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International Leadership Program 

Lead institutional change with international

perspectives and expert support

parcours de formation adoc talent management

Bring a strategic challenge from your institution. Develop your response with leading researchers, experienced institutional leaders, and specialists in executive management and leadership.

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​Adoc Talent Management’s International Leadership Program is a 12-month executive development journey for senior higher education leaders. It combines scientific insight, practical leadership experience, international immersion, and personalized support to help you make informed decisions and translate your priorities into action.

Throughout the program, you will develop a Strategic Institutional Project addressing a challenge within your institution. Comparative case studies, policy simulations, and discussions with fellow leaders will help you examine your options, refine your approach, and plan implementation.

PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

Audience: Senior academic and administrative leaders in higher education

Duration: over 12 months (approx. 2 days a month)

Format: Hybrid - online sessions and international immersion

Teaching language: English

Scheduled learning: 190 hours across eight modules

Locations: To be confirmed before enrollment

Next cohort:  Dates to be announced

Who is this program for?

The program is designed for rectors, presidents, vice-presidents, deans, program directors, heads of academic divisions, and senior administrative leaders.

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​It is particularly relevant to leaders responsible for institutional strategy, organizational change, research careers, innovation, international partnerships, or people management.

 

​Participants bring a challenge from their own institution and a willingness to examine their practices alongside peers from different higher education systems.

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Applications are also welcome from experienced academic and administrative professionals preparing to take on senior leadership responsibilities.

The program is structured to accommodate this diversity throught:​​

​Personalized mentoring and coaching, tailored to each participant’s role and institutional context

 

​Peer learning groups organized by functional proximity

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Leadership diagnostic tools to help each participant identify their priorities for development and action.

​A “core leadership mindset” unites all participants, while the content adapts to their operational realities.

Your learning journey combines personalized mentoring and coaching, peer exchange, and leadership diagnostic tools. These activities help connect the program’s shared themes with your role and institutional priorities.

Expert perspectives, focused on your priorities

Leading an institution involves balancing academic ambitions, organizational realities, and public responsibilities. The program gives you space to examine these demands and access expertise relevant to your decisions.

Learn with leading researchers
Explore the evidence behind changes in higher education, governance, scientific careers, innovation, and organizational behavior. Assess what this research means for your institutional context.

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Exchange with experienced institutional leaders
Discuss how leaders from recognized institutions have approached strategic decisions, competing priorities, and organizational change. Examine both the choices they made and the conditions that shaped their outcomes.

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Work with executive management and leadership specialists
Strengthen your approach to decision-making, stakeholder engagement, people management, and implementation through practical exercises and personalized support.

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Develop your thinking with international peers
Compare experiences across institutional and national contexts. Test your assumptions, receive constructive feedback, and build professional relationships throughout the program.

Schedule and time commitment

The program runs over 12 months and combines scheduled online learning, international immersion, coaching, mentoring, and work on your Strategic Institutional Project.

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Online sessions: approx. 2 days per month

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International immersion: 3 countries

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Independent work: approximately 10 hours per month

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Participants are expected to attend and complete the project milestones. The detailed calendar will be provided before enrollment.​​

What you will achieve

By the end of the program, you will be able to:

  • Analyze an institutional challenge in relation to governance, people, policy, and the wider higher education environment.

  • Compare international approaches and assess their relevance to your institution.

  • Define priorities and develop a practical plan for institutional change.

  • Engage stakeholders and anticipate barriers to implementation.

  • Apply strategic approaches to talent development, academic careers, innovation, inclusion, and sustainability.

  • Present a Strategic Institutional Project with clear objectives, actions, and indicators of progress.

Your institution. Your challenge. Your project.

Your Strategic Institutional Project connects the program directly to your responsibilities.

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You will define a challenge, examine its underlying causes, explore possible responses, and develop an action plan. Academic and expert mentoring will help you refine your approach, while peer discussions will provide feedback throughout the process.

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Possible projects include:

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Strengthening career development and support for researchers

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Preparing a governance or organizational reform

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Developing leadership pathways for academic and administrative staff

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Building an institutional strategy for innovation and knowledge transfer

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Advancing inclusion or sustainability across institutional practices

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Creating stronger connections between research, policy, and practice

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These are examples. Your project will be selected in relation to your role, institutional priorities, and opportunities for action.​​

Three phases, one continuous learning journey

The program builds not only knowledge and skills - but also a transformative posture to act confidently as an academic leader in a rapidly changing world.

Unit 1 - Higher Education in

Transition

20 hours

​Analyzes global transformations in higher education systems through political, sociological and economic lenses. Focus on governance, international soft law, autonomy, and inclusion vs excellence dilemmas. Comparative case studies and policy simulations.

Unit 2 - Strategic Leadership and Organizational Change

25 hours

Explores adaptive and transformational leadership in public institutions. Includes 360° diagnostic, leadership coaching, governance workshops, and strategic planning excercises.

Unit 3 - Innovation, Deeptech and Academic Entrepreneurship

20 hours

Focus on startup ecosystems, knowledge transfer and research commercialization, and innovation governance. 

​​Focus on doctoral policy, research careers (the European R1–R4 framework for research careers), mobility, and institutional career support. Data-informed workshops drawing on the SECURE project. Health and well-being monitoring. 

Unit 4 – Academic Careers and Intersectoral Trajectories

20 hours

Unit 5 - Inclusion, Diversity and Sustainable Transitions

20 hours

​​Benchmarks inclusive and sustainable strategies from EUA, IAU, and Harvard ALI. Topics include bias reduction, data-driven equity, and climate-responsible leadership in universities. 

Unit 6 - Hybrid Spaces between Research, Policy and Pratice

20 hours 

​Grounded in boundary organization theory, this unit builds capabilities to co-produce policies with stakeholders. Participants analyze global examples (EEF, KMb, RPPs) and design their own hybrid unit for their institution. 

Unit 7 - Strategic Institutional

Project

40 hours

Unit 8 - Human Resources Management in Higher Education

25 hours

Develop a project aligned with your institution’s priorities, supported by academic and expert mentoring. Define the challenge, engage relevant stakeholders, assess implementation options, and prepare an action plan with measurable objectives. Where feasible, initiate a first stage of implementation during the program. Participants will also contribute to a collective publication drawing on the projects and lessons developed during the program.

​Includes strategic HR planning, career development, R1-R4 frameworks, quality of working life, and risk prevention. Workshop simulations: performance interviews, feedback delivery, and talent retention strategies.

Pedagogical Approach & Evaluation

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The program adopts a progressive learning model: diagnostic, knowledge building,co-construction, and transformation. Modalities include seminars, case studies, coaching, and individual reflection journals. Evaluation is continuous and portfolio-based.

Tuition & Enrollment

Tuition & Funding

Tuition is €11,000 per participant excl. Taxes.

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The fee includes: online and in-person training, coaching, mentoring, materials.

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The fee does not include: Travel, accommodation, meals.

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International applicants are welcome. Tailored formats for institutions wishing to enroll a group of leaders are available on request.

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Institutional sponsorship is encouraged. We can provide program information and a quotation to support your funding request.

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Expressions of interest are now open for the next cohort. Contact us to discuss your participation and receive updates on dates and enrollment.

Program Leadership & Faculty

Coordinated by Adoc Talent Management, with scientific direction from the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Studies on the Doctorate (LID), the program connects research on higher education and scientific careers with practical leadership challenges.

Tuition & Enrollment

Meet us at scientific conferences

We will also be presenting the International Leadership Program at upcoming scientific conferences.

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These events offer opportunities to meet our team, explore the program, and discuss how it could support your institutional priorities.

How to appy

  1. Submit your application.

  2. Provide your professional details and briefly describe the institutional challenge you would like to address.

  3. Discuss your goals with our team.

  4. An introductory conversation will help assess how the program fits your responsibilities, development priorities, and institutional context.

  5. Confirm your participation.

  6. Successful applicants will receive the enrollment documents, calendar, and payment details.

For questions about participation or institutional sponsorship, contact leadership@adoc-tm.com.

Express your interest

Express you interest

Interested in joining the program? Tell us about your role and the institutional challenge you would like to address. Our team will contact you to discuss the program and the next steps.

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