December 12th, 2024
An MOU has been signed today in a virtual signing ceremony between TUM International GmbH (TUMint), a subsidiary of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany, and the Center for Learning Innovations and Customized Knowledge Solutions (CLICKS), UAE, to develop a collaborative relationship for creating capacity-building programs aimed at higher education leaders. These programs will focus on areas such as university management, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
TUM International GmbH (TUMint), established in 2007 under the umbrella of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), is recognized as a prominent player in fostering global innovation and education. TUM itself is renowned as the European Union’s leading university in innovation, research, and education. TUMint specializes in designing and operating scientific sites, education programs, innovation ecosystems, and technology transfer centers modeled after TUM’s globally acclaimed ecosystem.
TUMint has extensive expertise working with international institutions to guide them through transformative processes, developing tailored education programs and fostering innovation and knowledge-based ecosystems. The partnership, formalized on December 12, 2024, and signed by Friederike Hettinger, Managing Director of TUMint, and Narimane Hadj-Hamou, Founder and CEO of CLICKS, lays the foundation for a strategic partnership. This collaboration leverages TUMint’s expertise in global innovation and education alongside CLICKS’s deep experience in capacity-building efforts for higher education. The partnership focuses on co-designing and delivering leadership training programs that empower higher education leaders to address contemporary challenges, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and drive institutional transformation.
One of the key outcomes of this partnership is the Summer Leadership Institute, a five-day program set to take place in Munich, Germany in July 2025. The institute will bring together university leaders from different parts of the world to explore strategies for fostering entrepreneurship, driving innovation, and enabling the successfulcommercialization of science within higher education institutions. Registration for the leadership institute will open next month, with limited capacity for its inaugural edition. In this context, Narimane Hadj-Hamou, Founder and CEO of CLICKS, highlighted the alignment of the collaboration with CLICKS’s mission to support leadership development in higher education: “This partnership exemplifies our shared vision to empower leaders in higher education. The theme of the Summer Leadership Institute, focusing on entrepreneurial universities, is particularly relevant in today’s evolving landscape. By combining interactive sessions with site visits to leading research centers, innovation hubs, and incubators in Munich, participants will gain hands-on insights into fostering innovation and entrepreneurship within their institutions.“
Adding to this, Friederike Hettinger emphasized the partnership’s goals: “This collaboration aims to leverage our joint experience in academic excellence, academic-industry partnerships, quality assurance, and leadership training to enable entrepreneurship and the achievement of universities’ third mission globally. We will kick off this collaboration by organizing in 2025 a Summer Leadership Institute focused on elevating entrepreneurship at higher education institutions.”
This MOU underscores the shared commitment of TUMint and CLICKS to create impactful programs that strengthen the leadership capabilities of higher education institutions across the Arab region and worldwide. Beyond the Summer Leadership Institute, the partnership seeks to explore additional areas of collaboration in capacity building and consulting services, fostering future-ready universities equipped to thrive in an era of innovation and transformation.
