This handbook provides a frame of reference for the global challenges facing higher education leadership today. Focusing on recommendations and directions for the future rather than simply a recap of measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the contributors also delve into contexts such as the climate crisis, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, digitalisation, funding and marketisation, the war in Ukraine and China-Taiwan and Hong Kong tensions. They collate a systematic, global view of higher education systems during the pandemic and beyond, and explore possibilities for the future, providing recommendations for ‘the new normal’. With contributions from across six continents, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of higher education and governance, university leaders, government and accreditation bodies, and anyone else interested in reflecting on the past few years in higher education and the road ahead.