Dr John Yu Fellowship
Overview
As a leader, you bring a raft of strengths, perspectives, and capabilities that have been shaped by your lived experiences. This program harnesses those experiences to shape your authentic leadership style and leverage your influence.
This unique program has been designed in response to the growing need for targeted leadership development for high-potential leaders from multicultural backgrounds.
According to 2018 research by The University of Sydney and the Australian Human Rights Commission, 24% of the Australian population has neither European nor Indigenous background, yet only 5% of senior leaders in business, government and higher education identify in this category.
Key benefits
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Harness your lived experience to shape your personal leadership style.
- Challenge traditional thinking and explore best practices in diversity and inclusion.
- Unlock the opportunities of culturally diverse leadership.
Organisations sponsoring attendance will benefit from investing in truly diverse and inclusive leadership, offering their high-achieving multicultural leaders access to a highly transformational, contemporary and contextualised leadership development experience.
Sydney Business School Executive Education
The University of Sydney Business School Executive Education offers world-class leadership programs for both individuals and organisations. For any enquiries about the fellowship program or application process, please email business.execed@sydney.edu.au.
The Fellowship experience
Over three days, you will come together with a cohort of culturally diverse leaders from business, government and the not-for-profit sector to explore all facets of leadership.
You will learn transformative leadership skills, discuss burning issues, challenges and opportunities, share experiences and understand how cultural diversity can influence and shape your leadership journey.
Content
Led by Australia’s former Race Discrimination Commissioner and noted academic, Professor Tim Soutphommasane, you will work with a diverse and dynamic group of leaders to:
- Explore cross-cultural team leadership.
- Discuss and share personal experiences on how culture shapes the leadership journey.
- Develop strategies for building influence and setting the agenda.
- Discover techniques and tools for negotiating and responding to diversity challenges in the public arena.
- Learn how to manage challenging conversations.
- Harness reflective and innovative learning modes to embed learning and mindset shifts.
- Build an influential network of diverse leaders from all spheres of the business world.
About Dr John Yu
This fellowship is designed for high-achieving and high-potential leaders with:
- At least 15 years of work experience.
- A culturally diverse background and/or an interest in growing cultural diversity in Australia’s leadership.
Previous participants have come from a wide range of organisations and sectors including:
- Banking, Insurance and Finance, including ANZ, CBA, Charted Accountants ANZ, iCare, Westpac.
- Consulting, including Deloitte, KPMG.
- Federal Government, including Attorney General’s Dept, Dept of Foreign Affairs, Dept of Planning and Environment, Reserve Bank of Australia.
- Legal, including. Baker Mackenzie, Clayton Utz, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Herbert Smith Freehills, King and Wood Mallesons, Minter Ellison.
- Media, including ABC, Network 10.
- Mining and Construction, including BHP, Laing O’Rourke.
- Not for Profit, including Multicultural Australia, Refugee Council of Australia.
- NSW Government, including Dept of Education, Dept of Communities and Justice, Upper House, Police, Transport.
The program will run at our Sydney CBD Campus, including workshops, panel discussions, keynote speakers, networking events and a celebratory Gala Dinner.
Places are limited and early application is encouraged.
To submit your application, add the upcoming class below to your cart by clicking the 'Apply Now' button and follow the prompts through the checkout screen.
Applications are assessed by our admissions panel and offers are made on a rolling basis to suitable candidates.
Upcoming classes
The University of Sydney - CBD Campus
| When | Time | Where | Session Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 13 Aug 2025 | 1pm - 9pm (UTC+10:00) | Level 17 - The University of Sydney - CBD Campus | Includes Gala Dinner |
| Thu 14 Aug 2025 | 9am - 6pm (UTC+10:00) | Level 17 - The University of Sydney - CBD Campus | Includes networking drinks |
| Fri 15 Aug 2025 | 9am - 4pm (UTC+10:00) | Level 17 - The University of Sydney - CBD Campus |
Facilitators
Clinton Free
