They come from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America: 25 young university managers are currently taking part in the 15th class of the UNILEAD continuing professional development programme. It’s an experience that’s helping them progress not just in their careers.
Bad weather? After more than two weeks in Oldenburg, they’ve already got used to it, say Mac Thi Dieu Trang and Pierre Atallah with a laugh. The two are united not only by the sense of humour they’ve developed in dealing with the dreary North German weather. Rather, they are part of what they themselves describe as a ‘big family’: a group of 25 young university managers from 15 countries who have been taking part in the UNILEAD (University Leadership and Management Training Course) programme since the start of the year. In February and March, the participants met in person for the first time during a three-week residential phase.
Since 2018, the C3L – Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Oldenburg – has been offering this English-language continuing education programme, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). More than 500 emerging leaders from over 50 countries have completed the nine-month training programme since then.
The programme includes seminars and lectures on topics such as leadership, project management and staff development. A large part of the programme takes place online. The participants also meet in person in Oldenburg on two occasions – to consolidate what they have learnt, exchange ideas and, above all, to work on specific projects. “We want to support participants in developing their own projects and designing them in such a way that they can later implement them at their own universities,” explains programme coordinator Christine Vajna.
Recognising one’s own strengths
Mac Thi Dieu Trang, for example, is a project coordinator in the Department of Cooperation and Development at the University of Economics and Law in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her relatively new university will in future operate more independently than before and will be embarking on the necessary digital transformations in university management, course offerings and student services. Dieu Trang is involved in drawing up a roadmap to this end.
“What I’m learning at UNILEAD is helping me to recognise my own strengths and put them to good use,” she says. At the same time, she is gaining the tools to convey the right messages to the right people – for example, to forge new connections for her university or to secure funding from sources outside her own country for her project.
Conveying the right messages is also a priority for Pierre Atallah. At the American University of Science and Technology in Beirut, Lebanon, he is head of the Student Affairs Office. “Many students do not graduate or drop out of their studies,” he explains. His aim is to set up a programme that helps students find their feet and stay on track – thereby improving academic success.
Learning from one another
To make this a reality, he wants to train his team and, above all, needs resources – both in terms of staff and funding. The training shows him ways to present his proposals effectively to the university administration and convince them to get the project off the ground, he explains.
But it is also the exchange with the other participants and the mutual support that help them to develop a positive vision for the future, emphasise Dieu Trang and Atallah. Despite the significant cultural differences between everyone involved and the language barriers, they quickly grew together as a group – a family – during the three-week residential phase in Oldenburg. “A special bond has developed between us,” says Atallah. Dieu Trang also describes their time together in Oldenburg as a “wonderful experience”. “We learnt new things every day – not least from one another,” she says.
Even beyond the group and the actual programme content, Dieu Trang and Atallah were able to gain valuable experiences. The excellent organisation, the many helpful people and the punctual buses gave them a positive impression of Germany. However, despite all their enthusiasm for their host country and for Oldenburg – unlike the weather, neither of them could quite get used to the local food.
Further information is available at https://uol.de/unilead