About
A new kind of institution.
Rise & Lead Academy is the first Post Bachelor leadership institution in Europe designed specifically for women, built on years of research, practitioner insight, and a deep understanding of what actually moves women into senior leadership.
Mission
To develop women leaders who transform organisations and make meaningful impact in society.
Vision
A Europe where women's leadership is not the exception. It is the standard.
Our Story
Built from research. Grounded in practice.
Rise & Lead has spent years working alongside women leaders and organisations across Europe, gaining insight from research and interviews with senior leaders including female CEOs. Those conversations shaped the Academy.
The programme is designed by practitioners, validated by an Academic Board, and delivered by Academic Faculty and guest lecturers from the executive network.
It sits at Post Bachelor NLQF Level 6–7. It is part-time. It is taught in English. It runs for eighteen months. And it is for women who are ready.
Ebere Akadiri
Founder and Director, Rise & Lead Academy
25 years in entrepreneurship and leadership development across Europe and Africa. Founder of Rise & Lead Women. Speaker at international forums across 30 countries. Committed to building the structures women leaders deserve.
Our Values
Rigour
We hold ourselves and our students to the highest academic and professional standards. Every claim is backed by evidence.
Access
We open doors to knowledge, networks, and the conversations that change careers. Access is the programme.
Relevance
Everything we teach is calibrated to the real experience of women in leadership, not a gender-neutral default.
Community
The peers you learn with are as important as the content. We build communities that last careers.
The people who validate the work.
Our Academic Board provides curriculum validation, programme quality oversight, and academic governance.
Sandrine Suman
Academic Board Member
Full bio to be published.
Arie Barendregt
Academic Board Member
Full bio to be published.
Schelte Beltman
Academic Board Member
Full bio to be published.
Olabisi Akadiri
Academic Board Member
Full bio to be published.
Academic Board Chair and Academic Lead positions to be confirmed ahead of the January 2027 launch.
Waitlist is now open. Enrolment opens September 2026. Programme begins January 2027.