Allan Bolton, General Manager of Leeds University Business School, writes in a report called Graduate trainee schemes in higher education in the University World News website on his views on the
challenge of preparing the future leaders of universities and the idea that they may take a leaf out of commercial and other public sector graduate recruiters – after all: aren’t universities keen on getting their graduates into these schemes elsewhere?
However, is it the answer to the challenge of academic leadership in higher education insitutions? In fact Bolton is talking largely about profressional support staff rather than academic staff. But it does raise the question of how we prepare for the academic leadership requirements of 21st Century universities? Are PhDs in fact graduate training for academic posts? Are there other models of leadership development and capacity building that focus on academic leadership? Is this an avenue of potential research collaboration?
Kenny
