As one of the largest and fastest growing educational establishments in the world, Islamic Azad University (IR) offers a prime example of what is often called ‘globalisation’: the increasing interconnectedness of nations and the institutions that serve those nations. In this situation, the role of the Vice Chancellor as the builder and shaper of university strategy is central.

Azad University in Oxford ran this second Short Course on Leadership in Higher Education with a view to examining the traditional forms of leadership, management and governance in university development and policy making. The higher education system in the UK is the starting point for this study and participants brought their own international experience to bear in the workshops and followed up discussions.

Azad University in Oxford are proud to continue the collaboration with Oxford University, which we established for the Short Course of July 2009. This year we structured the course in a similar way, giving our participants the opportunity to spend two days at Christ Church, one of Oxford’s oldest colleges, where the sessions were delivered by Alan Hudson and his team from Oxford University’s Department of Continuing Education.

 Azad University in Oxford is also honored this year to have the participation of two distinguished colleagues from City University, London: Professor Julius Weinberg, the Acting Vice Chancellor and Professor Constantine Arcoumanis, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and International and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. They delivered the main session for the final day in Oxford on Research in Higher Education and Funding Methods.

Participants took advantage of the opportunity to look around the colleges and observe the particular way that Oxford academic life is structured. They also had the privilege of being formally introduced to the Bodleian Library by the Admissions Officer, Helen Wilton Godberfforde.

This course was specifically designed to give the participants the opportunity to spend the second part at Kingston University London. Professor Sir Peter Scott, Vice Chancellor of Kingston was host the welcoming session at Kingston, along with his esteemed colleagues Professor Martyn Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dr. Peter Mason, Dean of the Engineering Faculty. On the final day of the course Professor Robin Middlehurst brought our series of discussions full circle with her session on The Meaning of Leadership in UK Higher Education Continuity and Change. Participants had a chance to tour the facilities and got a view of UK university life in a metropolitan setting. They were also able to meet and discuss questions with some of the most highly accomplished people in the field of UK Higher Education