“When the portfolio holder for teaching invited me to join the Education Leadership Course almost two years ago, I jumped at the chance. It’s incredibly worthwhile learning more about educational processes and how you can influence them, because everything involves leadership.

On the programme, I learnt a lot about what happens behind the scenes in education – why we organize the teaching in a particular way, what students need and how teachers and departments see things. We had a visit to the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) and debated such issues as: what constitutes high-quality education? Who decides that? And who holds the power?
It made me much more aware of how education is so complex and multi-layered; how educational targets are linked to funding and to what’s happening in the wider national and international arena. I can now apply this awareness of underlying processes and different interests in my everyday work within the faculty: I have a better overview of what’s going on in a department and when I’m talking to colleagues, I’m more able to see things from their perspective and understand what motivates them. This gives me a better grasp of why things happen as they do and what action to take in the face of challenges in order to find a solution.

Another startling lesson I learnt from the programme involves the lofty ideas I had about a leadership role: I thought you already had to be knowledgeable about everything in order to perform effectively in a position like that. I now understand that taking on a leadership role is mainly about courage and you continue to learn an amazing amount when you’re actually in the position: it inspires you to actively engage with other leaders to test out your ideas and learn from them. So, if you have ambitions in this direction, don’t wait until you know absolutely everything, but have the confidence to take the leap and connect with other leaders!

I would definitely recommend the course. It’s an excellent programme that enables you to experiment with and discuss leadership, venturing beyond your own faculty and even beyond VU Amsterdam. It gives you an opportunity to reflect on your own practice and make valuable contacts for sharing knowledge. I would advise all future participants to ask as many questions as possible during the sessions and really take full advantage of them!"