Developing university leaders for a VUCA world

Prof. Rocky S. Tuan (top center) joining distinguished speakers from Chulalongkorn University, Singapore Management University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Elsevier at the THE Asia Universities Summit panel.

As higher education systems expand to meet growing demand, academic recruitment is thriving in Asia. How can universities foster collaboration and diversity while the world is defragmenting and what does the talent development pipeline mean for the future leaders of Asian universities?

Speaking at the panel titled ‘How Can We Develop University Leaders for a VUCA World?’ at the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universities Summit on 1 June, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rocky S. Tuan and a group of distinguished academic leaders from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand navigated some of the critical questions related to talent recruitment and leadership faced by higher education institutions in Asia. The panel exchanged perspectives on gender equality, diversity, international recruitment, and talent development and mobility.

Prof. Tuan shared the University’s experience in supporting women academics and grooming future leaders. He noted that it is important for universities to create environments that welcome and support a diversity of staff. In the long run, these environments would also be conducive to advancement as well as attracting more talents of different backgrounds, and ultimately support economic growth. He emphasised, ‘You have to make sure the international staff and students feel like a part of the community; we are basically one world. To be truly international and therefore add to the power of cultural and ethnic diversity, we need to integrate and learn from each other.’

CUHK is placed 7th in the THE Asia University Rankings 2022 released during the summit.