University leadership development: lessons from Ukraine

The article is a follow-up analysis of Ukraine Higher Education Leadership Development Programme that ran in Ukraine 2016 – 2019 and was a joint initiative of the British Council in Ukraine, United Kingdom Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, Institute of Higher Education of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine and Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The article is rooted in insights, observations and reflections of Programme implementers and participants, as well as incorporates conclusions of the impact report put forward by an external evaluator of the Programme. The authors of the article conclude that university leadership is important for precipitating change at an individual, institutional and sectoral levels in Ukraine’s higher education sector and that currently available resources and existing capacity in university leadership development within the sector are sufficient to sustain and advance university leadership development. The authors argue that shared leadership approach has proved its effectiveness during the Programme; they propose to further apply shared leadership as a means of responding to numerous challenges faced today by Ukraine’s higher education sector. In addition to review of lessons learnt from three phases of Programme implementation, the authors generate recommendations for advancement of university leadership at institutional and sectoral levels within Ukraine’s higher education, like: unfolding discourse on university leadership at institutional and sub-institutional, sectoral and national levels; mainstreaming university leadership into all HEI activities, including teaching and learning, research, governance and management, student self-government, international cooperation etc.; facilitating inter-university cooperation, knowledge exchange and sharing; involving students into university leadership discourse and practice; launching a campaign to promote establishment of a privately funded foundation or endowment on university leadership development.