CHIEF MOJISOLA LADIPO, mni THE CHALLENGE OF THE REGISTRY IN MEETING GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES IN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION CHIEF MOJISOLA LADIPO, mni

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meeting global competitiveness means adopting global best practices with competencies that meet global expectations

FIVE TOP UNIVERSITIES IN AFRICA (2019) - WORLDTOP20.ORG

University of South Africa University of the Witwatersrand Stellenbosch University University of Kwazulu-Natal University of Pretoria

Economic and Social Indicators for Rating ‘global’ Universities Global best practices in Management The competencies needed to meet global best practice The way forward

……Economic and Social Indicators for Rating ‘global’ Universities

Innovation – 60% Research -30% Publications -10% Facilities – 15%

Teaching -305 Employability – 40% SocialResponsibility– 15%

The Times Higher Education Rankings are not much different The Times Higher Education Rankings are not much different. Only two Nigerian Universities made the top 600-800 while one University made the top 1001!

it is important to note that elite (global) universities are not labelled by ‘self-declaration; rather, their status is conferred by the outside world on the basis of international recognition

CHARACTERISTICS OF GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE UNIVERSITIES

Good governance – freedom and autonomy, leadership that is committed to accountability, transparency, inclusiveness without primordial sentiments Multiple sources of income from research, patents, investments, benefactions etc Openness to new ideas fostering competition, innovation and professionalism Efficient management of talents and resources, human, material, financial and environmental

Quick response to the demands of an ever-changing global market Customer-centric service delivery Stable and accessible infrastructural facilities l Highly digitized processes- e-learning, e- governance, e-administration etc Stability of academic calendar and government policies

Best Practice v. Smart Practice

a method or technique generally accepted as superior to any alternatives because it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or it has become a standard way of doing things because, over time, it has worked exceptionally well

best practice must be balanced with what is unique to our institutions and the practices we have in common with universities globally,

Source: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2016) …. that is adept at absorbing new technologies (pillar 9), and without sufficient financing (pillar 8) for R&D or an efficient goods market that makes it possible to take new innovations to market (pillar 6) Source: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2016)

peculiarity, complexity and capital-intensiveness of universities and global events and changes have made a lot of impact on the way we manage and administer universities and the relevance and currency of service departments

Globally Competitive Administrator

COMPETENCIES FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

Ability to contribute to strategic decisions using insight and understanding Excellent grounding in industry specific knowledge and rules, regulations and laws

Possession of technical know- how, i. e Possession of technical know- how, i.e. software programmes, excel, Word, etc Innovativeness and ability to show initiative and come up with creative ways to solve problems

Personal confidence and emotional intelligence Excellent communication skills- to get points across to colleagues, internal and external publics and stakeholders at all levels

Openness to change and ability to adapt and embrace new technology, shifts in general working practices Ability to prioritise work and beat deadlines

Commitment and loyalty Excellent customer service orientation with win-win approach to issues Strong work ethics

LEADERSHIP IS KEY

developing and training the administrator to possess the required knowledge, skills and capability

A ‘Needs Assessment Survey’ to identify individual strengths and areas of deficiencies at every level of the hierarchy Targeted hands-on training to meet those needs

Continuous self development Personal commitment to quality in service delivery Continuous self development Embracing technology for effective, timely and cost effective services delivery

Job knowledge Overall intelligence Attitude Culture

Specific and detailed subject knowledge Multidisciplinary knowledge- General industry knowledge Specific and detailed subject knowledge Multidisciplinary knowledge- conceptual diagnostic, and evaluative knowledge

PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE CREATIVE KNOWLEDGE

Deliberate succession planning for all levels of management in this era of rapid turnover arising from the new dispensation

CONCLUSION

We defined the University Administrator and his or her role and functions We examined the concept of Global Competitiveness We considered the competencies required for global competitiveness We identified the building blocks of a globally competitive administrator

We surmised that leadership is key to impartation of knowledge, skills and the right competencies of globally competitive administrators and a joint effort of all the stakeholders

We concluded that all the efforts will be wasted without the cooperation as well as the innate ability of the individual and the culture of the institution.

THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE!

I THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION