Universities throughout the world are increasingly competing for students and funding in a higher education market place as income from the state fails to keep pace with the demands that the knowledge society is making on higher education. This seminar considers ways in which university leaders and senior managers can ensure that their university enhances its performance and gains a competitive advantage to set in progress a virtuous circle of change.

It focuses on three components of change:

Changing the role and style of management. How are the advantages of a more executive style of management achieved in the context of institutions which are traditionally self-governing?

This module will be led by Professor John Garside, formerly Vice-Chancellor of University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). The pressures for a more executive style of management will be examined in the context of the role of government, funding agencies, universities as contributors to national economic well-being and student expectations. Countervailing pressures come from academics regarding academic freedom and employment practices and from academic trade unions. The role of the management team and heads of academic departments will be reviewed, along with training for academics in senior positions. The issues will be explored with the help of two or three case studies: a university merger, introduction of a new resource allocation scheme and establishing a branch campus.

The role of the ‘enterprising university’. How can enterprise be embedded in a university to form meaningful wealth creating and socially inclusive partnerships with industry, business, the civil and voluntary services and the community at large on the basis of the highest academic values?

This module, led by Professor James Powell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Salford University, will focus on developing, leading and managing an enterprising university. After a corporate overview, visits will be made to the Business Creation Unit in the University to discuss the role of science enterprise in its work and to the Centre for Virtual Environments to learn how visualisation can aid economic growth. The third case study will focus on community enterprise and socio-cultural research to illustrate that the humanities and social sciences have a role in the enterprising university. A discussion will examine the difference between Technology Transfer, Knowledge Exchange and Virtuous Knowledge Sharing, and the role of benchmarking to improve performance will be assessed.

The role of international partnerships in capacity building. Why do universities enter into them? How can they collaborate? What makes partnerships work and how are they best managed?

This final component of the programme will be led by Howard Tyers, Director of International Partnerships at the University of Westminster. In addition to the above, the module will consider such issues as staff development through partnerships, how to share best practices, how technology can help, the need to develop champions and teams, managing expectations, getting funding, overcoming cultural and economic disparities.

The seminar will be a forum for debate in which delegates will learn as much from peers’ experience as from UK experts. Adequate time will be given over to delegates’ contributions and discussion within plenary sessions. Some participants will be invited to submit short papers for consideration prior to final programme planning.

Who should attend this event
The event is designed for government ministers and politicians, senior civil servants, senior managers in national higher education agencies, university leaders and senior managers in higher education institutions interested in the management and governance of higher education at a strategic policy level; the seminar does not aim primarily to meet the professional development needs of leaders and senior managers in universities.