Aims and Objectives
This residential week covers issues associated with trends in Government policy with a focus on the UK and also internationally. The week provides a chance to discuss the importance of internationalisation. Internationalisation cuts across all aspects of core business (teaching, learning, research, service and enterprise) as well as other functional areas (HR, finance, marketing, governance). Internationalisation is also a key part of other countries’ strategies for development (economic, social, political) and the UK is a key partner or competitor. Exploring specific leadership, governance and management issues – and discussing these with policy agencies and overseas’ HEIs – is both informative for the UK with regard to the country or region and ‘holds a mirror up’ to UK policies and tactics. For some HEIs, specific partnerships or other business development opportunities may arise out of a TMP visit.
The international week may be a London/mainland European location or a destination outside of Europe.
For the London and continental Europe visit. The group will spend 2.5 days in London and 2.5 days in a European destination of importance to the UK's strategic agenda. In London the group will visit UK Government departments as well as international policy agencies, and in the continental destination, we will have meetings and networking visits to universities and other relevant policy agencies that are key to the country and to our specific interests.
The objectives for the week are:
• To gain an enhanced appreciation of the key issues facing HEIs in continental Europe
• To understand the process of interacting, influencing and responding to government bodies and committees
• To discuss current issues with a number of departmental officials
• To explore the nature of strategic collaboration and partnership working in a different HE context
• Greater cultural awareness and sensitivity
For the outside Europe visit, the group will meet on the Sunday for dinner and will have a full weeks programme visiting various universities, government agencies and other relevant organisations key to the country focusing on the HE system.
The objectives for this week are:
• To understand the process of interacting, influencing and responding to bodies external to HE
• To gain a deeper understanding of the external dimensions of your leadership role
• To develop a response to the policy agenda to develop links between HEIs in the UK and other destination
• To discuss the strategic and operational issues associated with HE in the chosen destination
• Greater cultural awareness and sensitivity
Both styles of international visits aim to introduce (or update) UK senior leaders and managers to the economic and social strategies of another location (typically one of strategic importance to the UK); to highlight the role that international HEIs can and do play in meeting a country/ region’s strategic objectives; to draw attention to and derive lessons for UK HEI leadership and management – from particular features of a country/region’s strategy (eg. social transformation, economic development and links to business, institutional differentiation of mission, political lobbying, fund-raising etc); to investigate a set of challenges or issues of relevance to the UK that are already part of one country or region’s strategy (eg in the context of global recession), in specific cases.