UNILEAD Programme for International Students at University of Oldenburg, Germany

Information on the Intensive Blended Learning Programme UNILEAD 

(University Leadership and Management Training Course) in Germany

The German Academic Exchange  Service (DAAD)  and  the  Carl von Ossietzky  University of Oldenburg in Germany  are jointly  organising an intensive Higher Education Management Training Course (UNILEAD) in Oldenburg, bringing together the topics Project Management, Management of Financial Re sources and Management of Human Resources with individual and practice-oriented change projects of each participant.

In 2008 the University of Oldenburg developed the programme together with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (South Africa) and the DAAD.  UNILEAD  is  part of the DIES programme (Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies), which has been jointly coordinated by the DAAD and HRK (German Rectors’Conference) since 2001.

Course Contents and Methodology 

The course covers topics with relevance to Higher Education Management in the following three areas:

• 1st module: Project Management
• 2nd module: Management of Financial Resources
• 3rd module: Management of Human Resources

The methodology will be strictly practice orientated and is based on case studies or questions derived from the particular job situation of the participants.  Thus, it is expected to bring in personal experience and to share this knowledge with the group of around 25  participants from different regions of the world. High personal motivation, the willingness to get actively involved during the online and contact  phases and English language skills on an advanced level are essential for the successful completion of this course.

The professional training course combines online and contact  phases in a Blended Learning approach:  Prior  to the first contact phase,  an online phase of 8-10 weeks is scheduled in which the participants are asked to read the study material and to work on short papers, including the draft of a project action plan. These papers are meant to describe the individual work experience at the home university and to identify problems and obstacles referring to the topics of the course.  The initial contact phase will be organised in September 2013  at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. During these three weeks, content will focus on Project Management and Management of Financial Resources. Also,  the personal action plans will be adjusted and fine-tuned.  Between September 2013 and February 2014,  participants are asked to apply the skills acquired at the home university within  their  individual projects. In this, they are being accompanied and  monitored by distance coaches.  Finally, during the  two-week  contact phase of the last module  in February 2014  in Oldenburg,  there will be the opportunity to reflect on the implementation of the individual projects and to discuss on next steps.  Content of inputs will focus on Management of Human Resources.

Partners’ Profile 

The University of Oldenburg is the academic coordinator of this course and works closely together with the
DAAD. The University of Oldenburg  has been  offering an innovative MBA programme in Education
Management for professionals of German speaking (Higher) Education Institutions  for  several years. Thus, it has a wide network of experts who act as lecturers in this MBA programme and provides in-depth experience in the field of  Continuing  Education  and Education Management as well as  training of professionals at an academic level. National and international lecturers will bring in expertise in Higher Education Management and will help reflecting the specific questions from an international and intercultural perspective.

Participants’ Profile

The two key criteria are:
- Participants have been holding a university management position with  managerial and personnel responsibilities for at least two years in one of the following fields:

• Managers of central university departments  (Planning, Evaluation, Financing, Human Resources,
  Continuing Education, International Offices, Technology Transfer etc.).
• Task force managers for university reform projects.
• Managers of staff development units or programmes.

- Active and excellent English language skills (speaking and writing) are indispensable.

Further criteria are:
- Participants are young university leaders aged between 30 and 40 years.
- They hold at least a Master’s degree.
- The provision of international experience will be an asset.
- Being a DAAD alumni will be considered an asset, but is by no means compulsory.

- Participants from higher education institutions of the following regions are eligible to apply: 

• South East Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,  Myanmar,  Philippines, Thailand  and
  Vietnam).
• Sub-Saharan Africa (Burundi,  Cameroon,  Ethiopia,  Ghana,  Kenya, Malawi,  Nigeria,  Rwanda,  South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda).
• Latin America (Bolivia, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru).
• Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen).

Funding

The costs for this training course will be mainly covered by funds  of the DAAD provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
During the visit the participants will be guests of the University of Oldenburg.
Following expenses will be covered:

• Travel costs: Flight to and from Germany and ground travel to and from Oldenburg. We kindly ask  the participants to make their own travel  arrangement  –  they will then be reimbursed in cash upon arrival in Oldenburg.
• Course costs: 5.500 €.
• Accommodation and joint meals at the two contact phases in Germany.
• Partial allowance for subsistence costs during the contact phases in Germany  (according to DAAD regulations).
• Emergency health insurance during the contact phases.

Expected co-funding:  Participants’ home institutions are expected to cover local transportation in their home countries, visa costs and possible additional per diems for the stay in Germany. Furthermore, they are expected to contribute to the costs by paying a one-time fee of 300,00 €

Further details on terms and conditions will be given to the admitted applicants together with the invitation letter. 

Application

Please click here to apply:
https://c3l-learningsystem.uni-oldenburg.de/unilead-2013/applications.nsf/application?OpenForm

Attached should be the following documents

• Letter of motivation  with  date and  signature  (1 to 2 pages max.) in which the need for the training is explained. The following four questions need to be answered (pdf-file): 1)   What is the reason for you applying for the UNILEAD programme and which role do you think the UNILEAD programme will play for your professional career? 2)  Please outline a concrete project with relation to the topics of the course which you are currently implementing or planning to implement at your university! 3)   What kind of actual challenges, obstacles or problems are or will you (presumably) be faced with regarding the implementation of your project? 4)   In which way do you think that your participation in the   UNILEAD  programme  could help you to implement this project and to overcome existing or foreseen challenges, obstacles or problems?
• Letter of recommendation from university top management where the  managerial  qualifications and leadership competencies and the future potential of the candidate are briefly described (pdf-file).
• An additional  letter of recommendation  from  a DAAD  foreign branch office or DAAD Information Centre will be an asset (pdf-file).
• Proof of excellent English proficiency  (e.g. TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate) will be an asset.   Phone interviews will be organised with short listed candidates to guarantee the requested proficiency (pdf-file).
• Please do not forget to mark the contact person of your country/area on the application form.

Closing date Strict closing date of the application is April 1st, 2013

Contact details of Programme Management
Ms. Christine Vajna
Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Dept. of Continuing Education and Educational Management (we.b)
26111 Oldenburg
Germany
E-Mail: unilead@uni-oldenburg.de
Fax: +49 (0)441 798 4741
www.unilead.uni-oldenburg.de

For further information, please visit the official website at http://io.its.ac.id/