Leadership
Strong, inclusive leadership is essential to the success of health education, research and workforce development across the UK. The Council of Deans of Health supports current and future leaders to navigate complexity, influence change and lead with confidence in an evolving health and social care landscape.
Our leadership work brings together senior academics, professional leaders and emerging talent from across our membership to build capability, share learning and strengthen system leadership.
We believe effective leadership in healthcare education is:
- Values-led and inclusive, grounded in equity, diversity and belonging
- Collaborative, recognising the power of collective leadership across institutions and sectors
- Future-focused, preparing leaders for emerging challenges and opportunities
Through our leadership activity, we aim to support individuals while strengthening leadership capacity across the sector as a whole. Equity is central to our leadership work. We are committed to supporting leaders who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve and who can lead inclusive cultures within their institutions.
Aspiring Deans Leadership Programme
Our flagship development programme for senior leaders preparing for faculty-level leadership roles.
The programme provides:
- Insight into the role and responsibilities of a dean
- Peer learning and collaboration with colleagues from across the UK
- Opportunities to explore leadership identity, influence and decision-making
Emerging Deans Leadership Programme
The Emerging Deans Leadership Programme is a new initiative for experienced academic leaders, such as Heads of School, Associate Deans and Deputy Deans, who are preparing to step into Dean roles within healthcare education. Building on the Aspiring Deans Leadership Programme, it aims to equip participants to lead at scale in an increasingly complex health and higher education landscape, with a focus on strategic leadership, governance, policy influence, resource stewardship and inclusive culture change. Through peer learning, senior-level mentorship and engagement with national stakeholders, the programme strengthens leadership presence, decision-making capability and system leadership, supporting a strong and diverse pipeline of future Deans ready to lead.
Student Leadership Programme
The Student Leadership Programme was designed to support the next generation of leaders across nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions. Co-designed with students and informed by a national survey and advisory group input, the programme focused on developing leadership skills not routinely covered within pre-registration curricula. Over 450 first- and second-year students from across the UK completed the programme, with learning and experiences shared through blogs and the #150Leaders podcast series.
The programme combined a two-day residential event, structured coaching with senior health and care leaders, and an active online community of practice. Students applied their learning through leadership projects aligned to themes such as interprofessional learning, student wellbeing and inclusive recruitment, and reflected on their leadership journeys through conferences and written reflection.
The programme was co-funded by the Council of Deans of Health and the Burdett Trust for Nursing, enabling full participation at no cost to students.