The purpose of the study is to develop and test tools for the development of "soft skills" of heads of English-language programs for foreign students during the period of digital transformation of the Ural Federal University on the basis of an original educational project. The article discusses the experience of implementing the EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) project for heads of English-language programs with a technical education. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that we have proposed and successfully tested effective tools for developing soft skills for managers of English-language programs for foreign students, developed for the project. Based on the results of a content analysis of activities within the EMI project, the article highlights the most significant stages and methods of developing "soft skills", and also provides the results of completing developmental modules within the project.