Author: Anna Klas

Aurora is getting ready for the future

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

On the 9th and 10th of November, the Aurora virtual Biannual took place, hosted by the University of Duisburg-Essen. Barbara Albert, Rector of the University of Duisburg-Essen, and Jon Ali Benediktsson, Aurora President and the Rector University of Iceland,  welcomed the participants, encouraging them to choose sustainability above all else.

Rector Barbara Albert said: “Now more than ever, we become aware that the big challenges of humanity like climate crisis, peacebuilding, sustainable energy supply, or migration do not stop at national borders. As director of one of Germany’s ten largest universities, it is my strong belief that international cooperation between ambitious and sustainable-oriented universities can be one of the key drivers of progress when it comes to finding solutions to these major challenges.”

Aurora President Jon Atli Benediktsson emphasised the importance of sustainable travel and inter-university collaboration that results in opportunities for staff, students, and the community at large.

The conference also highlighted the future activities of the Aurora Network. Anne-May Janssen, Aurora Secretary-General, discussed the role of universities being drivers of positive social change and ensuring graduates can affect that change in society. She said that, ” […] the role of universities in affecting that change has become increasingly important and the developments over the past years globally.” She continued with the message that the Aurora Network can help its members fulfil those roles. In order to do that, the Aurora Network will focus its work on the following activities:

  • Setting the agenda on the topics that our members want to prioritise
  • Aurora as an environment for our members to share best practices and openly, and in confidence, discuss hurdles
  • Advocacy and engagement with stakeholders on the EU level
  • Safeguarding our partnerships by keeping the long-term vision in mind
  • Sourcing new funding opportunities for our members
  • Reaching out to the global community and learning from future members beyond Europe.

In the Back to the Future of the Aurora Alliance session, Sabine Allain Sainte-Rose shared key results of the various work packages and task teams. Some of them included:

  • Co-Creation brought together 400 academics and opened 70 co-creation and service-learning courses for all Aurora partners this resulted in a total of 1800 students enrolled.
  • 52 courses offered by the pilot Domains
  • 500+ mobile individuals
  • Aurora academic platform pooled infrastructures + doctoral committee members where 272 researchers signed up from 5 universities in all pilot domains.
  • 1400+ open educational resources have been collected

The Aurora Autumn Virtual Biannual: views on Sustainable Resources and Mobility in Europe

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

On the 9th and 10th of November the Aurora virtual Biannual took place, hosted by the University of Duisburg-Essen. The theme of the Biannual was: Sustainable Resources and Mobility in Europe. The programme focused primarily on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, with supporting keynotes on mobility and aquatic ecosystems.

The first keynote by Florian Freitag of the University of Duisburg-Essen and Salvador Clave of Universitat Rovira i Virgili, addressed how we need to move towards sustainable tourism and highlighted how the pandemic had changed the view of travel towards a more sustainable approach to lessen the carbon dioxide emissions. The second keynote by Professor Bernd Sures of the University of Duisburg-Essen, explored the vast wealth and utility of water—as well as its scarcity. Professor Sures, an aquatic ecologist, found that future population growth, urban expansion and pollution are likely to create growing demands on water supplies. He said, “[…] it is imperative we begin discussing how to distribute scarce water resources.”

During the coffee breaks, the programme featured interviews with Academy in Exile artist Diren Demir who showcased two of their artworks, Map of the Seas and Calling back Nature. The Map of the Seas was produced especially for the biannual to support the theme of sustainability. In addition, Sara Mardini, a refugee from Syria, spoke on the criminalization of refugee aid and her own experience making that journey.

 

Aurora Duisburg-Essen Virtual Biannual

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in Events, News.

In less than a month, the Aurora community will gather virtually for our Autumn Biannual, hosted by the University of Duisburg-Essen.

The program looks to the future of Aurora and premiers research on sustainable futures for our planet. Expect short keynotes on clean water, sustainable tourism, and breaks filled with art, music and accounts of refugee routes by scholars- and artists-at-risk in the UDE Academy in Exile.

Register here to attend the biannual.

Click here to access the programme and biographies of speakers.

 

 

 

 

Aurora strengthens bonds with the University of Minnesota

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

New opportunities will emerge at the Aurora universities with increased participation of the University of Minnesota (UMN) in the network. Jón Atli Benediktsson, rector of the University of Iceland and President of Aurora Network, and Joan T.A. Gabel signed an agreement pertaining to increased collaboration with the Aurora Network to explore new ways for UMN to participate in the network. UMN brings a strong international presence into the European network, adding further to the network’s unique position and thus strengthening the collaboration.

Aurora is a network of ten European research-intensive universities with high research impact, united by a shared commitment to social relevance and a diverse student body. The Network incorporates the Sustainable Development Goals in all its work and emphasises social responsibility and student participation.

In Jón Atli’s address at the signing of the declaration of intent in Minneapolis last week, he talked about the goal of the Aurora collaboration in strengthening education, teaching, research, and innovation at all the network universities. This would be done in line with rapid societal changes.

Jón Atli also mentioned that Aurora created a platform for all the universities involved to further contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He also stressed that the University of Minnesota would be an excellent addition in that regard, as it has a strong focus on the SDGs. It would thus be an important gain for the network to add to the American university.

“The University of Minnesota is a prestigious, broad and dynamic research university. Their approach and emphasis on the same issues as Aurora has focused on will strengthen the foundation of the entire collaboration,” said Jón Atli, on the impact of the entry of the University of Minnesota into the network.

The University of Minnesota is one of the most dynamic universities in the United States and among the best worldwide. Founded in 1851, it currently has over 60 thousand students on several campuses in the state of Minnesota. The largest one is in the twin cities Minneapolis-St. Paul.  The University is a comprehensive research university and is ranked number 86 on the Times Higher Education list of the best universities in the world. It was announced just last week that the University of Minnesota is placed in seat 23 of all the public universities in the United States on a special list published by U.S. News and World Report, which is the highest it has been ranked in over a decade.

Fundamental changes in Aurora

The University of Iceland has been leading in the Aurora collaboration for a while now, with Jón Atli as President. The Aurora Network has grown considerably since 2020, when it was chosen as one of the European University Alliances, receiving a substantial grant from the European Union.  European university networks are one of the European Union’s main emphases in the field of higher education with a view to strengthening European universities, increasing their collaboration, and making them more competitive on the global stage.

“There have been considerable changes within Aurora, especially after the European Union launched the European Universities Initiative. European university networks are a focal point of the EU’s strategy in higher education, and their goal is to strengthen all European Universities. Aurora received a grant from the European Union in 2020, and since then, new European universities have joined the network. There are currently ten universities, with the latest one, Paris-Est Creitel in París.  The universities that have joined the collaboration in recent years are the: Copenhagen Business School – CBS (Denmark), the University of Innsbruck (Austria), the University of Naples Federico II (Italy), Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic), and Rovira i Virgili University (Spain),” said Jón Atli.

Strengthens core operations in all Aurora universities

The Aurora Network revolves around core university operations in all these universities, benefitting both students and staff. The network is thus a dynamic, collaborative platform creating new and exciting opportunities in pedagogical development and research. “It is, of course, the goal of the Aurora Universities to better equip their staff to effectively integrate societal innovation and sustainability into study programmes and research.”

“By participating in Aurora projects, academics can learn about new teaching methods, grow in their careers and strengthen their international network. The Aurora collaboration creates diverse opportunities for students to have a meaningful international experience as part of their studies at the University of Iceland as well as taking part in their studies at other Aurora universities. The network furthermore empowers them to participate in societal innovation and contribute to building a sustainable society.  The financial support from the European Union has been vital in this regard. Diverse opportunities in student exchanges, joint degrees, dynamic research work, and shared research infrastructure is, and will become, even more, prominent in the universities’ collaboration,” says the University Rector.

A strong network in the future

When asked about the next steps in the collaboration of these dynamic universities, Jón Atli mentions that they are already preparing an application for continued support from the European Union for the next four years.

“This entails more financing than has already been put into the collaboration, which will strengthen the network considerably if the application is approved. This would benefit students and staff at the University of Iceland and all other universities, of course. The point is to create exciting opportunities and strengthen university operations. The participation of the University of Minnesota is crucial to moving forward.

 

European Research Area actions and Aurora Universities commitments to implementation

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

Aurora Universities is engaged in the discussions on developing the twenty European Research Area (ERA) actions, together with 10 university associations, six stakeholder groups, Member States and Associated Countries, and the European Commission in the ERA Forum. After several meetings of the ERA Forum and meetings with university associations, the implementation phase of activities defined under the ERA actions is about to start. Aurora Universities Network is committed to be engaged in several actions.

Further details can be read here.

 

Aurora offers exciting opportunities for students

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

Aurora offers students a variety of exciting opportunities in the new academic year. Whether students are interested in learning about international collaborative projects, improving their transversal skills or participating in exciting courses abroad, Aurora has something to offer to every student.

Aurora invites students to participate directly in its endeavours through the Aurora Student Champion or Ambassador schemes. By participating, students are simultaneously given the opportunity to participate directly in international projects, improve their skills for their future careers and receive a grant to participate in the Aurora student conference. Students who wish to become an “Aurora Student Champion” or an “Aurora Ambassador” apply to participate by filling out an application form. The application deadline is the 18th of September.

Antonia Hamann, a master´s student in Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Iceland, took an active part in the Aurora Student Schemes last academic year as an Aurora Student Champion. She says that participation has had many positive effects on her. “For example, I have learned to use design thinking methodology to develop solutions under the supervision of experts in a workshop in Spain with other students. I gained a lot personally as well from my participation in Aurora by meeting and talking to amazing people from different countries. We both worked together and enjoyed events together; some of these people have become my good friends”.

She says, however, that her participation in a working group developing a new Aurora master’s programme in the field of “digital society” was the highlight of the academic year. There, she shared the student viewpoints and participated in a conference in Amsterdam about the topics the programme will cover. “It was really exciting to see how a master´s programme is developed and to contribute to it. The highlight of this working group was the “Connecting Worlds” conference in Amsterdam which I attended. There, we continued to talk about the programme in person, and I got to meet professors and students who are involved in the project”.

Antonia recommends that students check out the Aurora Student Schemes and consider participating in them. “I would definitely recommend participating in the Aurora schemes because it is a great experience to meet students online or in person who are outside your faculty, university or even country and talk about relevant topics regarding your university. I would advise students who will participate to be proactive in suggesting topics they want to talk about and not to be shy to share their ideas within their working group.

Aurora also offers exciting courses this autumn semester, and students are encouraged to visit the new Aurora Virtual Campus to explore the opportunities. Among other things, you can find courses that students can take online at the University of Innsbruck which cover the topic of sustainability from different perspectives. The application deadline is the 4th of September, and students from all fields of study are encouraged to apply.

Particular attention is drawn to a new course developed by Aurora, Perspectives on Europe in a Global Context, which tackles European matters from various perspectives. “In light of the events that have taken place in Europe this year, it is very important that universities teach students about the history of the continent, the diverse cultures within it, the importance of European cooperation and the main challenges that come with it,” says Guðmundur Hálfdánarson, professor of history, who leads the working group developing a new programme within Aurora that focus on issues relating to cultures, diversities and identities within Europe.

Aurora supports letter to European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel for transparency on R&I budget allocation

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Aurora Universities welcomes additional funding to the Horizon Europe (HEU) budget. Aurora Universities also support the letter by EuroTech Universities to the European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and the Director-General of Research and Innovation Jean-Eric Paquet to provide more transparency on the HEU budget. Horizon Europe is the European Union’s main funding program for Research and Innovation and a vital source of funding for researchers and innovators across Europe.

The letter argues that Horizon Europe’s current budget allocation process lacks transparency and that they are progressively becoming a financial source for other European Commission-led priorities outside of the programme. This covers the European Chips Act, the Health and Emergency Response Agency and lately, the Hydrogen Valley initiative under the REPowerEU Plan. Together, these three initiatives will be financed through HEU with a budget of close to EUR 1bn. This redirection of funds from HEU to other European Commission initiatives gives uncertainty to researchers and innovators across EU member states concerning the availability of funds. In addition, budget allocations are becoming increasingly complex, making it difficult to understand how much money is available for research.

The letter calls on the Commission to improve the transparency of Horizon Europe’s budget by adding a set of indicators to the Horizon Europe Dashboard, which can help assess in real-time how much of the HEU budget has already been committed to which initiative and how much has been paid. This would also provide visibility as to the commitments targeting the original HEU objectives or objectives outside of the programme. Read the full letter here.

Aurora is growing

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome a new university, Université Paris-Est Créteil, to the Aurora European University. At the Aurora 2022 Spring Biannual in Innsbruck, Aurora President Jón Atli Benediktsson and President of the Université Paris-Est Créteil, Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), expressing their mutual intent to establish a strong and deep collaboration through the activities of the Aurora European University Alliance. Additionally, we are also very pleased to announce that, after having been an associate member of the Aurora Network, Palacký University Olomouc will become a full member of the Aurora Network.  

We are delighted that Université Paris-Est Créteil is joining the Aurora Alliance; first, as an associate partner of the current activities and thereafter as a full member in the next funding bid. The objectives and visions of both Aurora and the Université Paris-Est Créteil are closely aligned and we are very much looking forward to working together on common substantive issues, thereby strengthening our institutions, contributing to the local communities we serve, and bringing us closer to achieving the aims of the European Universities Initiative.

After the signing of the MoU, Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé said, “It is a great pleasure, and I am honoured to be with you today. We feel very comfortable with [Aurora], because we have the same values […]. Diversity is not a problem, it is a richness, and [Aurora] has the same perspective. […] We will be on board [in Aurora] very quickly and very seriously.”

At the Biannual, the Aurora Presidents also voted in favour of Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic) becoming a full member of the Aurora Network. Palacký, already a full member of the Aurora European University Alliance, was welcomed and congratulated by the Aurora Presidents. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest university in Moravia and the second-oldest university in the Czech Republic, and it is one of the most important Central European centres of education and research. As the Aurora lead on the Capacity Development Support Programme and more recently the lead on the workaround acute aid for Aurora’s Ukrainian partner university, Karazin Kharkiv University, Palacký University Olomouc’s expertise and commitment to Aurora have made it an invaluable member, and we are excited about this opportunity for even closer collaboration, moving forward.

Vice-Rector for Strategy and Regional Affairs and UP’s Aurora Strategic Manager Michal Malacka said, “We are very pleased to have become a full Aurora Network member after one and a half years of intense Aurora Alliance collaboration. We are grateful to all who have paved the way and made this possible, and a personal thank you to all the Aurora Presidents for their vote of confidence. We are keen to deepen our partnership even further and work together on innovative education, research, and sustainable growth.”

Aurora Secretary-General, Anne-May Janssen, Vice-Rector for Strategy and Regional Affairs, Michal Malacka, and Aurora President Jón Atli Benediktsson
President of the Université Paris-Est Créteil, Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé, and Aurora President, Jón Atli Benediktsson, after signing the MoU

The Aurora Spring Innsbruck Biannual: Taking stock and looking toward the future

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

The 2022 Aurora Spring Biannual took place last week in Innsbruck, Austria, with a record number of participants in attendance. Over 180 participants, from both Aurora universities as well as university participants beyond Europe, joined this event. The main focus of the 2022 Spring Biannual was to take stock of the main achievements and challenges of the first half of the European Universities Initiative programme while at the same time taking the first steps towards preparing for the second funding bid.

Hosted by the University of Innsbruck, the Aurora 2022 Spring Biannual took place on May 10-12. Tilmann Märk, Rector of the Universität Innsbruck, and Aurora President Jón Atli Benediktsson opened the Biannual with words of welcome. Rector Tilmann Märk specifically addressed Rector Tetyana Kaganovska of the National V.N. Karazin University Kharkiv, an associate member of the Aurora Alliance, who travelled all the way from Ukraine to join the Biannual. Professor Märk spoke about her bravery and the bravery of the Ukrainian nation, and expressed Aurora’s support for her, her staff and students by saying: “I dearly hope that we as the Aurora community can make a positive contribution to your fight against the current atrocities of war in your home country.” Read more about our support for Karazin at the Biannual (and beyond) here.

Sabine Allain Sainte‐Rose, Aurora Programme Director, gave an overview of the Alliance programme’s mid-term achievements. Over a period of 18 months, Aurora has increased its workforce capacity and improved engagement at a central and institutional level. As a result of hard work and dedication, the programme achieved a spectacular 91% of the 160 deliverables envisioned for this period. In addition, there have been more than 4.000 participations by students and staff members in over 140 Alliance opportunities. Highlights of our achievements include:

  • Six Aurora partner universities signed a letter of intent to develop a two-year joint European Masters Programme on Digital Society and Global Citizenship. The programme will be multi- and transdisciplinary, not only restricted to Computer Science and AI, but include cross-cutting topics such as algorithms and bias in judgment and decision-making, artificial intelligence, ethics, and fair digital ecosystems and platforms
  • The launch of the new Aurora website and Virtual Campus
  • The vision of the future student population, making sure our universities’ student populations represent the diverse communities our universities serve, and
  • The presentation of the Aurora Student Handbook by Aurora Student Council President Alma Ágústsdóttir, designed to ensure more sustainable engagement by students in our activities

Looking more toward the future and the next funding call, which will open in the autumn of 2022, Anne-May Janssen, Aurora Secretary-General, talked about the need for a sustainable Aurora, both in terms of integrated structures as well as funding. The next call will look to the European Universities to demonstrate that they create institutionalised cooperation with sustainable impact. Anne-May Janssen said that Aurora needs to look at the objectives of the next call and critically reflect on how they fit within Aurora and Aurora biannual Innsbruck 2022 higher education research to make sure we continue to work on the issues that members are passionate about to ensure a long-lasting partnership.

During the two-day conference, staff from all the Aurora members gathered to discuss and work on their respective work packages, such as Social Transformation, Academic Collaboration, Borderless Learning, Capacity Development Support, Sustainability, Quality Management, and many more.

Letter of Intent signed by six Aurora institutional representatives
President Aurora Student Council, Alma Ágústsdóttir hands over the Aurora Student Handbook to Aurora President Jón Atli Benediktsson

For an impression of the conference, you can find more photographs below.

Copyright: © Birgit Pichler

Aurora Universities’ support for partner university in Ukraine

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

At the Aurora 2022 Spring Biannual in Innsbruck, Aurora President Jón Atli Benediktsson and Rector of the University of Innsbruck, Tilmann Märk, presented a cheque of €51,000 to Rector Tetyana Kaganovska of the National V.N. Karazin University Kharkiv, an Aurora Alliance associate member, in support of her university during these difficult times, to help fund the purchase of equipment that will allow university staff to continue teaching remotely, as means to show resistance during this war. Rector Tetyana Kaganovska gave a moving speech on how her university and city are navigating this new reality and focused on what is needed to continue education remotely in Ukraine.

The University of Kharkiv is an Associate Partner of the Aurora European University as part of the Aurora Capacity Development Support Programme, which drives cooperation between the Aurora members and Central and Eastern European universities. From the start of the war in Ukraine, Aurora universities have been offering its assistance, both directly to staff and students, as well as through financial support.

Many university buildings of Karazin Kharkiv University have been bombed and destroyed by the Russian military. Ukrainian professors and students are continuing their education in basements and bunkers under dire circumstances. In her statement, Rector Kaganovska shared:

“At the moment, we are living through the most difficult moments since Ukrainian independence. I come as a witness to the war, the killings and the displacement of my co-workers and students. In moments like these, I feel especially honoured to be able to personally represent our Kharkiv Karazin University community from eastern Ukraine.”

The workaround for the acute aid for Karazin Kharkiv University is led by Palacký University Olomouc and supported by the Aurora Central Office in Amsterdam. People from Kharkiv who have fled Ukraine are now able to work in Olomouc.

In her press statement, Rector Kaganovska shared that.

“Our University is a consolidated team of 28,000 employees and students, proud of their educational institution’s 217-year history. According to the QS rating, we are the best Ukrainian university, the country’s powerhouse of educational and scientific resources. The University is the heart of Kharkiv, and it remains in Kharkiv, despite the city’s being shelled and numerous attempts of siege lasting for 77 days. We were able to shelter the University’s staff and students as best we could and launched the educational process remotely on the 33rd day of the war.”

If you are interested in supporting Karazin Kharkiv University, please check out the links below:

  • Donating funds to Karazin Kharkiv University is still possible and can be done here.
  • Support Programme and Aurora’s actions to aid Karazin Kharkiv National University.
  • Read the full press statement by Tetyana Kaganovska, President of V.N Karazin Kharkiv University, on the occasion of her participation in the Aurora Biannual Spring Meeting 2022 Innsbruck.