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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.

 

 

 

 

40 people attend the infoday on implementing doctoral programmes through international networks

Written by Blanca Maria Ramirez Miralles on . Posted in News.

The infoday on 22 September about the call for proposals of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) of the European Commission was attended by 42 people from the URV, the universities of the Aurora network and the Spanish State. It provided the information and the practical tools necessary for applicants to adapt their proposals to the objectives and requirements of this funding programme.

The MSCA Doctoral Networks call consists in implementing doctoral programmes through associations of organisations from different sectors in Europe and beyond to train highly qualified doctoral students, stimulate their creativity, improve their innovation skills and enhance their long-term employability.

Xavier Eekhout, head of the mobility and professional development projects for researchers, EURAXESS Spain and the MSCA National Contact Point in Spain, gave an overview of the call for proposals. Karin Rade of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands) gave practical advice on what the university believes works best in this call and how they support it. To increase impact and applicability, Hatem Rashwan, researcher at the URV Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, presented his success story, the BosomShield project, which won the call for proposals of 2021.

Opportunity for collaboration between the universities of the Aurora network

MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022 are an opportunity to deepen research collaborations among the priority partners of the Aurora network. This alliance of nine European universities, committed to research excellence and the social impact of their actions, has already developed a series of tools for giving visibility to the research of their centres, including the Sustainable Development Goals Panel (SDG Dashboard) to share resources and train doctoral students in transversal skills. Therefore, the proposals presented linked to Aurora will be enhanced by access to this joint infrastructure.

The MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022 call will close on 15 November. The complete information can be consulted on the website of the call.

The URV group that organized this infoday, USPIR, provides support to the research community in the drafting of proposals for obtaining international funding for research projects.

The infoday on MCSA Doctoral Networks can be seen again at this link.

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.

 

Looking back at the International Summer School: Refugee Law & Rights

Written by Niels Hexspoor on . Posted in News.

In support of our Ukrainian partners at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, the International Summer School Refugee Law & Rights took place between the 15th and 25th of August, in Olomouc. The hybrid school, co-organized and implemented by Palacký University Olomouc and Karazin University, welcomed 24 participants both online and in person.

The participants came from six countries including United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, and Ukraine. They comprised both undergraduate and postgraduate students of social sciences, mostly from law studies, sociology, and human rights.

During ten dynamic days, the participants followed lectures, engaged in discussions and participated in an extensive evening program, during which the students had a chance to engage with professionals in the field, UNHCR experts, as well as a plenary sessions on Peace Building and Recovery with Karazin University Staff and Peace Education MA student from the University of Innsbruck.

As part of the ongoing Aurora Universities donations and support campaign for Karazin University, the school was able to provide 5 students from Karazin University free of charge online participation, and to engage another 5 university professors and 2 administrative stuff in its organization and full program implementation, alongside the UP and International experts.

A detailed report of the International Summer School on Refugee Law & Rights can be found here.

The full program of the summer school can be found here.

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 Student Schemes

Written by Niels Hexspoor on . Posted in Calls, News.

We are pleased to announce that you can now apply for the Aurora Student Schemes for the upcoming Academic year 2022/2023. Become part of an international community of students by taking on one of the following two roles:

Student Ambassador

If you want to be a part of an international community of students, the role of Aurora Student Ambassador will be perfect for you.

In this role, you will be given the opportunity to take part in a variety of online and in-person events, together with students from across all Aurora Universities.

You can participate in several international workshops that will boost you personal and professional development. At the end of the year, we will invite you to participate in the Aurora Student Conference, where you will meet your fellow ambassadors.

Student Champion

This role is created specifically for students that want to go the extra mile.  You will directly work on the key Aurora topics, in addition to the joint activities provided to Aurora Student Ambassadors.

If you get at least 15 hours of combined participation in the program and the working groups, you will receive the certificate of Aurora Student Champion.

Program

The program for the student ambassadors and champions will take place between October 2022 to July 2023. In October, a first joint online session will serve as an introduction to the scheme and Aurora in general and you will be given information on the various working groups and activities you could join.

More detailed information on the program for the academic year 2022/2023 will be announced soon!

Application

The application is open from July 1st to September 18th, 2022.

Applying is simple, just sign up through the application form below.

Aurora Student Schemes – Application Form

If you have any questions, you can contact your local Aurora Office, or aurora.up@upol.cz.

 

Student Schemes – Workshops Concept Program

Aurora Student Schemes 22-23 – Flyer

Aurora Student Schemes 22-23 – Poster

Workshop Outcomes – Peace Education for Karazin University, and GRT inclusion in higher education.

Written by Niels Hexspoor on . Posted in Events, News.

On 30 June 2022, two workshops titled ‘Developing a Peace Education Programme for Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine’ and ‘Removing barriers to Higher Education for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers’, were organised and moderated by Dr Spyros Themelis (UEA) and Dr Selma Porobic (Palacky University Olomouc) at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The two workshops, implemented under the framework of the Culture: Identity and Diversity pilot domain were a great success and will produce concrete outcomes in the future.

‘Developing a Peace Education Programme for Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine’

One of the developing features of Aurora support to Karazin Kharkiv National University is peace education programme. Peace education is an emerging field focusing on peacebuilding efforts through education in situations of collective trauma such as war, mass displacement, and genocide. This pedagogy focuses on the creation of safe environments for teachers and students to foster dialogue and reflection by enabling sharing of their own traumatic (and often conflictual) narratives and supporting perspective-taking.

Under the guidance of Dr. Selma Porobić, this workshop brought together 14 experts from over 9 different institutions, and aimed to  explore a collaborative model focusing on the development of peace education programme for Karazin Kharkiv University. During the group discussion two set of questions were addressed. Group A focused on how to develop Peace education (PE) as integral part of general competences for academicians at Karazin, while Group B focused on researching PE in the ongoing war situation in the city of Kharkiv and in the Eastern Ukraine.

Among the most significant outcomes of this workshop, are the establishment of the International Expert team for peace education platform at Karazin University and initial planning of peace education programme including timeline for different components, research methods, staff training and COILs.

Thanks to the SPACE Network, represented in the workshop by Elke Kitzelmann (UIBK), an initial donation was made towards the realization of the Peace Education platform and further Aurora collaborations with Karazin University. In addition, collaborations with UIBK’s new MA Peace Studies program, under prof. Andreas Oberprantacher were initiated as well.  As part of International Summer School in Refugee Law and Rights, co-organized by Palacky University and Karazin University, on August 24th, students from UIBK’s Peace studies  program will engage with Karazin University’s MA students in the plenary session ‘ Prospects for Peace Building, Recovery & Reconstruction.’

We look forward to engagement from more Aurora universities. Enquiries about the PE program at Karazin University can be sent to Dr. Selma Porobić, coordinator for Aurora support to Karazin University.

‘Removing barriers to Higher Education for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers’

Gypsy, Roma and Travellers (GRT) are the largest ethnic minority and at the same time the most marginalised in Europe. It is little surprise, therefore, that they are also one of the most, if not the most, underrepresented group in higher education.

This workshop explored the types of barriers facing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students in accessing Higher Education and experiences of inclusion and exclulsion. In total 15 participants attended the event, including academics, practitioners, reseach students, as well as inclusion leaders in schools and local councils. Participants were of Roma and non-Roma origin and they shared perspectives from a variety of European countries (including Germany, Greece, Iceland,  Sweeden, the Czech Republic, Romania and the UK) and institutional contexts, including, schools, universisties, musuems and local couincils.

One of the outcomes of this workshop, was the decision to create a network of Roma inclusion research in higher education. It was also agreed that this network will aim to map national and international policies of inclusion and examine national and international reports relevant to the topic. Finally, it was agreed that the network will explore the possiblity of setting up courses on Roma education across the Aurora network and more broadly, and work with outreach officers to explore innovative practices on access.

Dr. Spyros Themelis, who led the workshop, will explore options for hosting a face-to-face meeting at the start of the new academic year. If you have any suggestions or would like to get involved, please email Spyros at: s.themelis@uea.ac.uk.

We welcome contributions from across all Aurora universities.