Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Southeast Asia face a growing number of challenges, among them the massification, diversification, internationalisation, and marketisation of higher education.

In addition, there are challenges specific to Southeast Asian HEIs including the need to: keep in step with the ASEAN International Mobility of Students initiative; gain recognition through the ASEAN University Rankings system; and prepare themselves for the unique local and regional challenges presented by the ASEAN Economic Community agenda.

As such, HEI leaders must be forward-looking, receptive to innovation and change, and possess strong people leadership and strategic management skills. This would ensure that HEIs are able to leverage their competitive advantage in offering relevant, context-specific learning experiences.

In this regard, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and The HEAD Foundation have co-organised this leadership development programme for administrators, middle and senior managers, and academic leaders of HEIs in Southeast Asia.

This programme provided a platform for higher education leaders in the context of contemporary local and regional challenges. In addition, through environmental scans, design thinking, and strategic management, the programme engages participants in identifying and prioritising some cross-cutting issues that need urgent attention in light of the rapidly changing needs of industry and the workplace. At the end of the programme, participants will prepare a strategic agenda for submission to their own HEI management, which includes action points embodying their take-home lessons on educational and managerial leadership.

Watch Dr N Varaprasad, Programme Director of the LDP-HEIs in SEA, expound on the programme’s concept and outcomes, and how participants can relate them to current trends and challenges faced by higher education institutions today during the 2025 run.