We are pleased to announce a new research collaboration with Universidad Francisco de Vitoria on a project titled “Leadership Education: Identification, Validation, and Evaluation of Pedagogical Strategies in RIU Universities.”
Funded by Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, this project marks the beginning of a wider, multi-phase effort to develop a theoretically grounded, empirically validated, and practically useful model of leadership education. The research will initially focus on the Red Internacional de Universidades del Regnum Christi (RIU), with the aim of generating insights that are relevant to higher education more broadly.
The first phase of the project will concentrate on identifying and mapping the pedagogical strategies currently used across RIU universities to foster student leadership development. This will include an in-depth examination of courses, programmes, and institutional practices designed to cultivate leadership among students. Using a combination of surveys, interviews, document analysis, and cross-institutional collaboration, the project seeks to establish a clearer shared framework of leadership education pedagogies, more consistent terminology, and a stronger evidence base to support future research and practice. Subsequent phases of the research will extend this work beyond the RIU network, including broader validation across Latin America and further evaluation of the effectiveness of different pedagogical approaches.
This work responds to a growing recognition that leadership education is often shaped by diverse and dispersed practices across institutions. By bringing these approaches together into a coherent framework, the project aims to transform fragmented knowledge into shared understanding, enabling universities to design and deliver leadership education with greater impact.