I am really pleased to be participating once again in the HUMANE Winter School as an assessor and presenter. This event, held in Barcelona, is a week-long intensive training course for up-and-coming senior administrators and one where I never fail to learn something interesting.

Started in 2003, it has become one of the best and most in-demand programmes around for developing the leadership potential of outstanding professional services leaders. As importantly though it brings together 40 senior professional services staff from all over Europe (and beyond) with participants from the UK, Finland,Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland Germany, Spain and Italy.

There will undoubtedly be at least one or two of the hundreds of Winter School alumni, all of whom will have derived real professional benefits from the programme, somewhere in most institutions in the UK and some of them I know are now in senior leadership positions including members of AHUA.

HUMANE, the Heads of University Management and Administration Network in Europe provides a strong network for heads of administration to come together, learn and support each other as well as share intelligence and ideas. There are over 170 HUMANE members in 26 different European countries and beyond (there are now members in Asia and Australia too). HUMANE, like AHUA in the UK is, importantly, committed to the development of both its members and aspiring university leaders.

In this post-Brexit world it seems to me that finding whatever ways we can in higher education to maintain connections with other European institutions is absolutely essential, and HUMANE offers one really valuable means of achieving this. 

Winter is really spring in Spain

The Winter School is one of the signature events in the HUMANE calendar and is intended to develop the leadership potential of talented senior managers by making them fully aware of the concepts and practices of strategic management in a European context, and the importance of integrating academic matters, finances, human resources, governance, leadership and communication strategy in the development and articulation of university strategy.

The Winter School focuses on leadership and management skills in the context of the “big picture” of global higher education. The programme is equally sensitive to the uniqueness of the practice of management in a university setting. This is not just “yet another” management course.

Participants gain experience in making informed choices in decision-making processes. The Winter School uses the experience of HUMANE members and other expert speakers to give unique first-hand insight into general problems. The geographical and cultural spread of our members ensure that this discussion is not system-specific.

The core themes of the Winter School Programme are broad and international:

• Global sector trends and the implications of globalisation for higher education institutions
• Governance, leadership and management models in higher education
• Talent management
• Financial Management
• Strategic and Change Management
• Human Resource Management
• Communication Strategy
• Globalisation

The programme is highly intensive and includes plenary sessions and practical work in small groups based on international case studies. There are two case studies and this year – these are the Case of Lancaster University and its Global Partnerships and La Rochelle Université and its involvement in the European University Alliance Conexus (the European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability). For a number of years I really enjoyed presenting the case of the internationalisation strategies of the University of Nottingham but it is good to see Lancaster now offering a different UK perspective. You can see the full Winter School 2025 programme and list of all of the speakers here.

There are great opportunities for discussing and engaging with delegates on the cases and talking about the challenges and benefits of international strategy and operations. Observing the participants engaging with the material and working very hard in their teams to respond to one of the two case studies and then present to another team who play different roles as part of a University Executive Board is always stimulating. The case study submissions and presentations are each assessed by a selection of senior leaders, including former Winter School participants, and feedback on these is then provided directly to them on their work and pointers offered for future development. It’s serious fun. 

Building on the experience

Many of those who have participated in the Winter School over the years have progressed to senior leadership positions in European universities and continue to engage in the programme. There is also a thriving alumni network too which brings together everyone who has completed the annual Winter School and other key HUMANE events now has over 500 members from several hundred universities across Europe. The alumni network seeks to encourage the further development of international networks of professional staff so that they can continue to exchange ideas and experiences as well as enabling members to continue to develop their careers in university leadership and management by deepening their understanding of other universities across Europe and further afield. It’s a really powerful collective.

A Broad Offer

HUMANE’s annual programme comprises a strong selection of high quality events. Beyond the signature Barcelona Winter School, there is also the Summer School which takes place in September in Berlin and the annual conference, being held this year in Helsinki in June. Other forthcoming highlights include a seminar at the University of Turin in October 2025 on Redefining Talent and HR Strategies and a Study Visit to South East Asia in November.

All of these events offer a great opportunity for participants to learn from a group of multi-national peers whilst exploring a quite different university context. As the UK continues to adapt to a very different international profile post-Brexit it reinforces the need for everyone involved in UK higher education to sustain engagement with colleagues from institutions overseas. There are many events for staff in all parts of UK universities to get involved with.

HUMANE recently conducted a survey of its members about their roles and responsibilities and made some interesting insights into the role of the head of administration in European universities. This report very much complements the work which AHUA has undertaken, initially in 2018 and again more recently, about the role of the Registrar. Taken together the similarities of experience and activities of heads of administration across Europe as presented in these reports show significant similarities and offer some really interesting insights into these roles in different countries. And for those really interested in the background there is a short history of HUMANE’s first 20 years available here. 

Never Going to Give EU Up

I was really honoured to be President of HUMANE up to the end of December 2024. As President I was privileged to be involved in a number of HUMANE’s big events including the Winter School, Summer School, a Transnational study visit to Malaysia and the Annual Conference. 

HUMANE remains an outstanding organisation and one I’ve been proud to be associated with for well over a decade. The Winter and Summer Schools,  and the HUMANE network in general, will undoubtedly continue to offer a vital means for continuing European engagement, dialogue and support. So, no matter what the future turns out to be politically for the UK adjacent too or closer to Europe, I do think that this network, and many others like it, will continue to sustain a meaningful relationship across European universities.