THE IGNITE LEADERSHIP ONLINE FORUM FOR DEANS AND SENIOR LEADERS

February 25, 2026
1:00–3:30 p.m. EST

Registration Fee: Complimentary
Pre-Registration Required: Register here.

Download Event brochure here.

Zoom Coorindates provided with registration

The 2026 IGNITE Leadership Forum – Purpose and Value

The Academic IGNITE Leadership Forum is a national, executive-level strategy session designed exclusively for Deans, Associate Deans, Provosts, and senior academic decision-makers. This interactive forum will equip institutional leaders with forward-looking policy models, partnership opportunities, and practical tools to accelerate Indigenous inclusion, innovation, and excellence within their Faculties.

The 2026 Forum will concentrate on two mission-critical themes:

1. Strategy & Readiness for Institutional Change – advancing leadership systems that strengthen Indigenous engagement, student success, curriculum transformation, and research growth.

2. New Policy Approaches and Co-Development Models – exploring scalable programming concepts in 2026/2027 to:
   • Accelerate Indigenous pedagogy, case study integration, and curriculum development, and
   • Foster multi-institutional research collaborations and funding opportunities.

Forum Format

Participants will hear a curated series of concise, high-impact presentations (3–7 minutes) from recognized peers and thought leaders introducing new frameworks, concepts, and proven practices with the majority of time devoted to facilitated breakout discussions where senior leaders will:

• Assess innovative policy and programming models relevant to their own institutions and academic community at large;
• Identify shared programming and policy priorities and collaboration opportunities;
• Review and advise on co-designing tangible products and tools that address local, regional and national needs that with reduced cost while increasing impact.

This structure ensures that the Forum is not just a conversation—but a working session producing actionable outcomes.

Clear Outcomes and Take-Aways for Senior Leaders

By participating, you will gain:

• An understanding of the role of a strategic roadmap to strengthen your Institution  2026 Indigenous Engagement Strategy,
• Benchmarking your strategy and programs in alignment with your reconciliation,  accreditation,  personal performance goals and community reputation goals,
• Identifying and supporting new curriculum and research partnership models ready that can be designed and implemented in 2026.
• Shape national policy approaches that benefit institutions across Canada—positioning your Faculty and Institution as a proactive leader in reconciliation and innovation.

Who Should Attend

• Deans and Directors
• Associate and Assistant Deans
• Senior Indigenous Advisors
• Provosts and Vice-Provosts

Luminary thanks our corporate partner, RBC, for supporting this important senior leadership forum.

IGNITE Leadership Forum – Themes, Benefits & Guiding Questions

1. Indigenous Engagement Strategy & Readiness for Institutional Change

Strategic Benefits: Strengthening leadership capacity, student recruitment, curriculum relevance, and research performance.

Key Discussion Questions

• How can the findings from the 2025 Business School Indigenous Engagement Survey best inform your Faculty strategies to:
  • attract Indigenous students and research talent,
  • expand curriculum excellence, and
  • increase research activity and funding?
• How can your institutional strategies be aligned with:
  • Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action,
  • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and
  • the National Indigenous Economic Development Strategy Calls to Prosperity?
• What leadership training, governance supports, and performance monitoring systems are required to embed Indigenous engagement goals into your 2026/27 operational plans?

2. New Policy Approaches and Indigenous Programming Concepts for 2026/27

Strategic Benefits: Lower-cost, higher-quality curriculum resources and expanded multi-party research networks.

Key Discussion Questions

• How can Luminary’s proposed Indigegogy Centre for Case Study and Curriculum Development benefit your institution through:
  • high-quality Indigenous-focused case studies,
  • curriculum integration supports, and
  • shared investment models?
• What additional considerations are needed to make this Centre a sustainable, scalable resource for Business Schools, Agriculture Schools and other Faculties?
• How can institutions collectively grow Indigenous student and research talent, and what policy mechanisms or funding supports would enable world-class outcomes?
• What kinds of resources would best support Deans in developing policy briefs and proposals that expand research collaboration networks with new funding partners?

Deans & Senior Leaders IGNITE LEADERSHIP ONLINE FORUM

February 25, 2026
1:00–3:30 p.m. EST

Registration Fee: Complimentary

Pre-Registration Required: Link here for Deans & Senior Leaders

The Leadership Forum

The 2026 Academic IGNITE Leadership Forum will focus on two key themes:

1.  Strategy & Readiness for Institutional Change

2. New Policy Approaches and Indigenous Programming Concepts to co-develop and

Accelerate:  i) Indigenous Pedagogy, Case Studies and Curriculum and ii) foster new Research  Collaborations  in 2026/2027. 

There will be a series of short (3 – 7 minutes max) presentations from various thought leaders, with new concepts and models and considerable time in interactive breakout sessions where you will discuss concepts and new approaches to support your institutional strategy journey and new policy and programming practices with  tangible outputs, products and tools at a lower cost and greater value. On page two are some examples of the issues, concepts and questions that will be discussed.

Your Take-Aways

You will take away some new and insightful ideas, practices and systems that can be incorporated into your 2026/27 actions plan and you will be contributing to new programming strategies and policy models that can benefit institutions across Canada. 

Sponsor: Thankyou to Luminary’s corporate sponsor and partner, RBC, for supporting this important leadership forum.

Luminary acknowledges with gratitude the Government of Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s new Strategic Science Fund (SSF) for their five year funding support (2024-2029).

IGNITE Leadership Forum Themes, Ideas and Questions

1.Indigenous Engagement Strategy & Readiness for Institutional Change

• How can some of key findings from the 2025 business school Indigenous engagement survey scan best support your strategies and practices to attract new student and research talent, grow curriculum excellence, and increase research activity and funding?
• How can your Indigenous Engagement Strategy be positioned and aligned with the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the National Indigenous Economic Development Strategy Calls to Prosperity.    
• What kind of training and support is needed for both senior leaders and for faculty to mobilize engagement strategies, monitor your performance measures and contribute to your accreditation, community and reputation goals?

2. New Policy Approaches and Indigenous Programming Concepts to co-develop and grow Indigenous Pedagogy, Case Studies and Curriculum and foster new Research Collaborations in 2026/2027. 

How can Luminary best support program and policy planning and priorities and what kind of resources are needed to conduct policy research, briefs and proposals to increase research collaboration networks with appropriate funding support? 

How can we grow business talent, research talent and research collaborations and what kind of policy mechanisms and funding supports are needed to generate world-class outcomes?