Talking leadership

Canterbury’s vice-chancellor contrasts her adopted island homeland with her native South Africa and reflects on the opportunities spawned by even the worst horrors

Daniel Diermeier reflects on traversing the increasingly polarised US political landscape and on disagreeing with staff and students pressing for the university to take sides

Folasade Ogunsola discusses her country’s battle with brain drain and universities’ search for ‘creative’ ways to combat funding shortfalls

Lund University vice-chancellor discusses the challenges of working with business, creating an innovation valley in the Baltic region and managing one’s friends

Monterrey Institute of Technology’s president says it is setting aside £46 million for international hires to compete with the global standard of living

University of Southern Queensland head makes case for teaching students in remote towns regionally to keep them and their skills in the community

University of Limerick president talks about putting in place university-wide structural changes to inspire cross-pollination between disciplines

Outgoing EdUHK head reflects on a decade-long stint leading Hong Kong’s teacher training university

The UK’s first Palestinian vice-chancellor discusses proving the value of creative degrees in a hostile climate, how to internationalise rural towns and what growing up with nine siblings can teach you about academic life

The rector of ORT Uruguay, cradle to the country’s first ‘unicorns’, talks about fostering an entrepreneurship mindset in a risk-averse society

The Nottingham Trent vice-chancellor discusses using data to support students, avoiding strike action and why diversity conversations are too focused on Oxbridge

Singapore Management University president Lily Kong says the country’s institutions ‘must carve their own path’

Hong Kong has ‘a special convening power’ that could attract partners from China and the Middle East, CUHK’s v-c tells Tiya Thomas-Alexander

Alan Shepard tells Rosa Ellis how Western University united all of its community behind a comprehensive impact strategy

Auckland v-c wants to use Māori knowledge and research on misinformation to help tackle UN goals

Lahore University of Management Sciences head Arshad Ahmad says country has much to offer in the battle against climate change – if the world can get over its misconceptions

Former University College Cork president Michael Murphy reflects on pandemic, Ukraine and Brussels experience as he prepares to step down from top of representative body

The rector of Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute takes charge of the world-leading medical school after the disruptions of a pandemic and an ethics scandal

Imperial president reflects on his institution’s role in UK growth and the importance of collaboration within Horizon Europe 

President of ‘leftist hotbed’ Wesleyan University reflects on run-ins with students and controversial efforts to increase intellectual diversity

In National Apprenticeship Week, we talk to the vice-chancellor who kicked off a stellar career with an apprenticeship 

The principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow discusses the economics of higher education 

Marking his first year directing the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Liam Smeeth on dealing with Covid-19 and a racism review  

University of New England president explains his fearless approach to freedom of speech on campus, including the trans debate

The head of the University of Manchester discusses a lifetime of science outreach, supporting regional development and the humanities

With falling enrolments in traditional MBAs – and increased pressure to tackle diversity and sustainability agendas – business schools must change to stay relevant, says Haas dean

Melbourne boss explains why knowledge is service, and why unbridled casualisation would displease his dad

The outgoing vice-chancellor reflects on his five years at Cambridge and the future of higher education 

The outgoing v-c of the University of Oxford talks about her fears of a brain drain and the highs and lows of her tenure

Universities face growing public pressure but this only means their mission is more vital than ever, NYU president Andrew Hamilton tells Rosa Ellis

Compelling stories of how foreign-born founders drive economic prosperity are more likely to convince policymakers about the need to embrace overseas students, says Alice Gast, who recently stepped down as president of Imperial College London

The University of Washington leader discusses bridging subject-level siloes, and how academic science can better serve society

Shigakkan University president talks about being the odd one out in an ‘old boys’ club’ and about encouraging her students to carve their own path

The president of the University of Victoria outlines how his university is welcoming more indigenous people 

Unicamp’s rector discusses harnessing the power of one of the continent’s most research-intensive universities for the public good

A cultural shift is needed, according to the vice-chancellor of Cardiff Met

The vice-chancellor of FLAME University in India discusses his agenda for reform, lessons learned from his alma mater and the importance of keeping employees happy

The Western Sydney University vice-chancellor says sustainability is a hallmark of his institution, including its high-rise campuses

ETH Zurich president discusses building public trust in science, supporting apprenticeship schemes and a downside of Einstein’s legacy

The University of Hull vice-chancellor explains how she simultaneously reduced costs and improved academic performance at the formerly under-threat institution

The president of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro discusses budget cuts and encouraging interdisciplinarity

The Vassar College president discusses creating equitable partnerships, minimising resistance on campus and what higher education can learn from healthcare

The vice-chancellor of Edge Hill University discusses centralising spending, climbing up the rankings and leading the institution for almost 30 years

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor discusses the importance of role models for students, his approach to hiring top staff and how he has stayed in the role for 15 years

The president of the University of Würzburg discusses the differences between the two systems, why he’s joined a European university alliance and the benefits of interdisciplinary working

The Princeton University president discusses the oversimplification of the free speech debate and his personal journey of discovery kicked off by his son’s school project 

The Fujita Health University president discusses shrinking birth rates, Japan‘s medical school scandal and why more Japanese students should study abroad

The Monash University president discusses how to make international campuses work and redundancies during the pandemic 

The president of Dillard University says that historically black colleges and universities do a better job than the Ivy League

The vice-chancellor of McGill University reflects on her nine years leading one of Canada’s top universities as she prepares to step down

The King’s College London president says universities are ‘not in any way toxic places’

The president of Seoul National University discusses the existential crisis facing higher education in South Korea

The University of Leeds vice-chancellor discusses why UK higher education should go Dutch and the national scandal that drew her to academia

The president of Harvey Mudd College discusses smashing glass ceilings and how to get more women into STEM subjects 

The president of Macau University of Science and Technology discusses overhauling engineering education and the differences between Macao and Hong Kong 

The PSL president discusses bringing staff on board and not over-centralising services

The Tohoku University president discusses the legacy of the 2011 earthquake and making his institution more friendly to foreigners 

The KAUST president discusses the treatment of women and academic freedom

The president of KTH Royal Institute of Technology discusses the fallout of a scientific scandal and immigration rules in Sweden

The president of Penn State discusses its business hub model and leading in the aftermath of a sexual abuse scandal