Future Pre­si­dent Coa­ching

This seminar is for you if you have held the office of vice-pre­si­dent or pro­rec­tor at a German uni­ver­si­ty for some time, or if you are dean of your faculty or di­rec­tor of a non-uni­ver­si­ty re­se­arch in­sti­tu­te, or have other aca­de­mic ex­pe­ri­ence of re­le­van­ce for the top lea­dership po­si­ti­on in a uni­ver­si­ty, and if you are open to con­si­de­ring the next step – ap­p­ly­ing for a post as pre­si­dent or rector. 

Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft is here to support you in this key career phase. Along­si­de its program for newly and re­cent­ly ap­poin­ted pre­si­dents and rectors, which has been running since 2023, the Foun­da­ti­on is of­fe­ring coa­ching for future pre­si­dents. The seminar will teach you the main tech­ni­ques you need to prepare for the ap­p­li­ca­ti­on process. You will learn to define the core stra­te­gic duties of a pre­si­dent or rector, laying the foun­da­ti­ons for a con­vin­cing ap­p­li­ca­ti­on. 

The coa­ching takes place under con­di­ti­ons of ab­so­lu­te con­fi­den­tia­li­ty (Chatham House Rule) to en­cou­ra­ge an open and fact-based dis­cus­sion en­vi­ron­ment that offers op­por­tu­nities for per­so­nal ques­ti­ons and con­cerns, along­si­de more general in­for­ma­ti­on, ana­ly­ses, and re­com­men­da­ti­ons. Please note that this coa­ching session does not provide in­for­ma­ti­on about lea­dership va­can­ci­es or as­si­s­tan­ce with spe­ci­fic ap­p­li­ca­ti­ons, and does not include any head-hunting ac­tivi­ties. 

Led by current uni­ver­si­ty pre­si­dents and rectors, par­ti­ci­pants will work in small groups (maximum six people) to discuss five topics over the course of the one-day seminar. The in­sights gained will help you make the fun­da­men­tal de­cisi­on about whether to apply for a top lea­dership po­si­ti­on, and take the next step. 

Topics: 

• Duties 
• Ap­ti­tu­de and mo­ti­va­ti­on for the top lea­dership role 
• Pre­pa­ring a job ap­p­li­ca­ti­on 
• De­ve­lo­ping a stra­te­gy for the uni­ver­si­ty 
• Pre­sen­ta­ti­on on selec­tion day 

Please send a brief ex­pres­si­on of in­te­rest by email to info@w-s-w.org by July 1, 2025 for the coa­ching session on Sep­tem­ber 26, 2025. If the number of ap­p­li­ca­ti­ons exceeds the number of places, these will be al­lo­ca­ted on a first-come-first-served basis. 

There is no charge for the seminar. However, par­ti­ci­pants are ex­pec­ted to cover their own travel and ac­com­mo­da­ti­on costs. We will be happy to re­com­mend sui­ta­ble hotels.