Former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern to teach ‘empathetic leadership’ at University of Sydney
SYDNEY — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has been appointed Professor of Practice at the University of Sydney, where she will lecture and mentor students and researchers on “empathetic leadership.”According to the university, the 46-year-old took up the role in October 2026. Her work will focus on empathetic leadership, social cohesion, civic…
SYDNEY — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has been appointed Professor of Practice at the University of Sydney, where she will lecture and mentor students and researchers on “empathetic leadership.”
According to the university, the 46-year-old took up the role in October 2026. Her work will focus on empathetic leadership, social cohesion, civic trust, global and values-based leadership, and new approaches to global health challenges centred on equity, inclusion and wellbeing.
Ardern will be based in the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. She will work closely with the Sydney Policy Lab and the Vice-Chancellor’s office on initiatives across the university, including guest lectures, masterclasses and mentoring.
The university clarified that the position is not a full-time teaching role. Ardern said she has focused since leaving office on how to better support and encourage the kind of leadership needed to address global challenges.
University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Scott welcomed the appointment, saying Ardern’s leadership showed that empathy and resolve do not compete with each other but strengthen one another.
Since leaving politics, Ardern has held a fellowship at Harvard University and became a distinguished fellow at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government in 2024. She also founded “Field,” an international fellowship programme focused on empathetic leadership.
