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.
Apply early to increase your chance of securing a space.
Why join?
Align your work with Connect with Vice-Chancellors, Principals and Executive Leaders from around the world who share your challenges and ambitions.
Move beyond generic conferences to curated conversations that deliver meaning-making and practical strategies you can implement.
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.
Thought-Provoking themes
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.
Session breakdown
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.
Facilitator:
Dr. Orla Flyn, University of Birmingham Dubai
Contributors:
Kendi Guantai, Lancaster University
Steve Olivier, Robert Gordon University Aberdeen
Shaun Ewen, Griffith University
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.
Facilitator:
Professor Braden Hill, Edith Cowan University
Contributors:
- Professor Hans de Wit, Boston College, USA
- Angela Hill, Adjunct Professor, James Cook University and Solomon Islands National University
- 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.
Facilitator:
Professor Miuchael Rovatsos, University of Edinburgh
Contributors:
- Professor Danny Lui, Sydney University
- Professor Kate O’Riodran, University of Sussex
Leading Systemic Change for Inclusive Learning
8 July 2026, 08:00-10:00 BST
More information coming soon.
Leading institutions as resilient systems
Took place on 4 March 2026
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
Contributors:
Georgina Randsley de Moura, University of Kent
Ahmad S. Dallal, The American University in Cairo
Joan Lurie, Orgonomics
Speakers
Professor Yusra Mouzughi
Provost, University of Birmingham Dubai
As the Provost of University of Birmingham Dubai, Professor Mouzughi leads the academic vision and strategy of the first global top 100 and UK Russell Group university to establish a campus in Dubai. With over 20 years of experience in the higher education sector she has a passion for providing quality and relevant education that meets the needs of the diverse and dynamic UAE and regional markets.
Professor Shaun Ewen
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education), Griffith University
Professor Shaun Ewen is Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education) at Griffith University, a role he commenced in 2022. He is a recognised leader in Indigenous health, institutional transformation, and inclusive education strategy.
Georgina Randsley de Moura
Acting Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Kent
Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura is the Acting Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Kent. A proud alumna of the university, she completed her studies with a BSc (Hons, 1999) and PhD (2004) both in Social Psychology, and an Executive MBA with distinction (2016).
Hans de Wit
Distinguished Fellow of the ‘Center for International Higher Education’ (CIHE) at Boston College, USA and Emeritus Professor of the Practice in International Higher Education, Boston College
From 2015-2020, Hans was full-time director of CIHE. He is IAU Senior Fellow by the International Association of Universities (IAU). He is a 2026 International Visiting Professor of the School of Management of Zhejiang University in China.
Professor Kendi Guantai
Dean for Culture and Inclusion, Lancaster University
Professor Kendi Guantai is a widely recognised scholar in Ubuntu-Informed community and organisational Leadership as well as Decolonial Praxis in Higher Education. As the Dean for Culture and Inclusion at Lancaster University, she provides strategic oversight for all Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) objectives, driving organisational accountability across staff and student initiatives.
Dr Orla Flynn
President, Atlantic Technological University
Dr Orla Flynn was appointed inaugural President of Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Ireland in April 2022, having served two years as President of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Prior to this Dr Flynn was Vice President for External Affairs at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) for six years, and previous academic leadership roles in CIT included Head of CIT Crawford College of Art & Design and Head of School of Humanities.
Professor Steve Olivier
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Robert Gordon University
Professor Steve Olivier is an experienced leader in the higher education sector, both in the UK and internationally. He has held leadership positions in Scottish, English and South African universities. In addition to his role as Principal and Vice-Chancellor at RGU, he is in his second term as Convenor of the Universities Scotland Learning and Teaching Committee.
Professor Braden Hill
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Edith Cowan University
Professor Braden Hill is a Nyungar (Wardandi) man from the south-west of Western Australia and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students, Equity and Indigenous). Professor Hill previously held the role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equity and Indigenous) and Head of Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research.
Adjunct Professor Angela Hill
Adjunct Professor, James Cook University and Solomon Islands National University
Throughout her career, Angela has focused on supporting communities that are underserved and excluded from higher education, advocating for institutional and curriculum reform. Angela is currently contributing to the Australian Academic Volunteers Abroad (AAVA) – a network that supports the aspirations of universities across the Indo – Pacific.
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.
Fiona Lennoxsmith – Head of Leadership, Governance and Management – Advance HE
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.
