ELP Gathers Higher Education Leaders in Tokyo
In November 2024, the IAU marked a significant milestone in its Executive Leadership Programme (ELP) by celebrating the graduation of the 2023–2024 cohort and welcoming the launch of the 2024–2025 edition. The event, hosted at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, convened senior higher education leaders from around the world for several days of intensive learning, collaboration, and forward-looking dialogue.
The gathering symbolised both a culmination and a fresh beginning. After a year of dynamic learning and peer exchange, the 2023–2024 cohort presented their capstone projects—concrete initiatives reflecting their growth as leaders and their commitment to advancing institutional resilience and innovation in their universities.
Highlighting Capstone Projects
The capstone projects showcased a range of strategic priorities and innovations that participants developed to address key challenges facing their institutions. Among the topics presented upon were:
Strengthening Academic Offerings: A comprehensive proposal to enhance academic programmes by identifying opportunities for growth and ensuring stability, while carefully aligning and streamlining overlapping initiatives to maximize impact.
Institutional Viability Through Transparency: A strategic initiative designed to implement a fully transparent decision-making process involving broad university participation, aimed at negotiating and securing a pact that aligns stakeholders across all levels.
Revising Institutional Structures: An ambitious effort to modernize university governance by revising the organizational chart (“organigramma”) and functional chart (“funzionagramma”), thereby improving operational efficiency and clarifying roles and responsibilities.
Risk Management Frameworks: The development and implementation of robust risk management strategies, including detailed risk treatment plans to safeguard institutional assets and ensure preparedness for emerging challenges.
These projects illustrate the calibre of leadership nurtured by the ELP—leaders equipped not only with vision but with practical tools and strategies to enact meaningful change within their institutions.
Launching the 2024–2025 Cohort
While one cohort concluded their transformative journey, the 2024–2025 group embarked on theirs with a series of three intensive modules at Sophia University, designed to prepare participants for the evolving demands of university leadership.
Module 1: The Changing Mission of Universities
Led by Dr. Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University (Canada), this module sparked critical reflections on universities’ evolving roles in society and how leaders can guide their institutions through periods of change with ethical and inclusive approaches.
Module 2: Charting a Sustainable Future for Higher Education
Facilitated by Dr. Teri Balser, Immediate Past Provost and Vice President of the University of Calgary, participants delved into the interconnected dimensions of environmental, social, and financial sustainability, debating how these factors should inform leadership strategies and institutional policies.
Module 3: Building Partnerships Across the Global Higher Education Landscape
With insights from Professor Tawana Kupe, Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, participants explored the importance of forging transformative, value-based partnerships that promote equity, resilience, and global engagement.
Throughout their time in Tokyo, the cohort engaged in rich discussions, peer networking, and cultural exchange, setting the foundation for continued collaboration through virtual modules and group activities over the year ahead.
Looking Forward: Building Globally Engaged, Value-Driven University Leaders
The IAU Executive Leadership Programme remains a flagship initiative in building leadership capacity that responds to the complexities of contemporary higher education. By empowering leaders to develop practical solutions grounded in ethical stewardship and global responsibility, the ELP contributes to strengthening universities as engines of sustainable development worldwide.
The Tokyo gathering was a powerful reminder of the importance of shared learning, visionary leadership, and strategic action in shaping the future of higher education—one institution, one leader, and one project at a time.
