Asia Leadership Roundtable: Expanding Networks and Advancing Knowledge
by Bambang Sumintono
During my tenure as a lecturer at the Institute of Educational Leadership, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, I was invited to attend the Asia Leadership Roundtable (ALR) for the first time in 2015, held in Bangkok, Thailand (https://www.eduhk.hk/apclc/roundtable2015/participant.html). This prestigious conference on educational leadership is by invitation only and primarily gathers academics and scholars based in Asia who have published internationally on topics related to educational leadership. Each year, the conference typically hosts around 60 plus participants, predominantly from Asia, alongside attendees from Australia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. I was recommended to attend by my boss, Professor Alma Harris, as I was also involved in the 7 System Leadership Study project at the time.
As of 2025, I have participated in seven ALR conferences held in various cities, including Singapore, Taipei (Taiwan), Hangzhou (China), Guilin (China), Bangkok (Thailand), and Shanghai (China). In the most recent two conferences—in Bangkok (2024) and Shanghai (2025)—I was the sole representative from Indonesia, attending on behalf of the Faculty of Education, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia. The conference themes evolve annually to reflect the shifting trends and dynamic nature of research in educational leadership. For instance, in 2018, the theme was “The West Wind vs. the East Wind: Understanding Leadership for Teacher Learning” (https://www.eduhk.hk/apclc/roundtable2018/welcome.html), highlighting the contrasting perspectives of Western and Eastern leadership theories. In 2025, reflecting the growing impact of artificial intelligence, the theme was “Technology in School Leadership and Learning” (https://www.eduhk.hk/apclc/roundtable2025/welcome.html).
The Asia Leadership Roundtable is organized annually by the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change (APCLC), based at The Education University of Hong Kong. Each year, a host country and university take responsibility for organizing the event. In 2025, the Department of Education Management at East China Normal University (ECNU), in collaboration with the National Training Center for Secondary School Principals under China’s Ministry of Education, managed all aspects of the conference—from venue arrangements to program activities.
My involvement in ALR has allowed me to connect with leading scholars in the field of educational leadership, such as Professors Alma Harris, Philip Hallinger, Christopher Chapman, and Clive Dimmock—academics whose work I had previously cited extensively. Initially, it was almost surreal to meet these scholars in person, but our interactions led to fruitful academic exchanges and significantly broadened my international academic network. These connections have resulted in several professional opportunities, including invitations to contribute to journal special issues, co-author book chapters, serve as a peer reviewer, examine PhD proposals and theses, and participate as an editorial board member for leading journals in education (https://link.springer.com/journal/11092/editorial-board). Moreover, my academic expertise has expanded beyond educational leadership and policy to include the Rasch model and educational assessment, as well as topics related to sustainability simulation.
The most recent ALR, held in Shanghai from 23–24 May 2025, focused on the integration of artificial intelligence across various sectors of education. It was evident that the Chinese government has developed a clear and strategic vision for leveraging technology in schools and education systems. I was particularly impressed by the detailed presentations about the National Training Center for Secondary School Principals, based at ECNU in Shanghai. China also maintains a comparable center for primary school principals located at Beijing Normal University, both of which have operated for over three decades. These institutions function similarly to universities, with most of their trainers holding PhDs and regularly publishing in international journals. This stands in stark contrast to the situation in Indonesia, where a comparable institution has been disbanded.
In addition to the ALR, I also had the opportunity to attend a national conference for school principals in Hangzhou on 26 May 2025. This event featured many international scholars who had also participated in ALR—some as keynote speakers, others as panelists offering critique and analysis on the presentations and broader issues in China’s educational landscape.