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ECIU’s Leadership Development Programme enables peer learning and meeting challenges

Published on 26.4.2022
Tampere University
Ryhmäkuva koulutukseen osallistuneista.
The Programme offered an opportunity for networking with European colleagues. Photograph: Barbara Takacs
The EU-funded ECIU University is a network of 13 universities that gathers learners, teachers, and researchers. The mission of the consortium is to tackle cross-cutting societal challenges, conduct research, and promote lifelong learning. ECIU offers a wide range of opportunities for training with international colleagues.

ECIU (European Consortium of Innovative Universities) organises an annual Leadership Development Programme for academic and administrative managers and future leaders to promote the development of innovation and leadership at the partner universities.

Head of Unit Kati Toikkanen from Services for Educational Leadership and Professor of Social Psychiatry and Vice Dean for Research Sami Pirkola from Tampere University participated in the latest programme.

The main lessons were learned by exchanging experiences

The programme traditionally consists of three four-day seminar sessions held at three consortium universities. This time the participants were hosted by Tampere University, Dublin City University, and the University of Twente.

“The seminar weeks were very intensive but rewarding,” says Toikkanen.

In the seminars, participants from different universities were divided into groups to solve challenges that were set by the host universities, such as how to integrate ECIU’s objectives into regular educational activities. The training also covered European higher education policy, leadership trends and challenges, and the participants’ leadership skills.

“We learned essential lessons through experiential learning, i.e., sharing experiences from different countries. Expert lecturers and interviews with rector-level staff augmented the programme nicely,” Pirkola sums up.

The training gave tips for practical work

According to Pirkola, the best part of the training was learning through identification and insights into the specificities of university environments. Toikkanen says that she can now ask her European colleagues for tips with a low threshold. They both regard the fact that the participants included both academic and administrative staff a strength.

Pirkola says that his participation in the programme paved the way for him becoming Vice Dean for Research at his faculty. The new position brought leadership and development responsibilities, which benefited from his participation in a training that focused on universities. He has previously held management positions in the health sector.

“It was eye-opening to see how special and important organisations universities are at the interface between scientific research and changing society,” Pirkola mentions.

Toikkanen felt that the training was a good continuation of her Higher Education Administration and Management (KOHA) study module, which she completed fifteen years ago. The ECIU training gave her new knowledge about, for example, the higher education systems of different countries and legislation related to the development of education.

“The training gave me good ideas and tips for improving my management skills. Time will tell how I can apply these lessons in the everyday life of our team,” Toikkanen says.

On the ECIU website, you can find real-life challenges that need solving, workshops, and micro modules that are open to the students, researchers, and staff of Tampere University.

Text: Nina Jylhä
Photograph: Barbara Takacs