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General enquiries: enquiries@ncee.org.uk    |   Leadership programme: leaders@ncee.org.uk
General enquiries: enquiries@ncee.org.uk    |   Leadership programme: leaders@ncee.org.uk
Global Alliance of Entrepreneurial Universities
Entrepreneurial University Award
Entrepreneurial Leadership Programmes

Entrepreneurial University Leaders Programme (Resource Site)

Entrepreneurial University Leaders Programme (Resource Site)

Transforming Organisations and Leadership

Our Entrepreneurial University Leaders programme will add value to your existing leadership strengths, boosting your confidence to develop creative and innovative solutions, lead organisational change and expand your network of peers to share the challenges. You will be encouraged to reflect on your personal leadership approach and explore the benefits of embracing a more entrepreneurial leadership style to contribute to the achievement of your university’s strategic objectives.

During the programme you will explore how you can create and contribute to the entrepreneurial university, develop your entrepreneurial leadership style and consider context and how it shapes approaches.

This resource site will contain all you need to support you during the programme.

Our Guest Speakers:

Attendee List

Lydia Arnold

associate pro vice-chancellor, harper adams University

Lydia Arnold is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning, Teaching & Digital) and Professor of Learning & Teaching at Harper Adams University, a National Teaching Fellow, and a Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology. She holds a doctorate from the University of Liverpool and a first-degree in Geography, Education and Mathematics. Lydia leads transformational university-wide projects, including institutional curriculum review and academic staff development, and her scholarship spans assessment, artificial intelligence in education, inclusive practice and organisational change. She is a regular keynote speaker at universities internationally, particularly on authentic assessment, AI and pedagogic practice. Alongside her academic leadership, she contributes to interdisciplinary research in agri-food systems and is active in sector-wide educational dialogue through her writing and public engagement. Outside work, she enjoys a rich family life, live music, reading, and long walks with her dog!

Lucy Atkinson

director of academic persistance, arden university

Lucy Atkinson is a senior higher education leader and Director of Academic Persistence at Arden University, providing leadership for a strategic university‑wide area supporting access students, including Foundation Year (Level 3) and Foundation Degree programmes (Levels 4–5). She provides university-level leadership for student transition, continuation and academic success across large‑scale blended and online provision.

Lucy leads a multidisciplinary academic and professional services workforce of approximately 120 staff, with responsibility for academic quality and standards, curriculum strategy, student outcomes, staff development and organisational sustainability. Since 2024, she has also been responsible for the design and delivery of Arden University’s university‑wide orientation for distance and blended learning students, strengthening early engagement, readiness and transition.

She has held senior academic leadership roles across the UK higher education sector, including Head of Extended Degrees at the University of Roehampton, and earlier leadership positions at the University of Northampton. Lucy is an Associate Professor, holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Second Language Learning, and has sector expertise in widening participation, student transition and academic persistence.

Louise Banahene

Director of Student Success and Educational Engagement, university of leeds

Louise Banahene is a senior leader at the University of Leeds. She provides leadership of services and areas of work focused on enriching the learning experience with a strong focus on equity and inclusion. This includes leadership of the University’s Access & Student Success strategy and institutional KPIs across access, student outcomes and graduate employability. In 2017 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to higher education and holds Principal Fellowship with the HEA. Her external roles include trustee of the Tutor Trust, a charity supporting tutoring in schools, and board member for a UKRI/OfS advisory group focused on widening access to PGR study.

Ashley Church

Director of Strategy, Transformation and Futures, buckinghamshire new university

After graduating with a degree from Leeds Business School in 2005, Ashley Church spent the following decade working in commercial development roles across the private sector and within further education. Ashley’s experience in external engagement and industry collaboration led me to Buckinghamshire New University in 2018 to support the establishment of a new Degree Apprenticeship Hub.
 
As Head of Business Development, Ashley established relationships with multinational organisations and large public sector institutions to develop a significant number of training opportunities for apprentices.
 
In 2022 Ashley secured the role as Director of Academic Portfolio Development which enabled him to lead strategic expansion projects including the creation of a new School of Engineering and the Built Environment.

Ruth Cochrane

head of future skills, glasgow school of art

Ruth Cochraine is currently the Head of Future Skills at The Glasgow School of Art, where she is leading the institution’s Knowledge Exchange and Innovation strategy. With a career that bridges the creative industries and higher education, Ruth brings a distinctive perspective to design-led leadership, combining deep expertise in product and service design with a strong track record in strategic academic development.
 
Ruth was previously Innovation Lead for the School of Arts and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University where she led enterprise, CPD, and upskilling initiatives across diverse academic communities. She has designed and delivered nationally recognised pedagogic innovations including the award-winning Bloody Big Project and the INTER interdisciplinary challenge programme. Her work has received multiple accolades, including the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
 

Ross Cloak

Associate Professor and Head of Research Centre, University of Wolverhampton

Ross Cloak is an Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Science with a strong commitment to knowledge exchange as a means of advancing the field and improving outcomes for athletes, coaches, and practitioners. By translating research into practice, engaging with stakeholders, developing educational resources, contributing to professional organisations, and collaborating with industry partners, Ross works to bridge the gap between academic insight and real-world application. As Head of the Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (SPARC) at the University of Wolverhampton, he leads the centre’s strategic direction, research activity, and collaborative initiatives.

Ross’ role involves line managing all professors and readers in the school, overseeing interdisciplinary projects, supporting staff and PhD development, and driving impactful partnerships with elite sports organisations. Ross is also a member of the School Senior Management Group, contributing to academic planning and ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and external funding opportunities.

Peter Kjær

Head of Department, Roskilde University

Peter Kjær is a Danish citizen, born in 1963.  He has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Roskilde University (1990) and PhD in Political Science from Stockholm University (1996).
 
From 1996 to 2014 Peter worked at Copenhagen Business School. First as assistant and associate professor in organization studies, and then as Head of the Department of Organization (from 2008).
 
In 2014 Peter was appointed as Pro-rector for Research at Roskilde University. His primary areas of responsibility were research quality, -funding and -strategy, doctoral education and societal impact. As part of the senior management team, Peter also contributed to increased regional collaboration, internal organizational reforms and overall development of the university and its departments.
 
In early 2025, after more than 10 years as prorector, Peter decided to apply for a position as head of department in the Department of People and Technology, basically to reconnect with the core activities of the university – and to help move the department towards a more research intensive profile in the wake of an educational reform process. The department is the largest and most diverse department at Roskilde University, spanning a broad range of disciplines from computer science and planning to interdisciplinary health studies, social work and social psychology.
 
Peter is 62 years old and is married to Anne, who is a senior executive in the Danish Tax Authority. He lives in central Copenhagen. His hobbies are food and music, and is am the lead singer of an aging punk band.

Jen Lockhart

operational delivery lead, university of manchester

With more than 17 years of experience within complex academic and professional service settings at The University of Manchester, Jen Lockhart is committed to driving strategic change, organisational transformation, and digital innovation. Jen’s career has included supporting humanities and science and engineering research, serving in operational leadership roles within the School of Natural Sciences, and acting as Director of School Operations in the School of Engineering, which included leading teaching and learning support as well as technical operations across the School.
 
Throughout these positions, Jen has successfully led multi-disciplinary teams through significant transitions, implemented new operational frameworks, and developed high-performing, inclusive teams recognised for their commitment to service excellence. She is committed to continuous improvement, fostering a collaborative culture, and ensuring initiatives align with the University’s strategic goals.

Gosia Mitka

Vice-Dean Engagement, Partnerships and Social Responsibility, University of St Andrews

Gosia Mitka is the inaugural Vice-Dean Engagement, Partnerships and Social Responsibility in the University of St Andrews Business School. She was previously an Associate Dean Education in the Faculty of Arts and Divinity at the University of St Andrews and led on two strategic pillars in education across the university: Entrepreneurial and Sustainable St Andrews.
 
Gosia completed her PhD in Economics at the University of York, MSc in Economics at the University of Edinburgh, an MA in Management at Cracow University of Economics in Poland, as well as a year abroad at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt am Main in Germany. Gosia gained industry experience through various internships and employment in Poland, Sweden and Germany prior to studying Economics. During her PhD she was an intern at the European Central Bank where she was part of a team coordinating technical cooperation with central banks outside the EU in the International Relations and Cooperation Division.
 
Gosia is a Fellow of Entrepreneurial Leadership of the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE). The fellowship recognises her innovation, leadership, and contributions to advancing entrepreneurial excellence in education. In 2022 Gosia won the National Enterprise Educator Award ‘Pioneer in Enterprise Education’ and in 2023 was a finalist in the ‘European Female Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year Award’ for her leadership and actively influencing and driving transformational change and creating impact related to enterprise and entrepreneurship education and practice within her organisation and across the sector. She completed the European Training Programme in Entrepreneurship for Educators.
 

Christina Raven

director of strategy and projects, york st john university

Christina Raven is Director of Strategy and Projects at York St John University. Christina is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and leads the transformation programmes of the university. 
 
Christina’s career started in financial services, and she moved into higher education about seven years ago. As a result, she has extensive experience in strategy, change leadership, and financial planning applied in two very different industries.
 
Christina is passionate about creating a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement and has developed York St John’s Project Management and Continuous Improvement frameworks to share tools and techniques that build capability, capacity and success across the organisation.  She is an alumna and mentor of the AdvanceHE Aurora Leadership Programme and so champions gender equity and leadership development in higher education.

Christina is also a member of the University’s Institute of Social Justice Steering Group, advancing projects that promote fairness and inclusion. She values integrity, creativity and collaboration and is committed to shaping change within York St John.

Jasmine Samra

pro vice chancellor, partnerships, coventry university

Jasmine Samra is the Pro Vice Chancellor, Partnerships, at Coventry University. Working directly with a Deputy Vice Chancellor (International) and other members of the Global engagement team, Jasmine’s role is to provide strategic leadership to the University’s transnational education strategy, with primary objective of achieving the groups global ambition and targets as outlined in the 2030 strategy. She has been a key figure in the development of several of Coventry’s international campuses, including Egypt, Kazakhstan and Morocco, with a focus on developing models to ensuring commercial viability whilst maintaining high quality academic courses and experiences.

Jasmine has direct oversight of the Academic Partnership Unit whichis directly responsible for managing, developing and maintaining over 40 TNE partnerships, including campus developments, delivering over 24,000 active students globally. Jasmine isrecognized for her ability to develop talent, lead diverse teams, and cultivate impactful cross-border initiatives. She is passionate about advancing transnational education, strengthening institutional collaborations, and creating opportunities that empower students andc ommunities worldwide. 

Jasmine joined Coventry University group in 2016 and has extensive experience in partnerships across financial services, pharmaceuticals and brand marketing. Jasmine holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Information Systems from the University of Southampton.

Hannah Whiting

Director of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (Interim), Bath Spa University

Hannah Whiting has been at Bath Spa University for the last 8 years. Prior to this she worked in the charity sector as a corporate fundraiser, working with businesses to build relationships and create programmes of fundraising to support charity of the year partnerships.

Hannah joined BSU as a Major Gifts Officer with the remit of securing donations from their alumni community. Following a restructure at the university she secured the role of Business Development Manager, this was a new role and was tasked with setting up outward facing business engagement.

Hannah was promoted from this role into the Head of Business Development role in 2023 taking on oversight of Short Course Unit, community partnerships, alumni and Social Enterprise work. In June 2025 she secured the role of Director of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange on an interim basis, her current role.

Hannah oversees the Centre for Innovation and Knowledge Exchange made up of approximately 40 staff. This includes KE team, Short Course Unit, Business Development, Partnerships, Alumni, Comms and Brand, Inclusive communities, Future Fashion Works and Bath Social Impact Network.

Anna Wood

Pro Vice-chancellor, online and lifelong learning, university of the arts london

Anna Wood is Pro Vice-Chancellor, Online & Lifelong Learning at University of the Arts London where she has developed an in-house online learning capability to design and launch a range of accredited online courses in the creative industries and is now working on a lifelong learning strategy for the university. She has spent the last decade helping to transform access to higher education and bridge academic excellence and commercial success. Her previous roles included Managing Director for online education at Cambridge University Press and Executive Director of Online and Professional Education at King’s College London.

Show

Useful Resources...

GET2TEST

List of further reading –  Entrepreneurial Leaders

A field guide to the literature for Entrepreneurial Leaders

The Double Diamond

Our Iceberg is Melting (video)

Change Innovation Onepager

Tips for Leaders on Leading Change and Making it Stick – Oct 2025

EUL 2026 Project brief

Introduction to the Entrepreneurial University Leaders Programme – Lesley Dobree (presentation)

Lets talk about entrepreneurial leadership – Lesley Dobree (presentation)

Leading Change – Lesley Dobree (presentation)

Tackling European and Global challenges in Higher Education – Stephanie Marshall (presentation)

The time-poor innovator’s approach towards innovation 2026 – Ceri Nursaw (presentation)

Shifting Sands – Karen Stanton (presentation)

Kindness in Leadership (book)

The Balanced Scorecard

Overview of the Higher Education Policy Landscape – Nick Hillman (presentation)

Attacking the Elites (book)

International Student Mobility and the Educational Value of Internationally Diverse Cohorts (paper)

Educating for a Climate Based Future (book)

7 Cs structure for confident and effective communication

Five-Whys

Having Difficult Conversations

Social license, public trust and the shifting role of universities – Anthony Dursi (presentation)

Useful Resources...

Presentations & useful resources will be posted here after each session. Watch this space!

Module One: 10-12 March 2026


10th March
11:00 – Arrivals
11:30 – Introduction to each other and the programme; icebreaker
12:30 – Lunch
13:15 – Introduction to Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Entrepreneurial University: some initial thoughts – Professor Lesley Dobree
15:00 – Break
15:30 – Overview of the Higher Education Policy Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities – Nick Hillman, Director, HEPI
16:45 – Reflection on the day
17:00 – Close
19:00 – Dinner

11th March
09:00 – Welcome and intro to day 2
09:15 – Leading Change and Transformation – Professor Lesley Dobree
10:00 – Tackling Global and European Change in Higher Education – Professor Stephanie Marshall, Vice Principal (Education), Queen Mary University of London
11:30 – Break
11:45 – Leading Change and Transformation (continued) – Professor Lesley Dobree
12:45 – Lunch and personal time
13:45 – Shifting Sands – Professor Karen Stanton, Vice Chancellor, University of the Arts London
15:00 – Break
15:15 – Small groupwork – Professor Lesley Dobree and Ceri Nursaw
16:15 – Time-Poor Innovator – Ceri Nursaw 
17:00 – Close
19:00 – Dinner

12th March
09:00 – Welcome
09:30 – Speaker TBC
11:00 – Break
11:30 – Small group work activity
13:00 – Lunch
13:30 – Maintaining Entrepreneurial Energy and Mindset in Financially Challenging Times – Professor Helen Laville, Vice-Chancellor, Oxford Brookes University 
15:00 – Break
15:30 – Reflections and takeaways
16:00 – Close

See the timetable
Module Two:  24 March 2026


11:00 – Welcome back; discussion and reflection on Get2 Test outcomes and sharing of projects
12:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Embedding Education in Solving Real World Problems, Professor Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice in International Education and Director of the Global Education Innovation, Harvard University
14:00 – Small group work
15:00 – Close

See the timetable
Module Three: 22 April 2026


09:15 – Welcome
09:30 – Social License, public trust and the shifting role of universities in Australia, Anthony Dursi, Executive Director for External Affairs, Australian Public Policy Institute
11:00 – Break
11:30 – Small group work – Ceri Nursaw and Lesley Dobree
12:30 – Close

See the timetable
Module Four: 13-14 May  2026


13th May
12:00 – Arrivals and light lunch
Programme TBC

14th May
08:45 – Tour
09:00 – Welcome
10:00 – Transforming with Purpose: Entrepreneurial Leadership for Lasting Change – Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor, Birkbeck, University of London
11:00 – Break
11:30 – Group work
12:00 – Lunch
13:00 – Activity, group work and discussion
15:00 – Close

See the timetable
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