The Ministry of Education organized today the activities of the Academic Leaders Forum in its first session in Riyadh over two days, under the theme "Developing Effective Academic Leaders," in the presence of university presidents and more than 800 key figures from Saudi universities. Vice Minister of Education for Universities, Research, and Innovation, Dr. Mohammad bin Ahmed Al-Sudairi, said in his speech at the opening of the forum, "The Ministry of Education and the university education sector are constantly seeking to develop academic leaderships in cooperation with universities and international experts in the field of academic leadership". He continued, "These possess the expertise and best practices that enable the Ministry of Education to achieve its objectives, which are in line with the strategic objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 in supporting and caring for the university education sector." "The Ministry of Education seeks, through this forum, to present and discuss the most significant contemporary methods of academic leadership within dialogue sessions and workshops dealing with leadership development, in collaboration with a selection of local and international experts in this field," he continued. "Based on the role of competitiveness in raising the level of performance quality in the universities of the Kingdom and enhancing their efficiency". This contributes to gaining experiences, exchanging and enhancing the knowledge aspects of academic leaders in universities, and developing their leadership skills. In addition to the advancement of Saudi universities in international rankings, which enables students to achieve advanced results in their education compared to the average international results in academic achievement, research, and innovation. The Vice Minister of Education for Universities, Research, and Innovation concluded his speech by thanking the General Supervisor of the Center for the Preparation of University Leaders and the work team for setting up and organizing this forum. This is important as it comes at a crucial time when it is necessary to achieve the required development and qualitative shift for university leaders and prepare them for the future. The Academic Leadership Forum involves holding a number of dialogue sessions and development workshops in cooperation with a group of local and international experts in this field. These workshops outline the importance of developing and managing leaders' performance in enhancing effectiveness in universities and identify the most important traits and competencies of an effective academic leader. Additionally, they develop the proper environment for investment and development in the academic leaders' knowledge, skills, and capabilities to enhance the effectiveness of Saudi universities, as well as best practices in evaluating the performance of academic leaders, the role of the Board of Trustees in evaluating performance, and strategies for achieving high performance.
