Engage 24 - Winter 2010-11

ENGAGE: ISSUE 24 | WINTER 2010 - 11

NEWS

HE Leadership Summit 2011: Leading Internationalisation: raising our game

The Leadership Foundation’s annual summit ( Thursday 10 February) will be returning to the the theme of internationalisation, which it first explored in 2006. Circumstances are of course radically different, the message is now more than ever that we should raise our game beyond immediate economic concerns to embrace approaches to international engagement and collaboration that reap reciprocal and sustainable benefits. Exploring the topics of Global challenges through research; The quality and range of the student experience; Reciprocal community engagement; and Sustainable stakeholder and business partnership, Leading internationalisation: raising our game offers an opportunity to explore just how far UK higher education is doing that, and to learn from leading practice in the UK and beyond.

Contributors include John Sexton, President, New York University, Suranjan Das, Vice-chancellor, University of Calcutta, Richard Hill, of Rolls Royce plc. E

All the details of the Leadership Summit are at www.lfhe.ac.uk/evt-crs-prog/201011/ summit2011/ index.html

Starter for Ten

David Pilsbury took up the position as Pro Vice Chancellor, International for Coventry University in September 2008 with responsibility for the university’s international strategy including overseas partnerships, internationalisation of the curriculum, mobility and exchanges as well as its new London Campus. Coventry University has an ambitious development agenda to become a Global Enterprising University.

David was previously the founding Chief Executive of the Worldwide Universities Network. Under his leadership WUN became recognised as the leading global research alliance. Prior to this he was Head of Research Policy for Hefce - where he oversaw a fundamental reappraisal of research policy and the creation of the creation of the UK’s main funding organisation for the arts and humanities - the Arts and Humanities Research Council. He came to this role having formerly been Assistant Director of Research and Development at Cambridge University Hospital. David spent a number of years in strategic consultancy and investment banking after completing a D. Phil and postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford. David is an alumnus of TMP 18.

What is the best piece of management/ leadership advice you have ever been given? Lead by example - this is especially important in higher education. Most people will engage with someone who is passionate and committed and can articulate a compelling vision.

Who would you most like to have worked
with/for?
The late Sir Gareth Roberts - a truly exceptional
individual with great vision who was the most
networked person I have ever met.

What is the biggest change you have seen in management/leadership approaches? The move away from management as science to management as art exempli;ed by the role of leader as ‘story-teller’ and growing recognition of the power of narrative.

Who has inspired you most in your
working life?
John Wiley, previously Chancellor of the
University of Wisconsin, Madison. A man of
fantastic intellect, who does what he thinks is
right and treats all people the same.

What was the best professional move you
made and why?
Moving into higher education - you spend a
lot of hours at work so you need to be doing
something you love.

Which six leaders, past or present, would you invite to a dinner party and why? Bill Clinton - because he is a man of such incredible gifts, but also clearly ;awed like the rest of us; Winston Churchill - a man of such broad gifts but who was defeated in every election until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. His speech “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense” always resonates; Mohandas Gandhi - to inspire with his commitment to a modest life and fostered simple living and high thinking; Deng Xiaoping - to understand what made him the reformer who led China towards a market economy; Margaret Thatcher - to understand what drove her; Eleanor Roosevelt - for her commitment to social justice globally.

What will you remember most about TMP? The quality of the facilitators - they really stimulated my thinking in new ways.

Have you continued to meet/engage with
your TMP Fellows? If applicable
Some of my colleagues have been enormously
helpful on an informal basis but we were a
very disparate group, so two of us are taking
the ‘action set’ principle and forming a group
from peer institutions to share thoughts on
international issues.

What piece of advice would you give to someone starting off their career? Find yourself a mentor whom you can trust and who can guide your choices.

What’s been your biggest professional challenge and how did you overcome it? Conceiving and delivering our new London campus - we went from a blank sheet of paper to our ;rst intake in 18 months. Recruitment has been fantastic but it was challenging across multiple dimensions. I had a small group of wonderful sta; that formed the core project team and we recruited an excellent Director.

Who would you choose to be stranded on
a desert island with?
My wife - who has tolerated me for 20 years
with good humour and practical good sense.

Quentin Tarantino, Neil Jordan or
Martin Scorcese?
Scorcese every time - incredible versatility.

Tell us a secret about yourself? I’ve kept it quiet for 40 years - but I can now say with pride - I am a Manchester City fan.

What can’t you live without? My Toshiba Portege - ;res up in seconds, lasts all day, has all the ;les I need on it - and I can read my inbox without squinting. Life is too short to endlessly retype emails on a PDA.