Author: rostanetek

UEA student spoke in House of Commons about diversity in the curriculum  

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in News.

A student from the University of East Anglia (UEA) spoke in the House of Commons after her petition to integrate diversity into the school curriculum reached 88,000 signatures.

Cynthia Ashlyne Muthoni who is 22 and studying MSc Climate Change and International Development at UEA presented via video link to a joint session of the Petitions Committee and Women and Equalities Committee on Thursday (5 November).

She is classed as vulnerable to COVID-19 and therefore was unable to physically attend protests over the death of George Floyd in the USA and calls for racial equality in the UK in June, so as an alternative method of protest she started the online petition. Within 48 hours of Cynthia setting up the online petition it gained 10,000 signatures, the necessary amount needed for the Government to respond, and it has steadily grown to just over 88,000 signatures.

Cynthia has experienced and witnessed racism throughout her life. She believes that the key to preventing it in education, healthcare, employment and other parts of society is to actively teach anti-racism to children in schools, so the next generation doesn’t become perpetrators or victims.

She said: “I remember being in school and always being called by the name of another black pupil despite us looking completely different. Teachers were angry to the point they would begin yelling at me for not responding and were later embarrassed by their actions. Sadly, this isn’t the only time I have been subject to racism.

“I would like teachers to be given appropriate anti-racism training, so they feel knowledgeable, confident, and empowered teaching such topics as well as when providing advice and assistance with any incidents of racism.

“Seeing the response to the petition is heart-warming, knowing so many people are co-signing and advocating for your idea because they recognise its importance. It gives you more confidence in your beliefs, it encourages you, and your determination becomes unwavering.

“It’s an honour to appear in parliament in any sense, but to be given the privilege to voice your ideas to people who have the power to affect real change is truly incredible. I feel prepared to combat this argument and demonstrate the necessity of education on racism and diversity being made mandatory.

“My aim is to have this idea transformed into legislation so that a significant portion of the curriculum is dedicated to deconstructing ideas of racism, providing children with tools necessary to combat racism, to become anti-racist and an ally.

“Instead of diversity (racially, ethnically, and culturally) being something children are told to tolerate, it should be something they are taught to celebrate. Diversity isn’t just acknowledgement of differences it’s the empowerment of the elements that make us different.”

Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the Petitions Committee, said: “I am pleased that the Petitions Committee is able to hold this joint evidence session with the Women and Equalities Committee and members of the Education Committee on such an important issue. This joint work allows us to delve deeper into concerns to petitioners that cut across policy areas.

“In the last few months, petitions calling for greater diversity in the National Curriculum have seen more than 390,000 signatures. Although the Government’s response to one of these petitions states that the curriculum provides teachers with ‘opportunities…to teach about Britain’s role in colonisation and the transatlantic slave trade’, many petitioners feel this does not go far enough in ensuring that students experience a fully diverse education all year round.”

Caroline Nokes MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee added: “To tackle racism and create a more equal and just society, we must understand and learn from the past. That starts in schools, with a more inclusive history curriculum. The sheer number of signatures these petitions have received show the strength of feeling on these issues. The Woman and Equalities Committee wants to work with the Petitions Committee and colleagues on the Education Committee to explore this in more detail.”

To view the petition, visit: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/323808

Celebrating Aurora Student Champions

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in Events.

The Aurora Student Schemes come to the end of the inaugural year with a celebration event on Wednesday 16 June and the invitation is open to any Aurora university staff or students looking to find out more.

Whether you were engaged in any way this year, you’d like to know more about how students could support the work of Aurora, or you’re looking to sign up for next year, you’ll learn from some of those involved this year and what the experience has meant to them.

We look forward to sharing a celebration of the first year of the Aurora Student Schemes, from 18:00 CEST (17:00 UK time, 16:00 UTC) and hope you can join us. Click on the link below the schedule to join the event in the evening.

Approximate CEST timings

18:00 Overview of the inaugural year of the schemes  Callum Perry, Aurora Student President and President of the University of East Anglia Students’ Union (5’)

Reflections on the inaugural year of the schemes
Presentations by current Aurora students (30’)

Congratulations on the inaugural year of the schemes
Prof Jon Atli, Aurora Universities President and President of the University of Iceland (5’)

c. 19:00 Closing remarks (Callum)

  • The benefit of seeing schemes come into fruition during the tenancy
  • Encouraging the next generation – recommend a friend draw, register
  • Final thanks and congratulations for this year and wishes for the future

 

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

 

We look forward to seeing you online.

Olivia, Tara, Alex and Callum
Aurora Student Schemes
Contact: aurora.champions@uea.ac.uk

Aurora Spring Biannual ’21

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in Events.

On May 20th and 21st, Aurora will hold its 10th Biannual Meeting. Spread over the entire day of Thursday, May 20th and Friday, May 21st until Mid-afternoon, academics, students, university leaders and administrators will come together to continue ongoing work, meet new colleagues and celebrate existing friendships.

The Aurora Spring 2021 Biannual commences with a plenary session featuring Head of the Cabinet to Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Education, Culture and Youth Adrienn Király and a panel discussion on the future of academic collaboration between British and other European universities Brexit. Prof. Paul Boyle, the vice-chancellor of Swansea University, UK and EUA Vice-President, will discuss this and join a panel discussion with Prof. Yassine Lakhnech (president of the University of Grenoble Alpes, member of Aurora) and Emily Reise, Aurora student representative (UIce). The panel will be moderated by John Style, Vice-Rector International of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

The first full day on May 20th will end with a lively and informal virtual reception. Jón Atli Benediktsson will be introducing the incoming Aurora Secretary-General, Anne-May Janssen

In between plenary and reception, the first Biannual day will offer many active Aurora task teams the time to sit and work together in parallel time slots in the morning and early afternoon. Simultaneously, the Aurora presidents will discuss their vision of Aurora’s future and the future benefits of being an Aurora university.

The afternoon will also feature four broad parallel sessions, each covering one of the more overarching themes of Aurora, such as “Education”, “Stakeholders”, “Academic engagement”, and “Sustainability”. Aurora welcomes president Joan Gabel of the University of Minnesota as a guest of honour. President Gabel will take part in the “Sustainability” session and share her views on the topic.

On Friday, May 21st, both the Aurora Universities Network and the Aurora European University Alliance will have a session of their respective supreme governance bodies: the Network General Council and the Alliance Board of Presidents. These formal meetings will be part of the first and second Friday parallel timeslots. The Aurora Network, General Council meeting, will run concurrently with many dissemination sessions. Aurora Biannual participants can find out about tools and services being developed to help Aurora academics, students and administrators. The Aurora Alliance Board of President’s meeting will run simultaneously with more task team working sessions.

Virtual venue & registration

The virtual conference platform will allow us to switch between formal sessions and meeting informally and casually as we see each other passing by the Aurora Biannual lounges.

Registration is through this link. We will liaise on registered participants with the institutional coordinators of your university, and we invite you to also inform your institutional coordinator of your intention to participate. Once your registration is confirmed, you will receive information by May 13th at the latest on how to log on to the virtual conference platform and instructions on how to navigate it.

 Please access the program by clicking the green button below.

 

Critical Perspectives on Governance Conferenc

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in Events.

The Conference on Critical Perspectives on Governance by Sustainable Development Goals is a biannual event organised by the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

The focus of the conference will be SDG4: “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” It aims to mobilize scholars young and old, policymakers, and civil society to share perspectives on the various roles education can play in relation to inclusive development.

During this conference, you will have the opportunity to assess the relevance of the goal, and its related targets and indicators, as well as develop a better understanding of the toolbox that is used to further its achievement.

More information about the program, different forms of participation and registration can be found below.

REGISTER HERE

MORE INFORMATION

Aurora COVID Student Conference

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in Events.

The Aurora COVID Student Conference, which took place on  19th January from 14:00-17:00 (GMT), is an initiative by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Aurora Vice-Rectors Education.

This was a free virtual conference for students from across all Aurora Universities to hear from and with experts working at Aurora partner institutions who have been active in responding to and researching the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The program included:

14:00 GMT Opening Remarks Prof Neil Ward (UEA, Norwich)
14:10 COVID and The Netherlands Dr Xander Koolman (VU, Amsterdam)
14:50 COVID and student well-being – The Caring Universities project Dr Sascha Struijs (VU, Amsterdam)
15:30 Break
15:45 COVID and the UK Prof Paul Hunter (UEA, Norwich)
16:25 Conference Discussion / Questions from attendees Chaired Prof Neil Ward
17:00 Conference Close

 

The conference closed with a discussion of the key themes that emerge during the plenary sessions. This conference was organized with the student in mind. Students who are considering a project or dissertation related to COVID, those studying or preparing to study topics related to COVID-19, such as dissertations or other project work, are more than welcome to watch the conference again.

Elísabet Brynjarsdóttir is Outstanding Young Icelander 2020

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Elísabet Brynjarsdóttir, former President of the University of Iceland Student Council and the Aurora Student Council, was recently selected as Outstanding Young Icelander of 2020 for her contributions in the area of philanthropy and volunteering.

The award is presented by JCI Iceland, who recognises people as part of an international programme that JCI organises all over the world to honour success and motivate other young people to succeed.

This was the nineteenth time the award has been presented in Iceland. As previously, the evaluation committee nominated ten people, all of whom were recognised as an Outstanding Young Icelanders for their contributions to Icelandic society. The group includes several current and former University of Iceland students.

The award itself is then presented to one person who stood out in particular, and the honour this year went to Elísabet Brynjarsdóttir. Elísabet received the award from Guðlaug Birna Björnsdóttir, National President of JCI Iceland, on 18 November.

Elísabet graduated from the University of Iceland with a degree in nursing in 2017. During her time as a student, she was involved in establishing the mental health education association Hugrún, working together with other University of Iceland students in nursing, psychology and medicine. The association educates young people about mental health and the resources available. Elísabet served as director of the association for the winter 2017-2018.

In the winter 2018-2019, Elísabet was President of the Student Council at the University of Iceland. During her term she organised the climate strike here in Iceland. She was also elected President of the Aurora Student Council 2018-2020, Aurora being a collaborative network of 9 prestigious European universities, including the University of Iceland. As President, Elísabet represented a total of 230,000 students within the network; this is probably the largest group that any Icelandic student leader has ever led in an international context.

Incredible achievement in raising awareness of drug abuse

Elísabet now works as a project manager at Frú Ragnheiður, a harm reduction service from the Red Cross in Iceland, having previously worked as a nurse for Frú Ragnheiður for two years. Before that, she worked on the project as a volunteer.

“As project manager, she has achieved incredible things in organising our work and raising awareness of the causes, nature and consequences of drug abuse for the individual as well as society as a whole, such as conditions for the homeless and the less able. She is a tireless advocate for marginalised groups, for example the homeless and intravenous drug users. She educates the public about people with drug abuse problems and is passionate about the subject. She has taken on the role of trying to show the nation that people are people, no matter what circumstances they find themselves in, everyone deserves compassion and respect,” said the statement from the JCI evaluation committee.

Aurora, alongside the University of Iceland, congratulates Elísabet on her recognition as an Outstanding Young Icelander.

Palacky University Olomouc New Associate Member of the Aurora Network

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The Aurora General Council welcomes Palacky University in Olomouc (Czech Republic) as an associate member to the Aurora Universities Network. Aurora President Jon Atli Benediktsson welcomes the newest member to the Aurora network.

In its meeting on 5 November, the Aurora General Council decided to award Palacky University the status of associate member, thus giving it access to all activities of the Aurora Universities Network. Palacky was already a member of the Aurora European Universities Alliance – which is one of the now 41 European University alliances.

We welcome the students, academics, leadership and support staff of Palacky University into the Aurora community.

Yours truly,

Jon Atli Benediktsson
President of the Aurora Universities Network and President of the University of Iceland

Aurora Endorses the Manifesto For EU COVID-19

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Aurora has signed the Manifesto For EU Covid-19 Research that maximizes the accessibility of research results in the fight against COVID-19. All Aurora universities support this quest to join forces on ground breaking research and innovation.

The Manifesto is part of the EU Coronavirus response, the common European response to the coronavirus outbreak. It provides guiding principles for beneficiaries of EU research grants for coronavirus prevention, testing, treatment and vaccination to ensure that their research results will be accessible for all and guarantee a return on public investment. This will aim to ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against Covid-19 and that solutions will be developed, produced and deployed to every single corner of the world.

By endorsing the manifesto, Aurora will support to:

  • Make the generated results, whether tangible or intangible, public and accessible without delay, for instance on the Horizon Results Platform, on an existing IP sharing platform, or through an existing patent pool.
  • Make scientific papers and research data available in open access without delay and following the FAIR principles via preprint servers or public repositories, with rights for others to build upon the publications and data and with access to the tools needed for their validation. In particular, make COVID-19 research data available through the European COVID-19 Data Platform
  • Where possible, a grant for a limited time, non-exclusive royalty-free licences on the intellectual property resulting from EU-funded research. These non-exclusive royalty-free licenses shall be given in exchange for the licensees’ commitment to rapidly and broadly distribute the resulting products and services under fair and reasonable conditions to prevent, diagnose, treat and contain COVID-19

The Manifesto seeks the voluntary support and endorsement from public and private stakeholders benefitting from EU funding, as well as from other research funders and prominent institutions. An updated list of organisations that already endorsed the Manifesto may be found here.

Note from the President III: Introducing Jon Atli Benediktsson

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At the Aurora Autumn Biannual, it was announced that Jon Atli Benediktsson has succeeded David Richardson as Aurora President. In this note, Mr Benediktsson introduces himself to the wider Aurora community.

When the general council of Aurora appointed me as the new president of Aurora, I accepted this role with pride and humility.

I accepted with pride because Aurora is such a great network. Such a great group of universities, dedicated to helping each other in becoming as good as we possibly can in the things that we cherish most: matching academic excellence with societal relevance, enhancing the societal impact of both learning and research, supporting our societies in the most equitable and inclusive way possible, and making our organisations and communities as sustainable as we can.

I accepted with humility because I step in great footsteps. David Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia and my predecessor as Aurora president, has really played a crucial and central role in making Aurora the strong and vibrant community of students, academics, and support staff that it currently is.

We go through very challenging times, generally and certainly also as university communities. The pandemic is still with us, although recent news about vaccination has been promising. The impact on the mental well-being of students is a grave concern and we must assume that this impact will last longer than the immediate duration of the COVID-19 waves.

In some respects, we should see the pandemic not only as a crisis in itself but also as a wake-up call on the longer-term concerns of climate change. Our recent Biannual shows that more is possible in the virtual world than we thought possible – although meeting in real life will remain important.

Digitisation and globalisation seem powerful forces which continue to breed uncertainty among large numbers of people in our communities. The role of universities in strengthening and maybe re-inventing the social contract and fabric of society will need to be explored more intensely than we do now. We may see ourselves as part of the solution, but we are maybe not always aware enough that others may see us as part of the problem rather.

In all these concerns and challenges, Aurora as a group of societally committed research universities has a unique role to play. We need to help each other – and we are in a unique position to help each other – to each serve our society in which we are embedded.

Jon Atli Benediktsson

Aurora Autumn Biannual 2020

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On November 4th and 5th 2020, the eighth Aurora biannual was organized using an online social video conference platform called Gatherly. A total of 264 participants connected remotely during the two-day biannual to take part in the 27 Aurora parallel sessions, two plenaries and a reception.

The two biannual plenaries – one for the Aurora Universities Network plenary and one for the Aurora European University Alliance, were well attended with over 80 participants listening in to various presentations. David Richardson – stepping down as Aurora president during the Biannual – opened the network plenary. Guest speakers Ann-Sofie van Enis and Tim Strasser from SOS International presented the Green Office movement model and the Green Impact model.  Afterwards, Maurice Vanderfeesten shared progress on the SDG Bibliometrics tool.

The Alliance plenary was opened by Mirjam van Praag, president of VU Amsterdam and of the Aurora Alliance Board; with all presidents of alliance university members sharing their pride in being part of the alliance. To quote some of them:

Tilmann Märk – The University of Innsbruck: “We are together on a journey to become a more united group of universities, with an own identity and own culture. We’ve had challenging weeks and months. Times are changing but here within this project we are luckily in the driver seat to steer the change we want to see. And so, therefore, we can build on our individual strength and the excellent working plan we have put up together.”

Ulrich Radtke – University Duisburg-Essen “Aurora Alliance is a network of excellence and trust. It is very important for me, and it’s a joy to work together in Aurora, and the University of Duisburg-Essen is proud of being part of the Aurora European University Alliance”

David Richardson –  University of East Anglia “I think we have a real opportunity to go together as a university alliance in how to co-develop our curricula in ways which can become more inclusive, more representative, and more reflective of the global issues. Our students must understand and are educated in sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. So they become future leaders for us. In our alliance, we have 350.000 students who are in the most entrepreneurial, enterprising, creative, innovative, and actually risk-taking stages in their lives. We have a real opportunity to grasp that as an alliance by taking forward and prepare people who can make a real difference to the world when they graduate from our alliance and go on to pursue their lives across the globe.”

Copenhagen Business School message was given by Mirjam van Praag:  “For Copenhagen Business School, the Aurora project is a great opportunity to form international partnerships and network across countries. It is particularly positive that the EUN partnership addresses the scientific field of societal impact and social entrepreneurship and innovation. These core aspects mirror important priorities in CBS’s new strategy. So to put it mildly, we are very happy to join the project.”

After the impactful speeches by the alliance presidents, Bernhard Fugenshuh inspired us on how universities can equip graduates with the right skill set and mindset. Aurora Student President Callum Perry from the University of East Anglia presented his vision for Aurora and launched the Aurora Student Championship to the Aurora community.

During the biannual, it was also announced that David Richardson’s term ended as president of Aurora universities Network. We thank Mr Richardson for his continuous efforts of being part of the network and being the driving force behind Aurora. Without his profound vision of creating a network of united universities who are not only societally engaged but also excel in academics, Aurora would not have been where it is now. Jon Atli Benediktsson, the rector of the University of Iceland, succeeds Mr Richardson and will be the president for the coming two years.

Aurora also hosted a reception where all could raise the glass while listening to the musical interlude prepared by the University of East Anglia choir. Enjoy the interlude here. Aurora invited Simon Anholt to speak about his book The Good Country Equation and share key observations about a university’s role in society. Since many participants were keen on reading Mr Anholts book, his publishers, Berrett-Koehler, have offered a 30% discount on the digital editions (e-book and Audiobook) of The Good Country Equation to attendees of the conference and the wider Aurora network.

During the Biannual, a total of 27 separate working groups met during the five time slots for parallel sessions. Among these were the vice-rectors education, the Aurora Student Council, the Alliance teams for Health & Well-being, for Social Entrepreneurship, as well as the coordinating teams for Learning for Societal Impact, Engaging Communities, and Sustainability Pioneers.