The workshop provides an opportunity to explore current and future organisational change in universities. In this, the 21^st Century and time of the 4^th Industrial Revolution, universities as key providers of higher education are challenged to be relevant and viable.  Many universities internationally are introducing changes, with an increasing emphasis on technology, delivering programs on line, or via blended learning. Students and staff may conduct learning activities in virtual rather than physical space and may never meet. Work-based and problem based learning also provide different learning places. Buildings are remodelled to provide different  learning spaces with café style opportunities to interact.

In today's higher education, the roles of university staff are changing. The teacher may facilitate learning, or experience reversion to transmission of prepackaged learning programs. Autonomy and opportunities for ongoing academic employment with both research and teaching are increasingly difficult to find.

Whilst Europe is influenced by the progressive Education and Training 2020 initiatives and colaborations, many in the Anglophone world are introducing changes such as downsizing and using transactional leadership to help reshape their workforces. These may be considered restrictive rather than expansive modes of organisational change, with exclusion from opportunities rather than inclusion. Issues include the future quality of higher education teaching, ongoing casualisation of the workforce, organisational change and quality, workforce needs and treatment of learners.

With internal and external challenges, how may universities position themselves to meet the uncertain needs of learners, of employees, community, society, and the nation. Can they be transformative, or enterepreneurial, can they become sustainable? Can they teach and research? Are they able to promote inclusion of both students and staff?

The focus of the workshop embraces the cultural backgounds and geographic locations of the participants. Sharing models for change may assist the participants' contributions in their own universities. Trends employed in Europe may provide models for other countries. 

The workshop is deliberately planned as an open ended and broad sweeping conversation to consider what has been happening in leadership in the university sector, and to try to move from the somewhat grey skies to blue sky thinking. Can familiarity with the status quo be a springbioard for change? 

Participants will be encouraged to reflect, dream, to imagine and then to consider real world possibilities for leadership and change in universities. 

Participants are encouraged to bring a short statement of the issues and challenges they perceive and experience in the University sector to share. University researchers and practitioners will be provided with an opportunity to reflect on the state of their organisations and to explore ideas as to how these may be addressed.

The workshop is designed to facilitate and encourage active participation and discussion in a round table style.

This includes discussion of different leadership styles, such as transactional and transformational, entrepreneurial and adaptive styles and their impact on organisational change. Change for sustainability and models to achieve this will be considered (Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn, 2003). Values, ethics, trust, freedom, control, governance, interaction with community, financial viability, and quality are also to be considered.  

Examples of ‘good practice’ will be drawn upon in the development of ways forward. Recommendations for action will also be developed.  

The methodology employed for this workshop is qualitative and interpretative, to provide an opportunity to explore and share experiences, observations and recommendations on organisational change in universities. The workshop facilitator will provide an initial input in the form of two organisational change case studies, and the structure for the session to facilitate a sharing of experiences, reflections and ideas. Open ended questions and starter sentences will be utilised to prompt interaction. These will form a basis for the facilitation of an exploration of ideas for improved development and practice in universities. Conference participants generally welcome the opportunity for interaction and exploration of ideas within the program, and this workshop provides an opportunity for this. The references will be utilised to provide relevant and creative examples and models for the participants in the session. There will be opportunities to work individually, in pairs, groups and the class as a whole. Mind maps will be developed from these activities.

The outcome from the workshop - the perceptions and ideas of the participants will contribute to the production of mind maps and recommendations for ways forward for sustainable change in universities. Participants will be asked for permission to utilise their input in subsequent publications. An expected outcome is that the conversation, the sharing of observations and experiences and research will contribute to working for change in different ways.

Clark, B.R., (2004, 2011) Change in Universities, Open University Press, McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead, England Dunphy, D., Griffiths, A., and Benn, S., (2003) Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability, 2nd edition, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon., New York Green, M., (2007) Change Management Masterclass, Kogan Page Ltd, London and Philadelphia Kotter, J.P., (2008) A Sense of Urgency, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, USA McNay, I.,(2006) (ed) Beyond Mass Higher Education,Open University Press, McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead, England Brown, R., (2011) (ed) Higher Education and the Market, Routledge, New York and Abingdon, Oxon