Designing Leadership Programmes in Higher Education: The Case Studies of Morocco and Kosovo & Albania

The global demand for effective and culturally relevant leadership in higher education is increasing, particularly in regions undergoing reform and structural transformation. This study analyses two Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) initiatives—project MORHEL for Morocco and project LEADALKO for Albania and Kosovo—emphasising leadership development through modular, evidence-based, and interactive programming. This study evaluates critical design aspects, implementation challenges, and context-specific dynamics using the Higher Education Leadership Qualities and Skills (HELQS) framework, project documentation, and assessment data. The results underscore the crucial importance of competency-based training, a cohesive infrastructure, and policy coherence for sustained leadership development. The cross-case research validates the adaptability of HELQS across geopolitical contexts and underscores the necessity for national coordination and institutional ownership. The article advances the theoretical discourse on transformative and distributed leadership within higher education, providing pragmatic insights for future capacity-building initiatives. The LEADALKO instance focuses on needs analysis and program design, whereas the MORHEL case emphasises the piloting phase of implementation.