Special edition magazine features thought leadership and practice focused insights from across Advance HE and its global community.
A special Advance HE edition of the UniNewsletter magazine has brought together global perspectives on how higher education is responding to rapid change, with contributions from Advance HE colleagues and members from institutions across the Middle East.
This special edition, Transforming Higher Education Together: Shared Challenges, Collective Solutions, explores leadership capability, organisational transformation, student success and the growing influence of AI on teaching, learning and institutional practice.
Contributors emphasise the importance of collaboration, evidence-based practice and values-driven leadership in supporting sustainable change across diverse regional and institutional contexts.
A shared conversation on sector change
The Advance HE special edition is introduced by Kristian Rumble, Head of Partnerships MENA at Advance HE, reflecting on a sector navigating increasing complexity alongside enduring commitments to quality, inclusion and enhancement.
He writes, “The articles assembled here speak to a sector navigating rapid transformation while holding firm to its enduring purpose. Across regions and institutions, colleagues are grappling with shifting expectations, evolving technologies and the increasing complexity of the higher education environment. Yet, as this collection shows, shared commitments bind the sector together: a commitment to quality, to inclusion, to leadership and to the continual enhancement of learning.
“Together, these contributions form a rich, interconnected conversation about the future of higher education. They ask fundamental questions about how universities adapt, whom they serve and how they uphold their values in a world of rapid change. They also demonstrate the collective strength of a sector committed to learning, reflection and purposeful progression.”
Contributions from across the sector
The Advance HE special edition of UniNewsletter magazine features thought leadership and practice focused insights from across Advance HE and its global community, including:
- Alistair Jarvis CBE, Chief Executive, Advance HE, reflecting on shared global pressures and the value of dialogue and mutual learning across higher education systems
- Fiona Lennoxsmith, Head of Leadership, Governance and Management, Advance HE, exploring how aligned and distributed leadership enables meaningful institutional transformation
- Stuart Norton PFHEA, Head of Educational Excellence, Advance HE, focusing on how structured, evidence-based frameworks support sustained student success
- Dr Faiza Zitouni PFHEA, Dean of Student Affairs, Liwa University, UAE, examining the role of women’s leadership development in building inclusive and resilient institutions
- Mostafa Youssef SFHEA, Senior Advisor for Academic, Learning and Development, The British University of Egypt, sharing insights on aligning institutional vision, professional standards and academic development
- Dr Mahinour Ezzat SFHEA, Founder of the Advance HE Gulf Fellowship Network and Director of Teaching and Learning at Ajman University, UAE, highlighting the impact of professional networks on teaching culture and identity
- Professor Mohammed Ahmed Hassanien SFHEA, Advisor to the Vice President for Educational Affairs and Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, exploring systemic approaches to AI ecosystems in higher education
- Michael Pazinas SFHEA, Acting Director of the Centre for Educational Innovation at Zayed University, UAE, examining the rhetoric and realities of AI driven educational change.
Read the Advance HE special edition
The Advance HE special edition of UniNewsletter magazine is available now and offers timely insight for senior leaders, academic developers, professional services colleagues and educators working across global higher education. Read Transforming Higher Education Together: Shared Challenges, Collective Solutions
