THE leadership summit comes to Glasgow

Published: 23 November 2020

UofG is proud host of this prestigious event for the second time

Times Higher Education have announced that their Leadership & Management summit will take place in Glasgow from 25 to 27 October 2021. The summit, entitled “Recover, Reset, Rebuild. The road to recovery: Leading the transformation of higher education,” will look at the vital role universities will play in the wake of the pandemic, as our societies, economies and communities are rebuilt.

It will challenge current university leadership practices and explore

  • the future economic sustainability of higher education
  • how leaders and their management structures can rebuild for future success
  • civic leadership and the role of universities in international diplomacy
  • reputation and the rise of internationalisation of higher education
  • universities and sustainable communities: leading the green agenda
  • digital leadership and the transformation of online education
  • leading a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Rachel Sandison, Vice Principal, External Relations, is keen to show that the resilience of our University community during the pandemic means we are in an ideal position to host next autumn: "This will be the second time we have hosted a Times Higher Education Summit,” she says, “and I am delighted that we will provide a home for such a critical thought-leadership event in our sector. We have experienced one of our most challenging years, but I am incredibly proud of the tenacity and innovation that our fantastic TeamUofG expert community has shown throughout the pandemic. Being able to bring that to the fore in our event programme along with esteemed colleagues across the sector in the lead-up to COP26 is something I am very much looking forward to."

“Global higher education is facing the most challenging, the most searching test of leadership for a generation," says Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer at THE. "Some initial responses to the pandemic have been truly inspirational, showing universities at their very, very best: dynamic, responsive, collegial, collaborative and indeed, world changing. But perhaps the biggest leadership challenges are still to come. University leaders have to protect the viability and sustainability of our great seats of learning and research to ensure they can play their vital, central role in supporting the world not just through a health crisis, but through geopolitical, economic and social crises too.

 “THE’s Leadership and Management Summit is one of THE’s flagship international events, bringing together university leaders from across the world. THE could not be more pleased to be holding the event, the third in the annual series, with the University of Glasgow, an institution involved in world-changing research for over five centuries. It is particularly exciting that the event will take place in the great city of Glasgow, just days before world leaders gather for the UN Climate Change conference, COP26, where universities have a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate that they are an essential part of the world’s shared mission to avert a climate catastrophe.”

The summit will also feature the exclusive live reveal of the THE World Reputation Rankings 2021, which reveals the top universities with the best reputations, as determined by academics around the world.

UofG has been shortlisted for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2020. Described as “the Oscars of higher education”, the virtual award ceremony will take place on Thursday 26 November.


First published: 23 November 2020