China-Australia Executive Leadership Program: Cross-border Leadership Development in the Asian Century

This paper presents some findings of a qualitative study on the experiences and perspectives of Chinese university executives who participated in the two-week 2013 China Australia Executive Leadership Program in Australia. An in-depth, semi-structured interview approach was utilized to explore their experiences of the program and observations of comparative strengths and challenges of both higher education systems. Five university Vice Presidents were interviewed individually in their host university. The findings show that the program was valuable and enabled them to explore the leadership challenges and future development in teaching, research and higher education management across both China and Australia. The cross-border leadership development experiences enhanced their intercultural learning and understanding about the Australian higher education in general and institutional practices in the host university. The program also provided an opportunity for them to critically examine the differences and similarities between two higher education systems, and reflect upon their leadership practices and institutional procedures. They cautioned against indiscriminate borrowing and highlighted the importance of reciprocal learning and adapting new insights to the Chinese cultural and institutional contexts. The paper discusses the implications of cross-border executive leadership development model in the Asian century.