Matthias Thoma is a third-year political science student at the Universität Innsbruck with practical experience in Austrian and international politics. He is committed to strengthening international university cooperation in order to foster sustainable exchange and mutual knowledge transfer within the Aurora alliance. His focus lies on building institutional bridges between research, teaching and student mobility to connect European universities more strategically and accelerate the uptake of innovation.
Alexander Lindemans is Programme Manager of Aurora.Originally from the Brussels region of Belgium, he holds a BA and MA in History from Ghent University and Charles University in Prague, and an MA in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam.He has worked in international education for a while, as an International Student Advisor at VU Amsterdam and as Academic Coordinator and Advisor for the PPE and Philosophy programmes.
Outside of work, he enjoys adventurous travel involving camping, bikepacking, and hiking and plays drums and piano.
Andreea Iorga is an Honours student in International Business Administration at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Alongside her studies, she holds the position of Communication Coordinator of the University Student Council, where she represents over 32,000 students and works to strengthen engagement, transparency, and communication between students and university governance.
As the delegated representative of VU Amsterdam within the Aurora Student Council, Andreea contributes to cross-European student collaboration within the Aurora European university alliance. Her interests lie at the intersection of international cooperation, leadership, and student representation, with a focus on ensuring that student voices shape both local and European higher-education spaces.
Maria José is a multilingual Programme Manager with significant financial, administrative and operational experience. Her anthropological background has enabled her to develop effective communication skills at different levels and integral understanding of complex projects. She has worked and supervised different development projects in Colombia and had the opportunity to work in diplomacy in The Netherlands, representing Colombia and its economic and commercial interests. As Aurora 2030 Programme Manager, her main activities are maintaining the financial overview of the project, ensuring the health of the programme, and supporting the different stakeholders.
Marko Darabos is originally from Croatia, and he is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, specializing in Leadership and Change Management. He looks forward to exchanging ideas, learning from others, and working together so that, within the Aurora alliance, we can help each other grow and let new perspectives come to light.
As senior strategic policy advisor EU and EU Liaison, Pim de Boer pro-actively enlarges visibility, reputation and competitiveness of VU Amsterdam and Aurora universities at EU authorities, EU services, academic institutions and other stakeholders in Europe. This entails providing advice on strategy and policies related to EU programmes and acquisition, networking, representation and lobbying in Brussels and other countries for VU and Aurora universities. To effectively achieve results, Pim involves scientists, lecturers and staff in EU-related policies, meetings and other activities. These tasks can be summarised as being a knowledge broker and bridging mediator. This also relates to his background as pathobiologist and assistant professor, director of research and grants at a charity and patient organisation, and entrepreneur combining societal and scientific engagement.
Anaïs Kaci is a Master’s student in International Negotiations at Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). As current President of the Student Body at UPEC, she represents over 42,000 students and actively contributes to building inclusive and participatory university governance.
As FOREU4ALL Ambassador for the Aurora Alliance, Anaïs serves as a member of the Aurora Student Council and of the association EvalUE, bringing strong expertise in European affairs, student representation, and higher education policy evaluation. Holding a Bachelor’s in Administration and International Exchanges and completing a second degree in European Fundamental Law, she combines academic knowledge with strategic leadership.
Her vision focuses on strengthening student participation across European university alliances and amplifying the student voice in European higher education. With her international background, she aims to build bridges across cultures and make student representation truly European in both spirit and impact.
As an Administrative Officer, Chiara Cardigliano is responsible for providing ongoing support to the management activities of the Aurora Central Office. Thanks to her educational background in the legal field and previous work experience in the administration of activities for university students, Chiara’s goal is to foster a smooth organisational and working environment for those who work with the office on a daily basis.
Chiara’s tasks are transversal to all the posts and bodies within the Aurora Central Office, focusing on the creation of tools and activities that facilitate everyone’s work. From the Secretary General to the Programme Director to Project Management, Chiara’s presence is devoted to understanding the needs and analysing solutions for smoother administrative management of the Office.
Erin Gourves is a MA student at Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). Previously involved as an Aurora Ambassador, she now aims to strengthen student involvement within the alliance in order to help build an impactful european network. She sees Aurora as a vibrant community to be further developed and connected — a space where collaboration and shared initiatives can truly thrive.
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