In today’s uncertain global economy, Higher Education institutions in the region are facing major challenges including declining funding, increasing operational costs, shifting students demand to quality learner-centered experiences supported by more efficient and effective services as well as access to the latest technologies and increasing requirements for governance and accountability. In an increasingly crowded and globalized market, higher education institutions in the MENA region are also struggling to craft a niche for their offerings and find ways to gain a competitive advantage by differentiating themselves in an effort to attract high caliber students as well as research funding and top faculty. While responses will vary from one institution to another, it has become clear that drastic measures must be taken to address these challenges in a proactive and tangible way. One of the widely used management tools to enable universities deal with these competitive pressures, build capacity for change and improve their standing is benchmarking. Benchmarking provides universities with a systematic process of assessing, identifying and innovatively adapting good practices within the same organization or from other businesses to improve performance. It is not about cloning the success of other organizations, or indulging in industrial spying.  Nor is it about creating league tables or seeking short-term hard data.

This program will provide the participants with a detailed understanding of benchmarking in higher education and its implementation supported by hands-on tools, techniques and case studies. The program will also expose the participants to benchmarking as a tool for out-of-the-box thinking, innovation and creativity through games and real-life examples.

Target Audience:

Directors and managers of planning, effectiveness and quality officers working in Higher Education as well as Deans of colleges & schools, head of departments involved with planning and staffs working in institutional research units. The program is also of relevance to academic and administrative leaders.