From Strategy to Motivation: The Role of Leadership in Quality Assurance of Moldovan Higher Education

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-599-7_13How to use a DOI?

Keywords

University Leadership; Quality Assurance; Moldovan Higher Education

Abstract

Amid the rapid global transformations of society, university leadership is emerging as a decisive factor in redefining the mission and vision of higher education institutions. Driven by globalization, technological change, and internationalization, universities must redesign their strategies, while leadership is called to transcend traditional administrative role into a visionary and motivational force. This study examines the role of university leadership in the Republic of Moldova, highlighting how universities leaders can transform internal challenges of higher education system and external standards of quality assurance into collective motivation, organizational culture, academic performance, and international competitiveness.

Drawing on survey data, institutional strategies, and international frameworks, the research identifies three essential directions for leadership development: strengthening institutional capacity through project management, digitalization, and strategic planning; fostering people oriented leadership through communication, team management, and participatory decision making; and adapting to international contexts through innovation, resilience, and global partnerships.

Moldovan universities, particularly after joining the Bologna Process in 2005 and implementing the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), have advanced significant reforms: restructuring curricula, strengthening quality evaluation mechanisms, and expanding academic mobility. These changes have generated an acute need for leadership capable of managing both the post Soviet legacy and the demands of European integration. The study concludes that effective leadership is inseparable from quality assurance, modernization, and international recognition. By converting external pressures into opportunities, Moldovan universities could strengthen their credibility and contribute to the creation of a coherent, diverse, and performance oriented national academic ecosystem.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this license to share adapted material derived from this chapter or parts of it.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Lucia Sava
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/31
TI  - From Strategy to Motivation: The Role of Leadership in Quality Assurance of Moldovan Higher Education
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Management and Entrepreneurial Leadership for K-12 Education Excellence (LEADK12 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 198
EP  - 225
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-599-7_13
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-599-7_13
ID  - Sava2026
ER  -