The Lord Mayor of Coventry hosted a lunch in the city last week for senior academics and administrators from 10 Higher Education institutions, spanning six continents.

Delegates from HE institutions in Australia, Barbados, Ghana, India, the Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, Trinidad, and the UK and a UK-based HE-related law firm gathered for lunch with the newly-inaugurated Lord Mayor, Councillor Hazel Noonan.

Senior academics and administrators were visiting the region as part of the Warwick International Programme in the Leadership and Management of Higher Education (WIPLM).

The programme is in its fifth year and is a two-week residential programme hosted by the University of Warwick. Aimed at academic and non-academic managers, it offers a unique opportunity to study at a leading British university alongside Higher Education leaders and practitioners from around the globe.

The programme focuses on five key challenges in higher education management: developing and implementing strategy; leading change; structures and governance, strategic collaborations and partnerships and student experience.

During the programme, delegates visited a range of universities including Oxford, Birmingham and Coventry and were given a guided tour of Coventry City Centre which included lunch with the Lord Mayor at Saint Mary’s Guildhall and a visit to Coventry Cathedral.

The Programme Director, Stephen Williams said: “The 2014 WIPLM has been a real two-way exchange of knowledge with senior higher education leaders from six continents. The University of Warwick has benefitted enormously from the multiple perspectives provided by our delegates on the future challenges and opportunities of global higher education and based on their extremely positive feedback, our delegates have also learnt a huge amount and deepened their understanding during their stay.

We are also delighted that they have gained such a positive impression of the University of Warwick, the City of Coventry and the UK during their two weeks here as this bodes well for further international collaboration in the future.”

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact Kelly Parkes-Harrison, Senior Press and Communications Manager, University of Warwick, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk, 02476 150868, 07824 540863.