Event: Academic Leadership Forum 2026
Audience: Heads of Department & Directors (Institutes, Centres & Schools)
Date: Wednesday 23rd September 2026
Time: 0900-1300hrs
Venue: ICT Auditorium
Hosted by:
Office of the Pro-Rector for People, Quality & Communications
Office for Professional Academic Development
PROGRAMME
08:15 - Welcome Coffee & Registration
Professional Photography Session for Heads of Department & Directors (optional)
09:00 - Introduction & Welcome Address
Rector Prof Frank Bezzina
09:05 - Welcome Address
Pro-Rector Prof. Noellie Brockdorff
09:15 - Group Activity
10:05 - Keynote Speech
Academic Leaders’ Engagement in the Strategic Development of the University
Prof. 艁ukasz Su艂kowski
This keynote invites HoDs to see themselves as active contributors to strategic change at 今日黑料. It will explore how institutional strategy can be translated into local priorities, decisions, experimentation and shared learning, particularly at a time of rapid change in university education, shaped in part by AI and increasing accountability. The session will focus on leadership practices that strengthen agency, engagement and resilience, and will encourage participants to identify one strategic change they can actively support within their own area.
11:00 - Coffee Break
11:15 - Briefing
Prof. Ing. Simon Fabri, Pro-Rector for Research & Knowledge Transfer
11:25 - Briefing
Prof. Leonie Baldacchino, Pro-Rector for Internationalisation, Enterprise & Outreach
11:35 - Briefing
Prof. Joseph Cacciottolo, Pro-Rector for Academic Affairs & Lifelong Learning
11:45 - Panel Discussion
Moderators: Prof. Glenn Cassar and Prof. Gillian Martin
Panellists: Prof. Sandra Buttigieg, Prof. Liberato Camilleri, Prof. Maureen Cole and Prof. Nicholas Vella
12:30 - Briefing
Prof. Vincent Cassar, Pro-Rector for Strategic Implementation & Sustainability
12:40 - Briefing
Prof. Noellie Brockdorff, Pro-Rector for People, Quality & Communications
12:55 - Conclusion followed by stand-up lunch/refreshments