Leadership challenges and opportunities for Greek universities

The empirical and academic literature shows that good management of public organizations, such as universities, requires that they must be accountable to taxpayers and society in the same way that a corporate governance framework provides accountability for the shareholders of corporations/companies.

Danish universities are a case in point, according to Times Higher Education, where running universities like corporations has helped them connect to society and industry.

In Denmark, a 2023 law introduced management boards made up mostly of non-academic members, to help develop research strategies, manage finances and appoint and oversee rectors.

Two decades on, the Danish Council for Research and Innovation Policy, an independent expert body, gathered responses from 3,000 researchers and 100 department heads to review the effects of the 2003 university act in...