Vision, Mission, Strategy
What is HUMANE?
HUMANE is primarily a European network of higher education professionals. Our aims are to build global networks of professionals, foster innovation in higher education professional services and drive professional excellence in higher education management. The network welcomes universities from outside Europe to broaden contributions.
Our Vision
Our vision is to transform higher education into a dynamic sector open to the world, through the transformation of university professional services with contemporary approaches for dynamic service delivery, for what is needed in the academic enterprise of today.
Our Mission
Universities face relentless institutional transformations amid financial strains, technological shifts, and regulatory demands, requiring professional services in the university administration to do more with fewer resources.
Our mission is to help universities thrive in the challenging global world by empowering their senior professional service leaders and managers to strengthen professional practices and organisational development.
Our Strategic Priorities
Our strategic priorities guide the association in its goal to help transform professional services in universities into dynamic services building on people and on modern technology.
They are centred around connecting, developing, and empowering professionals in higher education, be it those in senior generalist positions (Head/Director of Administration, Registrar, Secretary-General, Chancellor, or Chief Operating Officer) or in more specialised ones (HR, finances, IT, estates, internationalisation, quality assurance, knowledge transfer and innovation):
- To elevate professionals in higher education for the key roles they play in contributing to institutional strategy formulation and implementation, to address the current challenges.
To do so we offer a portfolio of professional development programmes and networking events, focusing on trends in higher education and ways to address the challenges leaders and managers currently experience, to help them find new solutions and empower them to deliver effectively for the university of the future. - To build institutional capabilities for institutional resilience and change management in universities.
To do so we offer help to members of our HUMANE community by empowering leaders and managers in universities, providing the latest knowledge and resources on trends in higher education, leadership and change management skills. We will assist universities in making changes and transformation so that they can deliver more effectively in the complex environments in which they operate. - To continue to expand the range and depth of our activities.
To do this we continue steadily to expand our membership within and beyond Europe to ensure that we are able to grow our network and events, in a manageable fashion which enables the long-term sustainability of HUMANE.
Who are we and what do we do?
HUMANE Members are tertiary level higher education institutions recognised in their country and represented by their permanent representative. This person is an appropriate senior management staff, usually a person with significant responsibility for administrative affairs in their university. Their title will vary between institutions (Head of Administration, Registrar, Secretary-General, Chancellor, Director of Administration or Chief Operating Officer). Our events are open to all senior leaders and managers of university professional services.
Uniquely, HUMANE supports the professional development of current executive leaders within the HE sector as well as organisational development through the provision of programmes to promising senior leaders and managers.
The network is a dynamic purpose-built ecosystem which cultivates member engagement and drives international collaboration in higher education.
Our portfolio is approached through three core principles: strategic alignment, a matrix architecture, and a member journey engagement.
Our strategic pillars shape every event we offer:
- Capacity building: practical, skills-focused events and Leadership & Development programmes which directly enhance institutional performance and cultivate the next generation of university professional service leaders
- Knowledge co-creation: collaborative spaces for senior professional service leaders to work on new solutions and innovate in the university administration. We offer highly effective support to navigate profound institutional changes
- Network continuity: meaningful year-round engagement that keep members connected beyond the Annual Conferences
Our matrix architecture balances reach and depth, with broad European events (for community identity and cross-disciplinary exchange), and highly specialised seminars, master classes, study visits and thematic expert groups. Physical events build lasting trust, deep relational capital and executive consensus while digital formats democratise access and keep participation inclusive.
Our Member Engagement Journey
Our HUMANE event portfolio is structured as continuous learning and a leadership pipeline for member universities and their professional service senior leaders, offering institutional capacity building and professional development under three engagement levels:
- Discovery and onboarding: Annual Conferences allow senior professional service leaders to engage with the network
- Deepening engagement: small scale seminars, specialised study tours, Leadership & Development programmes and virtual thematic expert groups for a more active collaboration
- Leadership and governance: the expertise of active representatives of member institutions is leveraged to guide the association’s strategic direction (in steering committees, the association’s General Assembly and the Board)