"The LEAD project is a capacity building joint project focusing on the strengthening and improvement of governance and academic leadership of universities in the context of innovation, modernization and internationalization of higher education institutions in China. The project aims to enhance capacities of academic leaders of HEIs on university governance and leadership, develop and implement training for academic leaders on university governance and academic leadership, support and enhance internationalization of HEIs, strengthen EU-China cooperation on university governance & academic leadership and foster a better understanding of academic leadership approaches in the EU and China.The target groups of the project are HEI academic leadership, including Rectors/Vice Rectors, Presidents/ Vice Presidents, Deans/Vice Deans, Directors of Central Education and Research Policy offices, Heads of departments, and potential academic leaders. The project activities include Leadership and Governance workshops and training, job shadowing, Academic Leadership round tables, seminars, developing new formats of training modules, such as MOOC modules on HEI Governance and Academic Leadership, and dissemination conferences and events.The Consortium is a strong and unique European and Chinese partnership composed of four European universities, one European university association, and five Chinese HEIs. The LEAD project consortium has implemented six series of workshops and training in China and Europe. The LEAD MOOC on ""University Governance and Academic Leadership"" has been developed and is available online for all relevant stakeholders. The project has attracted wide interests from Chinese and European HEIs. A book entitled ""University Governance and Academic Leadership in the EU and China"" has been completed and published. The results of the project have contributed to the enhancement of mutual understanding among Chinese and European university stakeholders and the competence development & modernization of HEIs on university governance. The project has also contributed to multi-level and cross-regional cooperation among stakeholders on academic leadership development. More cooperation has been facilitated among the project partners and beyond the partnership."

The LEAD2 project is built on the results of the LEAD project, but with significant new & innovative contributions. The rational for setting up the LEAD2 project is two-fold: 1)need for deeper & broader innovative capacity building on university governance and academic leadership among Chinese and European HEIs, 2)the lack of Knowledge Base and Referencing tool for academic leaders. Therefore, the LEAD2 has four main objectives: 1)customise innovative specialized & targeted blended training for academic leaders, 2)deepen the understanding of university governance and academic leadership (AL) in diverse contexts through comparative studies, 3)create an online Knowledge Base and Referencing Tool for academic leaders, 4)establish an EU-China Center on AL. The key results will include 1) customised blended training (MOOCs & F2F workshop series) targeted for young, middle-level and top-level academic leaders; 2)research reports and publications that significantly contribute to the understanding of university governance and AL in China and the EU; 3)created online Knowledge Base and Quick Referencing tool for (potential) academic leaders; 4)a sustainable EU-China Center on AL. The project will have significant impact in further strengthening the EU-China cooperation in university governance, supporting the modernisation and internationalisation of HEIs and fostering innovative capacities of Chinese and European universities. It will also further contribute to the EU-China High Level People-to-People Dialogue (HPPD), especially the EU-China cooperation in higher education. The key stakeholders include university academic leaders at different levels including potential academic leaders, Chinese and European HEIs, and relevant policy makers.The Consortium is a strong and unique partnership with 6 European and 6 Chinese universities, which ensures a complementarity of expertise and also regional relevance of capacity building in different parts of China & the EU.