UOB Offers A Remarkable Program for Women Leaders in Higher Education

In Cooperation with
The British Higher Education Academy “Advance HE”

UOB Offers A Remarkable
Program for Women Leaders in Higher Education

 

In cooperation with the British
Higher Education Academy (Advance HE), the Excellence in Education and Leadership
Skills Unit at the University of Bahrain (UOB) announced offering the “She
Leads” program, in conjunction with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s celebrations
of the Bahraini Women’s Day that falls on the first of December of each year.

The Unit Director, Dr. Diana
Abdulkarim Al-Jahromi, stated that “The program aims to develop leadership
skills for women leaders in all sectors of higher education institutions
locally, regionally and in the Arab world, and to explore what leadership
represents for women in higher education today, the leadership context in which
women work, as well as the opportunities and challenges related to women
leaders’ leadership and professional development. “

Moreover, Dr. Al-Jahromi pointed
out that the program “Is the first of its kind in the region, and it
reflects the global experience of the British Higher Education Academy in
working with women leaders in academia through the Aurora Program in the United
Kingdom and Ireland, which has developed the capabilities of more than 6000
women in more than 175 institutions.”

Also, Dr. Al-Jahromi explained
that the new program consists of a series of workshops that will be offered on
the cyberspace, and the content shall adapt to local outputs and keep pace – at
the same time – with the requirements and challenges of the work of women
leaders in the international higher education sector.

As the program focuses on
developing leadership skills, including effective communication, good listening
and observation, teamwork, mentoring, putting strategic plans and following up
on their implementation, understanding policies, managing the external
ecosystem, providing training and support, and decision-making.

Furthermore, she emphasized that
the program will target female directors of departments, units, and academic
centers, deans, deputies and presidents of universities and higher education
institutions, adding that the workshops will be presented by a group of experts
from the British Higher Education Academy, in order to take a qualitative leap ranging
from the concept of individuals leadership, groups leadership, corporate
leadership, to leadership in the higher education ecosystem.

Moreover, Dr. Al-Jahromi added
that that the program provides participants with an opportunity to reach a
wider community through the global educational networks of the Higher Education
Academy, such as: the leadership and management network, the learning and
education network, the employment network, the interdisciplinary research-based
evaluation practices network, and others.

In this context, Dr. Al-Jahromi
commended academic women assuming more leadership roles in higher education in
the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region, which is related to more challenges
based on their leadership in the education sector, being one of the most
important sectors in achieving sustainable development goals, and future
visions for the role of Bahraini women based on the principle of equal opportunities,
which importance is stressed by the Supreme Council for Women.

 

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education

5 Gender equality

16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words:

Excellence in Education and Leadership Skills Unit at the
University of Bahrain, She Leads, Bahraini Women’s Day, leadership skills for
female leaders, Aurora, effective communication, drawing strategic plans and
following up on their implementation, managing the external ecosystem, employment
network