An interdisciplinary project on character and leadership, which aims to develop a new generation of wise thinkers and good leaders, is now part of the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR). It will be part of a new programme known as the “Programme for Global Leadership”, which will be an externally funded programme for interdisciplinary leadership research and education.

Established in 2014, The Oxford Character Project has been conducting research on character, culture, and leadership within the UK and across a wide range of global contexts. Currently, it offers character and leadership development programmes at Oxford and other universities and commercial organisations. Its core Oxford programmes are the Global Leadership Initiative, a seven-month extra-curricular programme for diverse cohorts of postgraduate students and the Global Leadership Challenge, an annual challenge open to youth from around the world.

Recently, the project completed a £2.6m research initiative exploring character and leadership in UK organisations and another research project that mapped character-based leadership education and research in 137 low- and middle-income countries. It was recognised as one of the six winners of the biennial Vice-Chancellor’s Education Award in 2022 for its unique leadership development programmes and global impact.