Abstract:

In today's world, the role of the lecturer in higher education is complex and multifaceted. It includes a number of obligations for achieving high results in several areas at the same time. Part of these areas are conducting research, management and participation in projects, teaching, administrative work etc. All these activities can be conditionally called academic management and the opportunities for their effective and combinatorial implementation – academic leadership.
The leadership is a process in which a person influences the behavior of a certain group in order to achieve a certain goal. In this process, leaders always stand out. They always attract a lot of attention because their impact on the effectiveness of any organization is extremely significant. This also reveals the important role of the academic leadership, which stems from the ability of the academic leaders (rectors, deans, managers, directors, lecturers, etc.) to build a vision, attract attention and engage their learners so as to unlock and guide their energy to seek more knowledge and desire to acquire skills. This is the reason that leadership and motivation are interrelated.

This report explores the possibilities for achieving effective academic leadership as a tool for motivating and supporting students. Attention will be paid to the competencies that the academic leaders need to have in order to achieve an effective academic environment. In the continuation of the paper, various leadership approaches and methods for engaging the student society with the vision and mission of the university are presented and analyzed. In addition, the role of the academic leader in the implementation of the link "education – research" will be revealed as a good practice for motivating students to participate in various extracurricular activities and build trust and loyalty to the educational institution.

Keywords:

Leadership, academic leadership, image, students, PhD students, university, higher education, research.