Last week from 4th to 7th August 2025, Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, addressed over 400 Christian leaders and educators from across the world during the Educational Leadership Summit 2025 held at Champagne Sports Resort in Drakensberg, South Africa. The summit brings together Christian leaders and educators worldwide.

His keynote titled, “Awaken: Transformational Leadership for Transformed Institutions,” focused on awakening to the urgency of transformational leadership in our institutions today.

Prof. Mushengyezi emphasized the need for leaders to embrace a “business unusual” mindset and not “business as usual”, and adopt new tools to respond to the challenges of a new season. He urged leaders to “lead from the front”, look beyond their positions and be servant leaders who focus on the common good and the broader institutional mission.

“You can not lead a team you do not know, nor transform an institution you do not understand,” he noted, underscoring the importance of regular institutional assessments to guide strategy, operations, and resource allocation.

“We must periodically ask ourselves: Why do we have all these units and cost centres? What is all this bureaucracy for? Why are we spending all these funds on this and that? Isn’t there a better and more efficient way to do this?” he said.

He encouraged leaders to focus on the resources, skills, and talents they already have, rather than dwelling more on what we don’t have: “If we are good stewards, God can use even the small tools in our hands to accomplish great things.”

Highlighting the power of collaboration and the need to work towards leaving the institution better than we found it, Prof. Mushengyezi called upon leaders to build teams, mentor and empower other change-agents to drive transformation as a united team.

Above all, he stressed that lasting Centres of Excellence must be built with God at the centre: “If we do not, we risk building beautiful bridges to nowhere.”