their missions and communities.
The session will invite leaders to consider:
- What it means to lead inclusively at the executive level
- How leaders sponsor and commission transformation that centres belonging
- The risks, responsibilities and rewards of stewarding inclusive change
The session will conclude with reflections on the commitments, mindsets, and partnerships that can embed inclusive leadership at the heart of institutional transformation.
Chair:
Dr. Orla Flyn, Atlantic Technological University (ATU)
Co-Chair:
Baljit Birring, Senior Consultant, Inclusive Leadership, Advance HE
Contributors:
Kendi Guantai, Lancaster University
Steve Olivier, Robert Gordon University Aberdeen
Shaun Ewen, Griffith University
Chairs
Adjunct Professor Angela Hill
Adjunct Professor, James Cook University and Solomon Islands National University.
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