Organized by the EU–China Higher Education Research Center (ECHE) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the LEAD Academic Network, the fourth Webinar of the Digital Academic Leadership Webinar Series gathered academics and higher education practitioners from around the world to share insights on emerging research and developing perspectives in Digital Academic Leadership.
The session featured Prof. Dr. Ir. Jan Cornelis, who delivered a lecture entitled “Digital Academic Leadership: Vision and Strategy.” An internationally recognized scholar in digital image and signal processing, Prof. Cornelis has produced more than 600 publications and made significant contributions to biomedical engineering over several decades. Throughout his career, he has held prominent leadership positions at VUB and other major innovation institutions.
In his lecture, he emphasized that effective digital academic leadership rests on a clear long-term vision, adaptable roadmaps, and a growth-oriented mindset, while also requiring leaders to adjust their approach to different contexts of research, innovation, and knowledge transfer. His central message was that universities can continue to play a vital role in the age of AI when leadership is proactive, reflective, and guided by the common good. After the lecture, in the breakout discussions, participants exchanged views on the changes needed in learning paradigms due to the integration of AI, which strategies should guide its use, and what responsible digital academic leadership means in practice.
The webinar underscored the importance of collaborative, forward-thinking, and ethically grounded leadership in shaping the future of higher education in the age of AI.
