With the strong effect of globalisation, knowledge-based societies, competitiveness and new technologies upon universities, interest and need in academic management & leadership programs are increasing. More Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are beginning to provide their staff with academic management & leadership programs to ensure successful formal and professional management. Academics with & without managerial position attend those programs to improve their understanding & skills in departmental management and/or academic research/project team management. The aim of this study is to determine the needs and expectations of academics regarding that kind of programs in a HEI (which is currently without those programs) in Turkey. Participation in the study was voluntary and a semi-structured interview form was used to gather data. Convenience sampling method was used to reach the participants and content analysis was conducted in data analysis. According to the findings, participants believe that kind of Professional Development (PD) programs are useful in academic career, education and management & leadership fields; in addition, they are willing to participate in those programs if planned. However, it is obtained that they kind of have some bias against the PD programs regarding their content, the way they are arranged or the trainers’ style. Based on the findings, while planning that kind of programs, it is suggested to provide a content variety on various platforms; to design applicable-friendly programs based on the needs & expectations of the department in order to be able to address to different needs & expectations and to make it welcoming for more participation.

Keywords: Professional Development; Academics; Management; Leadership.