Board category: General Council

Joy Johnson is president and vice-chancellor of Simon Fraser University, and professor in its Faculty of Health Sciences. Joy is committed to carrying out SFU’s vision to be a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future. Prior to her appointment as president, Joy served as SFU’s vice-president, research and international, and oversaw the evolution of cutting-edge research, innovation and international engagement across eight faculties. Under her leadership, SFU achieved the fastest research income growth of any university in Canada, with a focus on mobilizing knowledge to enhance the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of communities. Prior to SFU, Joy had a distinguished career in academics and research. She is an elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has co-authored more than 180 peer-reviewed articles. Joy is chair of the Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia and chair of the Universities Canada board.

Karine Bergès has been a professor of contemporary Spanish civilisation at the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) since 2019. Her work, carried out within the IMAGER research unit, focuses on the political and social history of contemporary Spain, as well as the history of women and gender. She co-leads the CREER research team and is an active member of several scientific collectives dedicated to feminist studies and new Spanish historiographies. A former senior lecturer at CY Cergy Paris University (2005-2019), Karine Bergès held positions of responsibility there, notably as gender equality officer. At UPEC, she was Vice-Dean for Research (2020-2022) and since 2022 has held the position of Vice-President for “Science with and for Society”. She teaches in the field of Hispanic studies at bachelor’s and master’s level and co-directs the Spanish teacher-training programme, working with the Créteil teaching academy Her career also includes lectures at Sciences Po Paris, Sciences Po Lyon, ENS Lyon and several Spanish universities. Her commitment to higher education and research was recognised by her appointment as Chevalier in the Order of Academic Palms in 2017, followed by her promotion to Officier in 2025.

Simona Gibalová is fourth year General Medicine student at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice). As current President of the Aurora Student Council (ASC), she will leverage on her extensive experience as former Aurora Student Ambassador in the ASC. From collaboration on creating the Aurora Students’ Rights Charter to representing Aurora in the European Student Union, she will brings a unique perspective from an Aurora Associate Partner university to the ASC board for the first time. Simona’s vision for this year involves deepening student collaboration on a local and European level, improving the Aurora Student Ambassador programme and bringing forward the needs of students from associate partner universities. She believes that the ASC is a unique opportunity for every student involved to gain new, outside-of-classroom knowledge, share good practices and gain growth on both personal and professional levels.

As International Office Director, Wilbert van der Meer is responsible for international academic partnerships at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). He works closely with both internal and external stakeholders to strengthen CBS’s global network, including collaborations on educational programs, research initiatives, and strategic alliances. Wilbert is responsible for CBS’s policies and strategies for internationalisation. Previously, he held the position of Head of Education at CBS and, prior to that, served as Deputy Secretary General at Universities Denmark. Wilbert van der Meer represents the CBS Vice-Rector of Education, Anna Thomasson, in the Aurora European universities alliance.

Matteo Lorito has been Rector of the Università Federico II of Naples since 2020 and is Full Professor of Plant Pathology and Phytopathological Biotechnology. A Biology graduate, he conducted research at Cornell University and held academic leadership roles, including Director of the Department of Agriculture. He has authored over 200 scientific publications and has approximately 25,000 citations. He co-founded three startups and developed biopesticide and biofertilizer formulations distributed in 90 countries. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. 

Barbara Albert serves as Rector of University of Duisburg-Essen. She is a distinguished expert in the field of solid-state chemistry, former president of the German Chemical Society and member of the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. Prior to joining University of Duisburg-Essen, she held professorships at the universities of Hamburg and Darmstadt. At the Technical University Darmstadt, she also was Dean of the Department of Chemistry and Vice-President of Research and Early Careers.

Veronika Sexl is a renowned cancer researcher specializing in tumor surveillance and signaling in leukemogenesis, with over 200 peer-reviewed publications and numerous awards. She maintains extensive international collaborations and serves on various boards, including the European Hematology Association (EHA). Since March 2023, Veronika Sexl is Rector of Universität Innsbruck.