University of Birmingham, England

Effective leadership is a hallmark of the University of Birmingham. Today, the institution have a global reputation as a rich and diverse institution known for inspirational thinking, financial stability, and strong local, national, and international partnerships. Its heritage as the original ‘redbrick’ is combined with one of the most compelling and ambitious agendas in higher education. The University has been transformed in recent years, characterised by major investments in academic staffing, investment of £1 billion in campus facilities, strong and improving outcomes for its students, annual growth in research performance, and bold new moves such as establishing the only university-run secondary school and sixth form in the country, and opening a new campus in Dubai.

The single biggest investment that the University has made in recent years is in people. Since 2015 the University have expanded its academic staff numbers by more than 500, including world-class researchers and teachers, leading early-career academics (including through a much-emulated Birmingham Fellows scheme), and Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellows, its innovative scheme to enhance cross-disciplinary working. The University are developing an enviable reputation for attracting some of the finest minds in the world to teach and research at the University.