In a move aimed at reshaping the way leaders are educated for the 21st century, Bharatiya Engineering Science and Technology Innovation University (BESTIU), in partnership with India Foundation, today launched the School of Global Leadership (SoGL) at ITC Maurya. The new institution seeks to prepare leaders capable of navigating a complex, multipolar, and rapidly changing world, combining academic rigour with hands-on, real-world experience.
The launch drew senior policymakers, former diplomats, academic leaders, industry representatives, and young professionals, reflecting the diverse stakeholders SoGL intends to engage. Speakers underscored that modern leadership challenges increasingly span governance, policy, enterprise, and technology, demanding leaders who can exercise judgment across institutions, cultures, and systems rather than operate within narrow sectoral silos.
Pradhan flags the limits of conventional leadership education
Addressing the gathering, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The School of Global Leadership addresses the limitations of conventional leadership education, which often focuses on tools and techniques while falling short of preparing leaders for sustained uncertainty, institutional complexity, and real-world decision-making. SoGL approaches leadership as both an academic and practical discipline, emphasising systems thinking, ethical responsibility, and translating ideas into action.”
Shri Jayant Sinha, Chair of SoGL and former Member of Parliament, added, “Established by BESTIU, a UGC-recognised university, with India Foundation as Knowledge Partner, SoGL is rooted in India’s developmental experience and civilizational ethos while actively engaging with global leadership debates. Many of today’s most relevant leadership insights come from societies managing scale, diversity, and rapid transformation, and institutions like SoGL can meaningfully contribute to global thought on leadership.”
SoGL launches one year PGP-GL with global residencies
A defining feature of SoGL is its practitioner-led, policy-driven model, where learning is anchored by former diplomats, ministers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators working alongside academic faculty. The launch also unveiled SoGL’s flagship Post Graduate Programme in Global Leadership (PGP-GL), a one-year, full-time programme offering international residencies across India, China, UAE, the United States, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The curriculum integrates governance, strategy, public policy, innovation, and ethics, with experiential learning and engagement with real-world challenges.
SoGL emphasises practice-oriented leadership, understanding it as the capacity to interpret complexity, exercise sound judgment, and design institutions for public benefit. Through immersive global labs, innovation immersions, and future-tech policy labs, students continually test conceptual insights in practical contexts.
With this launch, BESTIU and India Foundation position SoGL as a significant intervention in global leadership education, aiming to nurture a generation capable of navigating complexity, exercising power responsibly, and shaping inclusive, resilient futures.