Manifesto to promote the discussion on R&I issues within the Conference on the Future of Europe and beyond

Written by A A on . Posted in News.

AURORA has signed and supports the manifesto and call on the Conference on the Future of Europe, European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union to discuss and deepen Research & Innovation issues as a contribution to solving global challenges over the months to come.

Research and Innovation are at the heart of contributing to achieving the green and digital transitions, ensuring a fair, sustainable, competitive and depolarized society and economy, and addressing health and geopolitical challenges. This should be reached in co-creation and co-design with citizens and all actors. Several European and national programmes are supporting this. While the Conference is discussing many themes related to the challenges including education, Research and Innovation risks are being omitted from the discussions. Therefore, we emphasize that Research and Innovation should be even more at the core of the debate on the EU’s future challenges and priorities. For more information, read the full manifesto, being signed by over 65 national and European umbrella organizations representing research and business:

Link 1 and link 2.

Webinar Series in November

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in Events, News.

We may not have had the opportunity to visit all ten of the other universities, nor indeed those countries, but in the five years since Aurora began, how well do we really know our Aurora partners?

We’re all research-intensive with an international outlook, collectively supporting our students to become global entrepreneurs. But could you list the home country of each partner? Its academic strengths? Its research collaborations?

The Borderless Learning: Recognition and Mobility Group has hosted a week-long series of webinars from November 2nd to 5th, aiming to answer questions from the very basic level – why would a student choose to study there – from its campus and location to its courses, to its inclusive community. Each Aurora university will take just 60 minutes, all following a similar structure and format, to showcase itself to other Aurora universities.

Whether you’re a student, an administrative adviser or coordinator of placements, or an academic looking to strengthen your European partnerships; watch the recordings to find out more. You could just turn out to be learning about your next destination.

Get To Know Your Aurora University Study Abroad Partner Destinations – A Webinar Series for students and staff

Are you on a study abroad pathway? Interested in studying a short course abroad? Keen to experience living and learning in another part of Europe? Or helping to advise those that are? Watch as many of these eleven webinars as you like! All have been recorded. Please take a look at all the videos below and find the university of your interest.

 

Presentation Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

 

Presentation Universitat Rovira i Virgili

 

Presentation University of Aberdeen

 

Presentation Università di Napoli Federico II

 

Presentation University of Iceland

 

Presentation Universität Innsbruck

 

Presentation University of East Anglia

 

Presentation Universität Duisburg-Essen

 

Presentation Copenhagen Business School

 

Presentation Université Grenoble Alpes

 

Presentation Palacký University Olomouc

Lively discussions with teachers at the Aurora seminar on interdisciplinary learning outcomes

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At the beginning of September, Kees Kouwenaar, former Secretary-General of Aurora and specialist in the Aurora Competence Framework at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, visited the University of Iceland.

The purpose of the visit was to invite teachers and directors of academic development within the University of Iceland to become better acquainted with Aurora and discuss how the Aurora Competence Framework can support teachers in strengthening their students’ interdisciplinary skills in addition to subject-specific skills and knowledge. The seminar generated a lively discussion on how to better enable students to tackle societal challenges and diverse jobs in a dynamic and technological world, in accordance with the goals of HÍ26. Participants shared their suggestions for the continued development of the Aurora Competence Framework, which will be useful in the coming months.

Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland and Aurora President, also met with Kees. During the meeting, the successful collaboration between the University of Iceland and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in recent years was discussed, which has resulted in extensive student and staff exchanges between the universities increased internationalisation of studies and a total of 7 million euros in funding from the European Commission to deepen and strengthen the cooperation between Aurora Universities as part of the European Universities Initiative.

The Rector also congratulated Kees on his recent award from the European Association for International Education (EAIE) for his outstanding contribution to international collaboration in higher education. The EAIE is Europe’s largest forum in this field and provides a robust platform for university staff and experts to exchange new knowledge and ideas that contribute to successful internationalisation.

Kees says that the purpose of founding Aurora was exactly this, to create a solid network for European research universities with common values ​​and goals to help each other achieve even better results. “I immediately liked the idea of ​​founding Aurora because I have always felt that international collaboration should also help universities, students and teachers to make their core activities even better – not just be a nice additional thing on the side.”

Kees says the support from the European Union has helped to integrate the Aurora partnership even better into the institutional strategies and policies of the member universities. “Part of the benefits that the EU support brings us are the risks and costs associated with not achieving the results we aim for in the coming years within Aurora. The recognition from the EU has made Aurora universities more visible and garnered them great prestige both in their home countries and in Europe, and it is therefore, crucial to ensure continued EU funding for Aurora by demonstrating concrete results and impact, allowing us to maintain this prestige which can open many doors in the future”.

Regarding the development of education, Kees is convinced that Aurora will be useful to the member universities in various ways. Aurora’s motto is ‘to learn from and with each other’. Doing things together is the key vehicle for students, teachers and other university staff to learn from each other, whether through joint modules, by offering students international experiences, for example, through learning or training mobility abroad, or through staff exchanges. “

When asked what his hopes the long-term impact of the Aurora partnership and the Aurora Competency Framework will be, Kees says the answer is simple but very ambitious. “I hope that it will result in our students being equipped with not only subject-specific knowledge, but also possessing the more general skills and mindsets needed to be responsible members of society and who take the initiative in making our societies better places to live in”.

 

Open Aurora course at Universität Innsbruck

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in News, Trainings.

For the upcoming Wintersemester 2021/2022 Universität Innsbruck is offering two new courses to all Aurora partner Universities students. The application period is between 30 August and 12 September 2021.

Sustainability & Climate Change

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

  • Be able to think critically about their own lives and situations with respect to climate change and sustainability
  • Improve their knowledge of sustainability and climate change with respect to other cultures and be able to enter into discussion on the topic with people of other cultures
  • Understand the background and structure of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • Improve their knowledge of sustainable earth systems, lifestyles and mobility with respect to SDGs and be able to reflect critically with respect to their own lifestyles
  • Be able to engage with a real business and undertake a sustainability assessment for a business
  • Understand communication strategies with respect to communicating research to the public and implementing policy changes

 

Structure of the course (limited number of participants!)

Interactive format

The course will comprise five key components.

  1. Introduction
  2. Frontal lectures and small discussion groups on sustainability and climate change
  3. Workshop on undertaking a sustainability assessment for a business
  4. Seminars and discussions with external stakeholders on communication and policy implementation
  5. Synthesis and critical thinking of topics covered

 

Cultural Encounters and Conflicts: Doing Diversity in Higher Education in the Aurora European Universities Alliance (Aurora Brown Bag Lecture Series)

Learning Outcomes

Students will learn about: diversity and its use as a societal resource, different approaches to diversity studies and their application in the context of higher education, current networking initiatives of the universities within the European Universities Alliance and much more.

Structure of the course (no limitation of participants!)

Lecture series

Further information on the program and participation can be found by clicking the button below

The Year 2020: Vrije Universiteit, at the heart of society

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Managing partner of the Aurora European University Alliance, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has released their Year in review 2020. In their 2020: Year in review and in their 2020 Annual Report, they reflect on some significant and memorable moments. The year 2020 was exceptional for many reasons. Because of the pandemic, they were forced to work and study primarily online, and to transform into a university that operates at a one-and-a-half-meter distance. It also marked the start of their anniversary year, the Kuyper Year.

The Corona Research Fund, the Athena Institute’s COVID-19 platform, Caring Universities and the free COVID -19 search engine from Findest. These are just a few of the many initiatives that the VU community has introduced, along with partners, during the 2020 corona year. In addition, they had to transform their education into a hybrid format, with an online emphasis. Together, they worked hard in difficult circumstances and showed exceptional resilience, adaptability and commitment.

VU Amsterdam turned 140 in the year 2020. With the Opening Academic Year, they kicked off the Kuyper year with the Kuyper Challenge and with many examples of social entrepreneurship. During the Dies Natalis, Her Majesty Queen Máxima also stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and particularly the role of SMEs. In the year review, Mirjam van Praag, President of the Aurora European University Programme and of the VU Executive Board, also emphasized how Aurora is an opportunity for VU students to gain knowledge and skills to foster social entrepreneurship. VU Amsterdam was also named the most sustainable university in the Netherlands in 2020 and they declared their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2020, VU once again demonstrated its position at the heart of society.

Curious about these stories and more inspiring examples from VU in 2020? Read the Year in review ‘VU Amsterdam: at the heart of society 2020’ in English.

Aurora Spring Biannual 21

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On May 20 – 21st, the tenth Aurora Biannual took place, where Aurora presidents, students and staff met to learn from and with each other.

The first day began with an opening plenary focusing on the future of academic collaboration between British and other European universities following Brexit. Ms Adrienn Kiraly, Head of the Cabinet to Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Education, Culture and Youth, touched upon our collaborations with other universities and said “Your alliance is already well placed to be a role model for other higher education institutions in Europe and beyond: Your association with three other higher education institutions in Bulgaria, Slovakia and North Macedonia as well as your commitment to developing a capacity development support programme for more than 30 Universities from Central Eastern Europe and neighbouring countries testify for this.” She also highlighted our collaborations with our students by saying: “ I am very happy to see that you have put in place the Aurora Student Champions Scheme in order to ensure student representation in each of your activities.”

During the plenary, Paul Boyle (Vice-Chancellor Swansea University and EUA Vice-President) outlined the 7 key points UK universities must address in order to advance in academic collaborations. One of these points is the need for a European wide funding system open to the world. He mentions that universities in the UK feel fortunate to be part of Horizon EU and participate in the vast majority of that scheme. However, there are many other countries from which they could gain value collaborating too. Karine Samuel (Vice President for International Affairs of Université Grenoble Alpes) stressed the importance of international collaboration and how the Aurora collaboration was especially useful in the pandemic by exchanging experiences and best practices with other Aurora universities. Ms Emily Reise from the University of Iceland added a students’ voice and emphasized the accessibility and mobility of students and sees the advantage of short term mobility experiences for students.

After lively parallel session presentations and dynamic conversations, we entered the virtual reception building where Jón Atli Benediktsson (Aurora Network President and Rector of the University of Iceland) welcomed the Minister of Education, Science and Culture of Iceland, Lilja Alfredsdottir. Ms Alfredsdottir believes that the strength of Iceland lies in its international collaborations and that these collaborating networks have ensured that Icelandic research is truly global and ambitious. She says: “No single institution can tackle world challenges on its own but collaboration brings a strength that can be greater than the sum of its parts. With that in mind, the European Commission has focused its recent efforts in higher education on forming strong European University networks capable of producing internationally competent European students, European research, and European solutions”. Jón Atli introduced Ms Anne-May Janssen who will take over from Kees Kouwenaar as Secretary-General of Aurora from July 25th of this year. The reception also welcomed a comedy sketch by comedian Ari Eldjarn. Ari enthused the public with his charismatic interpretations of the many European cultures.

The second day continued with open parallel dissemination sessions and a wrap up of the reports and reflections. President of the Alliance Board Mirjam van Praag shared the accomplishments and challenges of the last 6 months. Among the achievements are the many courses that have been identified to be Aurorarized, a 2-year master program, an international traineeship program, a framework for mobility grant allocation, the 32 students engaged in the Aurora Student Champion Scheme and 15 student ambassadors. Next to accomplishments, Ms van Praag also shared a key concern about the involvement of academics in Aurora and integrating Aurorarized course into existing degree programs.

In total, 25 of Aurora’s active working groups and task teams met during the Biannual, and 7 dissemination sessions informed a wider Aurora audience on aspects of the Aurora programme of activities.

In the wrap-up, it was announced that it is the last term of Callum Perry, initiator of the Aurora student Champions Scheme and that his successor will be elected in the following months. And lastly, Maria José Figueras Salvat, Rector of Universitat Rovira i Virgili, announced that the fall biannual 2021 will physically be organized in Tarragona.

Aurora Service Learning Toolbox

Written by rostanetek on . Posted in News, Trainings.

At the core of the Aurora is its cardinal goal to equip students with the right knowledge, skills, mindset, and experience to address societal challenges as agents of change. The Service Learning (SL) and Co-creation approach can help bring this core mission of the Aurora alliance to fruition. Service-learning is an academic teaching/learning method that connects meaningful community service with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility. Co-creation is a form of service-learning that entails the collaboration of diverse stakeholders in the co-production of value/knowledge (concepts, solutions, products, services). Together these two approaches foster engagement of academicians and students with societal stakeholders to address societal challenges.

This toolbox provides relevant tools, resources, and inspiration to foster understanding and application of service-learning and co-creation in Aurora universities. We hope these resources will help interested teachers and students to apply service-learning and co-creation in their academic practice. Information on how to use the toolbox is presented below.

How to use the Aurora Service Learning Toolbox

Please choose from the three modules below what you would like to do. The three modules provide pertinent information, tools, and support to foster service-learning and co-creation in Aurora Universities.

The first module provides information, tools and inspiration on service-learning and co-creation.

The second module provides information on available service-learning programs, courses, and practices in Aurora Universities.

 

The third module helps connect those who seek advice or support on service learning or co-creation to experts and their counsel.

The Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia affirms the commitment to tackling climate emergency

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More than one hundred businesses and organizations attend the official presentation in Tarragona of a strategic national initiative which has already been working for some time on the transition to the renewable hydrogen economy and society

The Vice-President of the Catalan Government, Pere Aragonès, stated that the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia “is a paradigm of the transformative projects that the country needs and an opportunity to change the energy consumption model”

Enagás and Repsol takes on the commercial leadership of an initiative coordinated by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili which they hope will make the territory a European leader in the hydrogen industry.

Tarragona, 14 May 2021 – The official presentation of the Hydrogen Valley of Tarragona has taken place in the Tarragona Congress Centre. The event has been attended by the more than 100 companies and organisations that form part of the Hydrogen Valley and has been an opportunity for all those involved to reaffirm their commitment to tackling the climate emergency by promoting a society and economy based on renewable hydrogen. This strategic national initiative has already been working for months to consolidate an ecosystem based on the value chain of hydrogen, an energy vector vital to achieving carbon neutrality whilst increasing business competitiveness and improving individual well-being, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event has been presided over by the Vice-President of the Catalan Government and Minister for the Economy and Revenue, Pere Aragonès, who emphasised the importance of the Hydrogen Valley as “an paradigm of the transformative projects that the country needs and an opportunity to change the energy consumption model”, while the presidents of Repsol and Enagás, Antonio Brufau and Antonio Llardén respectively, have taken on commercial leadership within the Valley as a challenge and commitment to society.

The agreement by all parties to promote the growth of the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia, with economic development and climate change mitigation as its primary goals, has resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the principal stakeholders involved in the initiative, represented by Ramon Tremosa, the minister for Business and Knowledge of the Catalan Government; María José Figueras, rector of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili; Noemí Llauradó, president of Tarragona Provincial Council; Josep Maria Cruset, president of the Tarragona Port Authority; Montserrat Ballarín, vice-president of the Social and Economic Development of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, and Rubén Folgado, president of the Chemical Business Association of Tarragona (AEQT), in addition to the aforementioned of Repsol and Enagás, Antonio Brufau and Antonio Llardén.

The event began with a welcome speech by the Mayor of Tarragona, Pau Ricomà, in which he expressed his support for the initiative and stressed “the city’s commitment to the project and to the implementation of renewable hydrogen”. This was followed by María José Figueras, rector of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, the institution coordinating and promoting the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia, who expressed her thanks for the support of all stakeholders and stated that “the knowledge agents and administrations and companies that participate in this initiative seek to consolidate all of their assets and potentialities in order to make the Valley a leader in the transition to a society and economy based on renewable hydrogen, through knowledge, research, production, distribution and use”. In this context, the rector has highlighted that the role played by the URV involves “leading and promoting training, socialization and research into the new value chains of renewable hydrogen”.

Ramon Tremosa has expressed the “total support” of the Catalan Government for the Valley, “a competitive and transformative strategic project with a clear impact on the territory that will contribute to the need for energy transition” and he asked the Spanish Government for “real joint governance in the management of the Next Generation initiatives. We have to play a key role if we want to maximize the resources that Europe makes available to us”, he stated.

Noemí Llauradó, for her part, has stated that the institution that she presides over is committed to making the Tarragona region “lead the implementation of this energy model throughout Catalonia and become a driver of development and a European reference point in this ambit”. According to Llauradó, “the energy transition is a question that can be dealt with particularly well at the local level and in concert and dialogue with fellow stakeholders”. For his part, Josep Maria Cruset has expressed the support of the Port of Tarragona for a project that “brings together the protection of the environment and the sustainable economic development of society”. “It is for this reason that we are making all of the Port’s assets and potentially available for the project”, he concluded.

Montserrat Ballarín has demonstrated the commitment of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area “to the challenges of climate change and sustainability” and has highlighted the BMA’s work both in support of clean energies and in the drastic reduction of emissions from private transport, thus “working towards the carbon neutrality of our territory”. The president of the BMA and the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, was not able to be present in Tarragona but appeared in the opening presentation video of the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia, alongside the other stakeholders. Colau referred to the commitment by Barcelona Metropolitan Transport to incorporate renewable hydrogen as a fuel and thus implement the first public hydrogen station in Spain.

Enagás and Repsol are the two companies that have positioned themselves at the forefront of the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia. The president of Repsol, Antonio Brufau, stated his company will be one of the main actors in the process of transforming the petrochemical hub of Tarragona, “thus helping it to become an industrial leader in Europe”.“All of us who make up the Valley want to tackle the challenge of the energy transition in a way that is engaged with society and we will do so through innovation and technology”, he added. For his part, Antonio Llardén stated that Enagás will contribute its experience in promoting renewable hydrogen projects that are “sustainable in the long term, with innovative technologies that promote a competitive industry and generate wealth and employment”. According to Llardén, “industry is crucial to driving the reconstruction of a strong economy and society”.

Rubén Folgado, president of the Tarragona Port Authority, stated that the chemical industry has a responsibility to play an active part in the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia.“We are taking on a key role in the energy transition, in this process that can no longer be put off, not only because of our obligation to comply with the emissions restrictions that the European Union has established for the 2030 and 2050 horizons, but also because the survival of our activities is at stake and, above all, because of a sense of conviction. We individuals who make up the chemical industry are the first to insist on our own sustainability and the need to protect the planet.”

In the closing speech, Vice-President Pere Aragonès described the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia as “highly exciting” and that it must be “the first step in reducing carbon emissions”. “This initiative has all of the features that we hope to see in the Catalonia of the future, the Catalonia that we have to start building right now”, asserted Aragonès, who also stated that the Next Generation EU funds are an opportunity that must not be missed. In fact, the Hydrogen Valley is one of the 27 projects for driving the economic recovery that the Catalan Government wants to prioritise in order to access European funds.

The vice-president also explained how the Hydrogen Valley project is much more than an alternative source of clean energy because it “takes advantage of the economic crisis to promote the transformation that country’s manufacturing sector needs”. According to Aragonès, “it is precisely these big, ambitious impact projects that are needed so that the Catalan economy can gain competitiveness, position itself as an international leader, and fight against climate change”.

The event was presented by the journalist Xavier Graset and has also served to formalize the alliance of knowledge, science and technology comprising the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) and the Eurecat Technology Centre, which is the research and innovation core of the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia and which has been working for a long time in the ambit of renewable hydrogen.

Aurora Ranks in Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

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Aurora universities have appeared in high positions in the Times Higher Education SDG ranking and excelled in numerous SDGs.

Times Higher Education has ranked universities based on their performance against indicators of global social and economic impact and advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings consider all 17 SDGs, and each university is scored for its performance in advancing each goal. A university’s overall ranking is then based on its top three SDG scores plus its score for Goal 17, Partnerships for the Goals.

Aurora member university, the University of Aberdeen, has been placed 57th out of 1,115 institutions worldwide in the newly published Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. Areas in which the university has excelled include Partnership for the Goals (SDG17) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11), where Aberdeen has been placed 27th globally for both. The University of Iceland has ranked in the SDGs health and wellbeing (SDG3), industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG9), as well as responsible consumption and production (SDG12). The University of Iceland’s overall position in THE Impact Rankings is 301-400. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) maintains its position, although 347 more institutions have entered this ranking and have high rankings for Climate Action (SDG13), Gender Equality (SDG5) and Quality Education (SDG4).  UEA ranked between 101-200 out of 1,115 institutions in total, placing it in the top 20% for its sustainable development. UEA participated in six of the 17 SDGs, and achieved some other positive results, including 57th place out of a possible 653 for ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’ (SDG16). Joint 74th out of a possible 871 for ‘Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG3). The four SDGs to which VU Amsterdam connects the most are Climate Action (SDG13), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). The overarching position of the university in the Impact ranking 2021 is in the range of 101-200. Aurora associate member university, Palacký University Olomouc, has rankings in Good health and wellbeing (SDG3), Decent Work and Economic growth (SDG8), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11), and Partnerships for the Goal (SDG17). Overall the university is ranked in the 401-600 position.

Aurora congratulates its universities with these outstanding results. Aurora is extremely committed to matching academic excellence with societal impact, and these rankings prove that we are well on our way. The Aurora SDG Bibliometrics tool developed is an exceptional tool that maps the research output by all our universities: please view the tool here. More about Aurora here.

New Aurora Secretary-General: Board appoints Anne-May Janssen

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Kees Kouwenaar will retire and step down as Secretary-General on July 25th, 2021. We will give proper attention to the role which Kees has played on September 17th, 2021.

The Board of the Aurora Universities Network is now pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Anne-May Janssen to succeed Mr Kees Kouwenaar as Aurora’s Secretary General; to ensure a smooth and efficient handover, Ms Janssen will start working at the Aurora office on July 1st.

Ms Janssen completed her degree in Public Policy and Human Development at Maastricht School of Governance.  She started her career as a junior lecturer at Maastricht University. In 2011 she made the switch to the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs as a policy officer. In 2014 Ms Janssen moved to Brussels to work at the Netherlands House for Education and Research (Neth-ER) as an account manager for the Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU) and Nuffic. Ms Janssen primarily lobbied for the NFU and successfully influenced the European Commission to include the NFU’s research priorities in the 2016 Horizon 2020 Health Work Programme. From 2017 onwards, Ms Janssen is the Head of European Engagement at Universities UK International (UUKi) in London. She leads UUKi’s European policy and engagement activities and works to maximise the sector’s profile, impact and visibility in Brussels and other European capitals and countries.

The Board is convinced that Anne-May Janssen will bring great expertise to Aurora and prove to be a Secretary-General with a great focus on engagement and working together with the Aurora partner universities and their students. It will be a challenge to continue the great work of Kees Kouwenaar, Aurora’s first Secretary-General, but the Board is convinced that Anne-May Janssen has the competence and skills needed to guide Aurora to the next stage.

In an interview, Mr Kouwenaar and Ms Janssen share their views on recent development in Higher Education and the embeddedness of university in society. Please watch the video here: