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Higher Education Leadership

Explore real-world insights, reflect on your practice, and find inspiration for actionable change

Higher Education Leadership is a collection of 24 articles that were originally published in the online EXPRESS magazine. HE leaders can use these international insights to reflect on their own practice and also create actions for change that are tailored to their personal and organisational contexts.

EXPRESS is the online magazine published three times a year by the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. Since its launch in 2018, it has established itself as a dynamic and inclusive global platform, featuring contributions from authors in 62 countries.Entrepreneurial Mindset Network is an international community of practice for the creation of value in society through the use of the entrepreneurial mindset by higher education leaders, intrapreneurs, public policy innovators, business owners, ecosystem builders and learning innovators.Paul Coyle is the Founder and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network and the editor of the Express magazine. He is an expert in the entrepreneurial mindset, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and organisational change.

RI:SE Development Framework

To date 24 articles have been published in EXPRESS on the theme of Higher Education LeadershipUse the Network's proven RI:SE Framework for your personal and organisational development.Reflect and Initiate: use the real-life lessons from the individual articles and the executive summary to reflect on your personal practice and to initiate new actions for improvement.Scale and Excel: the Network’s masterclasses and consultancy are designed to help an organisation scale entrepreneurial ways of working so it can excel in its innovation and impact.

Executive Summary

An analysis of all the articles reveals the following common challenges and practical solutions suggested by the authors:

Global Evidence Base: The collection spans higher education institutions across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, drawing on real-world practitioner case studies and reflections.Core Institutional Purpose: The studies explore how cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset enables universities to drive institutional transformation, enhance graduate employability, and strengthen regional civic engagement.The "Start-Up" Bottleneck: A widespread challenge is bureaucratic inertia, where universities remain trapped in an isolated "start-up" phase rather than systematically scaling enterprise across all strategy and operations.Structural & Cultural Obstacles: Leaders consistently face rigid departmental silos, deep-seated risk aversion, and global ranking metrics that heavily prioritise international research outputs over local place-based impact.Dynamic Leadership & Management: To overcome these barriers, leaders must flex dynamically between inspirational leadership (coaching and motivating staff) and structured management (enabling problem-solving and establishing clear task instructions).The Civic & "Living" University: Institutions are encouraged to break isolation by co-creating binding Civic University Agreements and leveraging Triple or Quadruple Helix partnerships with local government, industry, and civil society.Dismantling Silos: Authors advocate for establishing interdisciplinary "Contamination Labs", embedding enterprise training across non-business disciplines, and adopting dual education models combining study with company apprenticeships.Fostering "Fail Safer" Spaces: Leaders are prompted to audit whether campus culture penalizes failure or actively creates "fail safer" environments where calculated risk-taking and experimentation are supported.Innovation as a "Team Sport": The framework encourages treating organisational innovation as a collaborative, multidisciplinary team effort.Catalyst for Action: Ultimately, the authors encourage higher education executives to move beyond identifying systemic problems and take direct, context-tailored action to lead change.*(Summary generated by Gemini Notebook).°

Higher Education Leadership Articles

Thank you to the authors of these global insights on Higher Education Leadership for taking the time to share their inspiring stories from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan and the USA.Click on any image to read the article on screen or to download a PDF.

Download PDF: Entrepreneurship education in Uzbekistan by Azamat Nurmatov (Team University, Uzbekistan).
Download PDF: Making universities more open and responsive to societal changes by Alessio Cavicchi (Università di Pisa, Italy).
Download PDF: Scaling higher education innovation using the entrepreneurial mindset by Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France).
Download PDF: Innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability in tourism by Giang Phi (VinUniversity, Vietnam).
Download PDF: Building entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan by Javaria Abbas (Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan).
Download PDF: Strategy, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems by Dev Dutta (University of New Hampshire, USA).
Download PDF: A discussion of the entrepreneurial environment in Sri Lanka by Shehani Joseph, Isuru Koswatte and Rushdi Hadhi (NSBM Green University, Sri Lanka).
Download PDF: Business innovation and social entrepreneurship in Central Asia by Saidqosim Mukhtorov (Institute of Economy and Trade of TSUC, Tajikistan).
Download PDF: A European alliance for dual education EU4Dual by Marko Turk (PAR University of Applied Studies, Croatia).
Download PDF: Entrepreneurial mindset - the nexus of an entrepreneurship ecosystem by Abdul Jalil Ghazali (Management and Science University, Malaysia).
Download PDF: Civic universities and the needs of local communities by Adam Leach (National Civic Impact Accelerator, England).
Download PDF: Role of universities in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems by Admir Salihagić (International Burch University, Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Download PDF: The entrepreneurial university: processes and principles by Robert Crammond (University of the West of Scotland).
Download PDF: Research, innovation and community development in the Philippines by Jonas Villas (Leyte Normal University, the Philippines).
Download PDF: Why the entrepreneurial mindset is more important than ever in HE by Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France).
Download PDF: Student entrepreneurs by Bob Bastian (Università di Pavia, Italy 🇮🇹) and Cyron Chan (CEO Class, Hong Kong) and Hala Barakat (AUC School of Business, Egypt) and Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France).
Download PDF: Responding to the needs of cities and regions by Raffaele Trapasso (OECD, France).
Download PDF: The journey of the entrepreneurial university by Eleanor Shaw (Strathclyde University, Scotland).
Download PDF: The power of the entrepreneurial mindset by Roberto Brambilla (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy).
Download PDF: Flexing between leadership and management by Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France).
Download PDF: A champion for entrepreneurship education by Alison Price (Enterprise Educators, England).
Download PDF: The Living University by Roberto Brambilla (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy).
Download PDF: The role of entrepreneurship in the future of South Africa by Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France).
Download PDF: Higher education leadership by Peter Dobers (Södertörn University, Sweden).

List of references and authors

Copyright notice. You may quote, paraphrase or refer to information in these articles on condition that you credit the author and publisher by using the following references.Abbas, J. (2024). Building entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: EXPRESS eZINE 7(3). https://express-volume-7.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Javaria Abbas (Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan) PDF linkBarakat, H., Bastian, B., Chan, C., and Coyle, P. (2021) Student entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 4(3). https://express-volume-4.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Hala Barakat (AUC School of Business, Egypt) and Bob Bastian (Università di Pavia, Italy) and Cyron Chan (CEO Class, Hong Kong) and Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkBrambilla, R. (2019). The living university. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 2(1). https://express-volume-2.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Roberto Brambilla (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy) PDF linkBrambilla, R. (2020). The power of an entrepreneurial mindset. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 3(1). https://express-volume-3.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Roberto Brambilla (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy) PDF linkCavicchi, A. (2025). Making universities more open and responsive to societal challenges. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 8(3). https://express-volume-8.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Alessio Cavicchi (Università di Pisa, Italy) PDF link
Coyle, P. (2019). Entrepreneurship education in South Africa. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 2(1). https://express-volume-2.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkCoyle, P. (2020). Flexing between leadership and management. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 3(1). https://express-volume-3.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkCoyle, P. (2021). Why the entrepreneurial mindset is more important than ever in Higher Education. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 4(1). https://express-volume-4.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkCoyle, P. (2025). Scaling higher education using the entrepreneurial mindset. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 8(2). https://express-volume-8.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkCrammond, R. (2022). The entrepreneurial university: processes & principles. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 5(3). https://express-volume-5.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Robert Crammond (University of the West of Scotland) PDF linkDobers, P. (2018). Higher education leadership. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 1(1). https://express-volume-1.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Peter Dobers (Södertörn University, Sweden) PDF linkDutta, D. (2024). Strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 7(3). https://express-volume-7.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Dev Dutta (University of New Hampshire, USA) PDF linkGhazali, A.J. (2023). Role of universities in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(2). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Abdul Jalil Ghazali (Management and Science University, Malaysia) PDF linkHadhi, R., Joseph, S., & Koswatte, I. (2024). A discussion of the entrepreneurial environment in Sri Lanka. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 7(1). https://express-volume-7.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Shehani Joseph, Isuru Koswatte and Rushdi Hadhi (NSBM Green University, Sri Lanka) PDF linkLeach, A. (2023). Civic universities and the needs of local communities. Entrepreneurial
Mindset Network: Express 6(2). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Adam Leach (National Civic Impact Accelerator, England) PDF linkMukhtorov, S. (2023). Business innovation and social entrepreneurship in central Asia. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(3). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Saidqosim Mukhtorov (Institute of Economy and Trade of TSUC, Tajikistan) PDF linkNurmatov, A. (2026). Entrepreneurship education in Uzbekistan. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 9(1). https://express-volume-9.entrepreneurial-mindset.network/
Azamat Nurmatov (Team University, Uzbekistan) PDF linkOmar, Z. (2020). The best thing about being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 3(1). https://express-volume-3.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Zohra Omar (Mentoring Hub, Pakistan) PDF linkPhi, G. (2025). Innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability in tourism. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 8(1). [https://express-volume-8.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Giang Phi (VinUniversity, Vietnam) PDF linkPrice, A. (2019). A champion for entrepreneurship education. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 2(3). https://express-volume-2.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Alison Price (Enterprise Educators, England) PDF linkSalihagić, A. (2023). Role of universities in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(1). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Admir Salihagić (International Burch University, Bosnia and Herzegovina) PDF linkShaw, E. (2021). The journey of the entrepreneurial university. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 4(1). https://express-volume-4.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Eleanor Shaw (Strathclyde University, Scotland) PDF linkTrapasso, R. (2022). Responding to the needs of cities and regions. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 5(1). https://express-volume-5.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Raffaele Trapasso (OECD, France) PDF linkTurk, M. (2023). A European Alliance for Dual Education EU4Dual. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(3). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Marko Turk (PAR University of Applied Studies, Croatia) PDF linkVillas, J. (2022). Research, innovation and community development in the Philippines. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 5(3). https://express-volume-5.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Jonas Villas (Leyte Normal University, the Philippines) PDF link

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Only the Executive Summary was generated using Gemini Notebook.