Project No.: 101236505
Title: Mediterranean Higher Education Leadership Academy

Programme: ERASMUS-EDU-2025-CBHE-STRAND-3
Project Duration: 1. January 2026 – 31. December 2029

Project Leader: dr. Omar Behadada
Project Coordinator: Université Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen, Algeria

Project Overview and Objectives

MED.HELA aims to strengthen governance, strategic planning and management in Algerian and Tunisian universities, supporting reform and modernisation of the higher education sectors through enhanced leadership capacity and capability. Anchored in an internationally recognised framework of leadership qualities and skills, the initiative brings together universities, ministries of education and regional organisations from Algeria, Tunisia and three EU Member States to develop and implement a comprehensive leadership development ecosystem for Mediterranean higher education. The project pursues six primary objectives:

• Establish how best practice internationally, in the EU, and at EU partner universities on leadership development academies and programmes can be applied to increase leadership capacity of Algerian and Tunisian universities.
• Create a Higher Education Leadership Qualities and Skills framework with accompanying app, Mediterranean Higher Education Leadership Academy (MHELA) and associated Mediterranean Higher Education Leadership Development Programme (MHE-LDP) appropriate for the region.
• Train staff responsible for delivery of the MHELA and MHE-LDP in their implementation.
• Create infrastructure, including leadership training hubs, to support and sustain the Academy and programme.
• Pilot and implement the leadership academy and development programme across Algerian and Tunisian universities.
• Disseminate outputs to HEIs across Algeria, Tunisia, the Mediterranean region, the EU, and internationally.

Project Activities and Work Packages

Objectives will be achieved through five integrated work packages:

• Project Preparation, Management & Quality Assurance – Establishing governance structures, quality assurance mechanisms, external evaluation and advisory board oversight throughout the 36-month implementation.
• Academy & Programme Development – Research visits to EU partners, creation of the HELQS 360-degree appraisal app, design of MHELA structures and MHE-LDP materials, train-the-trainer workshops, and establishment of leadership training hubs at each partner institution.
• Piloting – Delivery of train-the-trainer workshops to 20 university staff, pilot of 6 MHELA leadership seminars and the MHE-LDP with 24 leaders from partner and non-partner institutions, followed by systematic evaluation and revision.
• Implementation – Translation of materials into French, delivery of 22 face-to-face and online MHELA seminars, implementation of MHE-LDP with 5 cohorts (120 leaders), supported by EU partner mentoring, culminating in sustainability planning.
• Dissemination & Exploitation – Promotional activities, international symposium for 230+ leaders, testimonials, case studies of change projects, train-the-trainer workshops for non-partner HEIs, and academic publications.