The University Leadership and Management Training (UNILEAD) programme is aimed at university managers from emerging and developing countries. Applications for the next round in 2024 are now open and can be submitted until 11 October.
So far, young leaders from more than 50 different countries have taken part - from A for Argentina to Z for Zimbabwe. They come from Africa and the Middle East, Central and Latin America and South East Asia. Around 500 participants have already completed the programme.
The C3L - Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Oldenburg has been offering the English-language further education programme in co-operation with the German Academic Exchange Service since 2021. The programme has been running since 2008 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The young managers receive further training in areas such as project management, strategic management, leadership and human resources management. They can use this expertise to implement innovative projects at their universities.
A large part of the nine-month training programme takes place online. The participants also meet twice on site in Oldenburg - primarily to work on specific projects. "We want to support the participants in designing their projects so that they can implement them later," explains programme coordinator Christine Vajna. In many cases, participation in the programme is associated with a career boost.
A group of 25 young university managers from 15 countries are taking part in the current round of the programme. The participants met in person for the first time in February and March. Among them is Mac Thi Dieu Trang, project coordinator at the University of Economics and Law in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her university wants to operate more independently in the future and initiate digital transformations to achieve this. Dieu Trang is involved in drawing up a corresponding roadmap. "What I learn at UNILEAD helps me to recognise my own strengths and use them sensibly," she says.
Pierre Atallah is also one of the participants. The student secretary at the American University of Science and Technology in Beirut, Lebanon, wants to develop a programme that improves academic success. He explains that the training shows him ways in which he can convince the university administration to tackle the project. Atallah and Dieu Trang both emphasise that the exchange with the other participants and the mutual support are particularly valuable.
Further information can be found on the English-language website of the UNILEAD programme