Skip to main content

A Conversation with Rina Alluri: Peace and Peacebuilding In An Era of Global Incertitude

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

During the Aurora International Peace Conference 2025 hosted by Universität Innsbruck, academic and researcher Rina Alluri unpacked the meaning of peace and peacebuilding in today’s global context. She further showcased how higher education institutions can play a significant role in writing the narrative in promoting the culture of peace through educational initiatives, activities and policies.

This conversation was led by Niels Hexspoor, Aurora Sustainability and Impact Leader at Palacký University Olomouc and Lead for Aurora 2030 Work Package 7 (WP7) Capacity Building and Community Engagement. He interviewed Rina Alluri, Assistant Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Universität Innsbruck, and UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies. She was also part of the organising committee for the Aurora International Peace Conference 2025, an event coordinated under the Aurora Karazin University Peace Education Hub.

Setting the Stage: The Meaning of Peace

Niels: We are here today at the Aurora International Peace Conference on “The Role Of Higher Education And Peace Building” hosted by the University of Innsbruck as part of the Aurora Karazin University Peace Education Hub. Peace is a very loaded and concurrent topic. Could you give some examples of the meaning of peace, especially in the context of today’s world?

Rina:  We often think that peace is a sort of this end goal, a destination, this utopian place that we are all supposed to be somewhat striving for, or moving towards. While I do believe that there is something to strive for and move towards, we need to understand peace and peacebuilding as an ongoing lifelong learning process. As individuals, but also as societies, institutions, universities, we must think about how we’re building different forms of peace everyday.

Unfortunately, we are living in turbulent times. I try not to be a pessimist, but we need to be aware of the different realities: at the moment, there are a number of countries, contexts, and communities around the world that are facing threat, risks, insecurity, and that are fearful for their everyday lives.

So when we look at peace and peacebuilding, it’s a matter of acknowledging the reality of war, conflict, genocide, mass atrocities, and humanitarian crises, but also always keeping in mind the opportunities for building everyday forms of peace.

The Role of Higher Education in Peacebuilding

Niels: How do you think universities in higher education institutions, such as those within Aurora, play a role in creating academics and students that can positively contribute to raising this awareness and this sense of peacebuilding?

Rina: There’s an element of also being aware of the possible negative role that education has played historically in some cases. This is something that I feel is very important when we speak about our students. I co-lead a Master’s programme in Peace and Conflict Studies. Although I’m not a historian, I’m a political scientist, and I think that political histories are important to be aware of. In order to find ways for universities to contribute to peace and peacebuilding, we must also be aware of how they have contributed to conflict, and how often education has been part of colonisation, imperialism, et cetera.

Finding the way for universities is also being very aware of the potential of education, how it can be used as a tool – and is being used as a tool in some contexts today – for oppression, manipulation, indoctrination, erasure, and revisionist policies and approaches. When we begin from that starting point of how education and universities have been used as negative tools, and we come into the conversation with that absolute clear awareness, we can then begin to consider the potential opportunities.

We see examples of this all around the world. For little girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan historically, education has been a tool for resistance. We see in the cases of higher education institutions that offer scholarships to students from the global south and conflict-affected context in the global north, how these opportunities would only exist through scholarships and educational spaces.

We can also see today, being together in a conference that gathers scholars, activists, practitioners, students, to talk about the role of higher education and peace building. Through this contact and meeting with each other, we speak a common language of cooperation, community, and how to find ways to work together. Developing peace hubs, Erasmus exchanges in the context of Europe, but also being aware of the challenges that students and scholars at risk face around the world and trying to identify ways to support each other through it.

Full house at the Aurora International Peace Conference 2025 for the plenary session on “Universities’ Peacebuilding Practices and Knowledge Diplomacy”

The Transformative Power of Education

Niels: You’d mentioned some of the more practical ways that were touched upon in this conference and, ways in which universities can use this transformative power for good rather than for bad. Could you perhaps give some concrete and practical examples to how this can translate to everyday life?

Rina: As I mentioned, I co-lead a Master’s programme in Peace and Conflict Studies. One of the challenges that we often face is students from conflict-affected contexts or from global south contexts, look to opportunities for education.

Here we need to be better. We need to be better at ensuring that not only are we offering scholarships for students to come here, but also how we are supporting them once they are here. How are we ensuring that they have – from a technical level – access to visas, housing, communities? How are we offering a sense of belonging?

Peacebuilding is that step: how are we offering spaces of belonging that people are not just studying in a room together or in a big institution, but that they are also having meaningful – sometimes difficult – conversations, and allowing those conversations to be had.

In the last few days, we’ve been inspired with some incredible keynote speakers. One of them spoke about bringing ourselves into the classroom. As an educator and professor, we have a responsibility to bring ourselves into the classroom. So not just expecting students to show up, with vulnerability, ideas, and questions, but also ourselves to show up with vulnerability, ideas, and questions. For us to be aware of, and aim to, dismantle power hierarchies that exist between students and professors.

We should also question our pedagogy. We speak of all different types of pedagogy, whether it’s decolonial, intersectional, anti-racist, democratic, civil-centered, global citizenship, student-focused, et cetera. All these pedagogies are great on paper, but how are we actually bringing them into the classroom and ensuring that classroom spaces can enter into dialogue with one another?

That’s just a classroom space, which is one option, but another is through meaningful exchanges. Aurora universities, and peace hub platforms, offer such exchange between students. I don’t want to diminish contact theory here, as I believe the opportunity for students to meet each other, to meet people who might actually have different backgrounds, opinions, perspectives, to allow for that pluriversal conversation, is really crucial.

Keynote speakers, from left to right: Ian Manzi, Beatrix Austin, Madeleine Rees, Frank Geary, Marko Lehti, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Savo Heleta and Norbert Koppensteiner

Adapting Knowledge Development for Sustainable Peace

Niels: You mentioned bringing oneself into the classroom, both from the perspectives of an educator and a student. Could you elaborate on what that could look like, for example, in relation to the different layers of interaction and lasting impact of peace and conflict?

Rina: One of the biggest challenges that we face in knowledge creation, knowledge development and knowledge extraction at the moment, is that very often we still fall back into that idea that knowledge is supposed to be rational. That it’s supposed to be neutral, void of voice, and void of identity.

While that may be relevant, particularly in certain disciplines, that may also require a certain type of neutrality from a technical point of view. In the social sciences and the humanities, and peace and conflict studies, we cannot pretend that this is the case. If we are engaging in conflicts – whether these might happen at a personal, internal, interpersonal or relational level, but also exposure to actual, armed conflicts and war zones – we can’t pretend that our own identities and ideas are not also entering into that space.

I’ll give you a very concrete example. I’ve been doing my PhD in postdoc research in, and on, Sri Lanka and post-war Sri Lanka, in the immediate place. As a researcher being also from the Asian continent, I have to be aware of how, if I step into a room – in the case of Sri Lanka – how that has relational impact. My identity as an Asian, but also as a woman, as someone who has been raised in the global north and the global south, has an impact on how I’m allowed to ask questions, if I even get an interview at all, and how that person responds to those questions.

We often think that, we can just create a semi-structured interview guide: you email someone, you have an interview, you ask questions, you leave, you analyse your data, you write your academic research. When we’re working in conflict-affected context, when we’re dealing with also vulnerable realities, trauma, we have to be so sensitive to how those interactions actually work, and how access to persons and stories, are also so vulnerable to change.

This is one of the aspects I want to bring in here. As researchers, pedagogues, and educators, we need to be aware of how who we are does have an impact, even if we don’t want it to, even if we would hope that someone enters a room and is neutral of identity, race, gender, class, cast, et cetera, it’s very often not the case.

So this is, for me, an invitation. An invitation to be aware of who we are and how we affect those around us. How that influences how we ask questions, how we engage in conversation, but also how we practice peace.

If we’re not aware of that reality and we assume neutrality and rationality, then we’re also not aware of the impact that that may have on persons that we’re engaging with.

This conversation is part of a series called “A Conversation With…” undertaken within the framework of the Aurora 2030 programme supported by the European Commission. It is an interview format that focuses on a specific topic and is meant to inspire its readers to reflect on and catalyse positive impact. The exchange is available in its original format on the Aurora YouTube channel.

Hybrid Meeting Marks Milestone in Joint Master’s Programme on Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship

Written by UIBK on . Posted in News.

Universität Innsbruck, in cooperation with Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (Italy) and Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic) and representatives of the Université Paris-Est Créteil (France), successfully convened a hybrid working meeting to launch the hybrid Joint Master Degree Programme entitled “Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship” (DIGISOC).

This innovative joint programme aims to address the pressing challenges, but also the opportunities, of increasing digitalisation through a collective effort. 42 colleagues from all involved universities and participating organisations took part in this intensive working session, either on-site or online.

During the meeting, the Vice Rector for Teaching and Student Affairs at Universität Innsbruck, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Janette Walde, emphasised the need for a unified curriculum that effectively combines the diverse offerings of the three degree-awarding universities and for optional practical phases involving companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Aligning University Structures Into A Cohesive Programme

The complexity of aligning three different university structures into a cohesive programme was acknowledged as a significant challenge, but the commitment of the staff involved paved the way for future collaboration, moderated by the responsible Dean of Studies assoz. Prof. Mag. Dr. Nikolaus Umlauf and Christina Raab.

Key issues discussed included the development of scholarship opportunities, student enrollment processes, and key elements for the successful implementation of the Joint Master’s Programme. The selection process will be coordinated by Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II. It was also agreed that each university will publish information about the Joint Master Programme and a call for scholarships, specifying the criteria and stipends, so that eligible students can apply. The aim of this initiative is to increase accessibility and to attract a wide range of students from different fields of study.

Participants also discussed in detail the creation of a comprehensive website to promote the Joint Master’s Programme. The proposed website will serve as a landing page with key information, including the application process. It is planned that the website will be ready for public access by the end of March 2025. In the meantime, the institutional information pages of the three degree-awarding universities will provide information and, of course, link to this page in the near future.

Launching of the Joint Master’s Programme

Looking ahead, the launch date for the Joint Master’s Programme is set for October 1, 2025. The universities expressed their collective commitment to address remaining challenges and completing the necessary accreditation and administrative processes in preparation for this date. The next steps will involve continued faculty and administrative collaboration, with a follow-up meeting scheduled to review progress and finalise outstanding issues.

The Joint Master Degree Programme “Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship” aims to prepare students to become leaders capable of managing global citizenship in a digital society while fostering social innovation; at the same time, it is a demonstration of the added value and feasibility of international cooperation in higher education.

DIGISOC originates from the Aurora Educational Hub “Digital Society & Global Citizenship”, which has facilitated the development of this two-year European Joint Master Degree Program (120 ECTS credits). Due to the ambitious and resource-intensive nature of this initiative, an additional project proposal, EURIDICE, has been submitted to the EU call DIGITAL-2022-SKILLS-03. DIGISOC has now been realised based on this call.

Back in Olomouc: My Experience As Aurora Student Ambassador

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

The Aurora Student Conference is a unique occasion for students from Aurora universities to meet in-person and exchange on topics addressing the opportunities and challenges for our students. The 2025 edition took place between 27 and 29 January 2025 at the Palacky University Olomouc (UP) in the Czech Republic. It welcomed 50 Aurora Student Council (ASC) members and Student Ambassadors across Aurora universities on the Olomouc campus. Throwback to the two-day intensive, student-led and student-focused programme by Ari Ljunggren, Bachelor degree student from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and second-year Aurora Student Ambassador.

There’s something special about returning to a place that once opened your eyes to new ideas. Two years ago, I arrived in Olomouc for the first time to take a course called Sustainable Social Enterprises at UP. In hindsight, this experience was more than just an academic course. It broadened my perspective on how businesses can rethink their priorities to create real, meaningful impact. Collaborating on a business idea with fellow students from CBS and UP made me realize that, with the right mindset, entrepreneurship can be a powerful force for positive change.

Fast-forward to today, now nearing the end of my bachelor’s degree, and I find myself back in Olomouc. This time, I’m here as Student Ambassador for Aurora, proudly representing CBS at the Aurora Student Conference 2025.

Day One: A Warm Welcome and a Grand Introduction

The conference began on Tuesday with an institutional welcome in a stunning, frescoed room on campus. The conference had two main goals: strengthening the European alliance’s community and collaborating on creative ways to enhance Aurora. The room was filled with students from nearly every Aurora partner university. I saw some familiar faces from past events, but also many new ones I was excited to meet.

The day kicked off with an Introduction to Aurora, outlining what makes this alliance unique among other European university networks. We explored its core mission, ongoing strategic initiatives, and the distinct opportunities it offers students. Having been part of Aurora for some time, I particularly appreciated and agreed with the speaker’s focus on Aurora’s well-structured events, a strong sense of community, and tangible opportunities for collaboration.

After a short coffee break, we jumped straight into the Aurora Student Council’s Open Session. This was an in-depth discussion on the role of the ASC, the impact it has had so far, and ways for students to shape its direction. The conversation highlighted key student-led initiatives, reinforcing how much influence we, as students, have within the organisation.

In the afternoon, we also attended a session on the Aurora Student Ambassador Programme, which focused on student leadership within Aurora, followed by the Beliefs, Events, and Values Index (BEVI) Workshop. In the Ambassador session, we explored how ambassadors act as a bridge between their home universities and the broader Aurora network, fostering engagement at both local and international levels. The BEVI workshop, on the other hand, was a thought-provoking experience that encouraged deep introspection about our own personal and collective values.

After the workshops and talks, we took a guided tour of the city. Although I had explored Olomouc before, I was once again struck by its charm and even picked up a few new facts from our guide, Jan. The university buildings are architectural gems, preserving their rich historical beauty. Throughout the city, Baroque fountains, a Soviet-era astronomical clock, and centuries-old spires stand in stark contrast to the sleek, functional designs of modern cities.

After the official programme ended, a few of us unleashed our competitive sides at a local go-kart track that evening. It may seem like an unusual post-conference activity, but it was a fantastic icebreaker. Cheering each other on (and occasionally bumping into one another’s karts) brought out everyone’s fun side. We ended the night with dinner at a traditional Moravian restaurant, where we had the chance to connect and share stories over the local cuisine.

Day Two: Workshops, Reflections, and Future Plans

The second day began with a peer learning workshop focused on mental health. We openly discussed ways to destigmatize mental health struggles and how different cultures approach these challenges. Hearing such a diverse range of perspectives was eye-opening. Everyone brought personal experiences, and by the end, we had a deeper understanding of how to support one another.

After lunch, we reviewed our collective BEVI results before moving into an afternoon public speaking workshop led by a fellow Swede. Public speaking has always been a challenge for me, but practicing in a supportive setting made all the difference. We received useful advice, tested new techniques, and encouraged each other. By the end, I felt more confident about tackling future presentations, whether in a classroom setting or at a conference.

To conclude the official program, we had a cultural exchange where each ASC member brought a unique treat from their home country to share. Students from across the alliance contributed a variety of specialties—Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) students brought macarons, Universität Innsbruck students offered wafer cookies, and the University of Iceland students presented dried fish chips (which, I must admit, I have yet to gather the courage to try!).

Looking Ahead

As the conference came to a close, I felt a mix of excitement and sadness. There’s something incredibly energizing about being surrounded by passionate students from across Europe, all working toward meaningful change in our communities and institutions.

Thankfully, I know this isn’t the end of my journey with Aurora–just another step forward. Over the past two years, I’ve seen the alliance evolve into a more streamlined, collaborative network, and I’m eager to stay involved. Perhaps I’ll contribute through the student council, especially given the growing momentum behind Aurora’s initiatives.

For those unfamiliar with Aurora: if you’ve ever thought about joining an Aurora project or conference, take this as your sign to do it! You’ll gain fresh perspectives, friendships that cross borders, and a deeper understanding of what’s possible in higher education.

A huge thank you to our generous hosts at UP, and to Aurora for constantly pushing us to think bigger, collaborate more, and challenge the status quo. I’m already looking forward to what’s next—if it’s anything like this experience, it’s going to be incredible.

Reflections on EU Developments: Charting the Path To A New MFF and FP10

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

The new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will begin in 2028, setting the stage for the next seven years of EU financial priorities. The European Union is also expected to introduce its next Research and Innovation (R&I) framework programme (FP), currently referred to as FP10. Pim de Boer, senior policy advisor EU affairs at the Aurora Central Office, reflects on the developments and outlines the opportunities and challenges ahead for Aurora universities.

The Road to FP10

The process of shaping FP10 began nearly two years ago with the midterm review of Horizon Europe (HEU) programme. This review marked the first step in what has become a complex and multi-layered procedure. The European Commission (EC) is responsible for driving this process, and universities have significantly contributed to its direction. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Aurora have provided recommendations for FP10. These inputs were aligned with national and European higher education organizations. Concurrently, the Council of the EU and the EC commissioned expert analyses on key issues. Enrico Letta examined the state of the EU single market, Mario Draghi assessed the European Union’s global competitiveness, and the High-Level Expert Group led by Manuel Heitor evaluated Horizon Europe while proposing recommendations for FP10.

Political continuity has also played a role in these technical and policy-oriented efforts. Ursula von der Leyen’s reappointment as Chairwoman of the European Commission brought the new policy brief for 2024–2029. The appointment of commissioners focused on start-ups, R&I, skills and jobs, highlights the importance of research, innovation and education in the coming years.

Key Reflections from Expert Reports

The recently published reports from Letta, Draghi, and Heitor offer valuable insights into the direction FP10 might take. Letta’s report emphasizes the “5th freedom”, which promotes the mobility of knowledge, R&I, and education within the EU. Draghi’s analysis highlights the EU’s lagging competitiveness compared to global powers like the USA and China. His recommendations include stronger R&I efforts, better collaboration between universities and industry, increased private investments, and leveraging European University Alliances (EUNs) as key drivers of innovation. Heitor’s report, which Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam provided input for, focuses on simplifying grant procedures and more strategic steering of collaborative research, mainly through HEU Pillar 2. He proposes the establishment of two new Councils, one for competitiveness and the other for societal challenges, to guide these efforts.

All three reports advocate for a higher R&I budget—at least €200 billion—and stress the importance of supporting excellent research through mechanisms like the European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), and research infrastructures, as well as innovation and application through European Innovation Council (EIC)-like mechanisms.

Universities as Stakeholders in FP10

FP10 presents both opportunities and challenges. A priority will be to secure maximum funding for research that covers the range from fundamental to applied research and innovation. This means ensuring support for low-TRL (Technology Readiness Level) or (SRL) Societal Readiness Level , collaborative, challenge-driven research while avoiding a widening gap between excellent research and applied, EIC-type projects.

Additionally, the link between education and R&I must remain central to FP10. The Directorate-General for Education (DG EAC) has assured stakeholders that Erasmus+ will not be integrated into the competitiveness fund. This offers universities an opportunity to strengthen the connection between education initiatives and research programs at the EU level, creating synergies across funding streams. As mentioned by both Ursula von der Leyen and her Commissioners Minzatu (skills, education) and Zaharieva (R&I) the European University alliances may play an important role in this.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) committee published a draft report reflecting on these previously mentioned reports. ITRE supports several ideas recommended by the Heitor report. Informally there is support from ITRE and DG RTD to the higher education sector to avoid splitting HEU Pillar 2 into two under different Councils. Rather, continuation in the chain of research from fundamental to applied research is a necessity to contribute to societal challenges, innovation, valorisation and competitiveness.

In addition to this, the European Commission has also published the “Competitiveness Compass”, a strategic document outlined the necessity of Europe being more competitive and how to get there. Among the simplification rules for companies for innovation and scaling up, the several ways to increase public and private funding, focusing on areas like technologies (digital and AI, biotechnology), clean energy, advanced materials, cybersecurity and defence, the Compass also refers to skilling people and lifelong learning (creation of a Union of Skills), as well as reforming the EIC into big programmatic approaches and aligning ERC and EIC to achieve competitiveness results. The latter point is worrying as the independence of the ERC, fundamental and curiosity-driven research, and agility of research are at stake.

Furthermore, the Compass has a strong focus on technology leaving out inclusion of social sciences and humanities-driven research and knowledge and also lacks a focus on addressing societal challenges via low TRL/SRL type challenge-driven collaborative research. Referring to the Union of Skills, an emphasis on the relation between (higher) education, research, innovation and collaboration with society should also have been addressed in order to train and skill our students to being able to contribute to the higher level of European competitiveness. Finally, the Compass does not mention any role of university alliances in this.

Aurora, in collaboration with umbrella organisations like the European Universities Association (EUA) and universities like Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, are actively shaping FP10 through policy discussions with the EC, European Parliament, and other stakeholders. These efforts include supporting campaigns such as ResearchMatters!, contributing to sector-specific recommendations, and engaging in sector-wide deliberations on the co-creation of FP10.

Looking Ahead

The EC internal timeline suggests that the EC will publish a new regulatory proposal for FP10 in the second half of 2025, after the publication of the draft multiannual financial framework in July. In the meantime, developments remain fluid. Drafts of the new MFF structure suggest the inclusion of a competitiveness fund, though details are still being debated.

By continuing to advocate for robust R&I funding, fostering synergies between education and research, and engaging in collaborative policy discussions, universities can help shape FP10 into a framework that drives innovation and competitiveness across Europe. As these efforts progress, our commitment to excellence and collaboration will ensure that we remain at the forefront of these developments.

Staff Members in Aurora Universities Meet Counterparts Via Job Shadowing Opportunities

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

Learning about how European counterparts work within a particular job is part of the staff mobility schemes available through the Erasmus+ programme, as well as through Aurora.

One of the key benefits of the collaboration between Aurora universities is the availability of such professional development opportunities for staff members across nine universities within Europe. These opportunities can include teaching and/or research assignments, job shadowing and specific competence-building training within Aurora.

Job shadowing in Aurora occurs when participants spend a determined period of time hosted by their colleagues at an Aurora partner university in another country. The objective is to observe their counterparts, understand their work practices and the challenges they face in their work environment. This observation opens minds to novel ideas and diverse best practices in a different cultural context. It enables intercultural exchange and interaction with peers and experts at the host university.

Thanks to the strong relationship among Aurora universities, two staff members from Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) had immersive experiences at the heart of Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in Denmark and Universität Innsbruck in Austria.

Sustainable Development For A Greener Campus

Léa Chambaudet, Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility researcher at the Department of Transformation in UPEC, shares her experience at the Green Office at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.

“The Green Office at CBS is home to five staff members, whose scope of expertise covered an extensive, cross-disciplinary range of activities geared toward concrete action in sustainability and sustainable development.

When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the modernity, peacefulness and conviviality of the campus grounds. I was further inspired by the commitment of CBS university management and students, and all the effort taken to pave the way for the school’s successful ecological transition.

For instance, a student association manages its own waste recycling. In addition, there is an additional internal tax on activities that generate high carbon footprint such as flying or eating meat. These additional taxes are then reinvested in meaningful activities, such as the rehabilitation of biodiversity through permaculture or increasing skills by training students to enable them to act for positive societal impact through their future career development.”

Following Léa’s job shadowing experience, the CBS Green Office team also visited UPEC to discover how their colleagues in France manage the sustainable development topic at the university. They learnt about UPEC’s work in relation to the national framework to attain the DD&RS (Dévéloppment durable et Responsabilité sociale) label, the ERASME (Education & Research to Advance Societal Missions through Engagement) programme and the Student Citizens’ Convention.

Social Media Management In A Volatile Era

Jean-Philippe Mignaton took the opportunity to spend three days at the Universität Innsbruck in Austria as part of an individual international exchange programme for UPEC staff members.

“Thanks to UPEC being a full member of Aurora, I was able to undertake a job shadowing opportunity at the Universität Innsbruck. I chose this university mainly because of its size and organisational structure, both of which are very similar to those of UPEC.

The objective was to meet with my counterparts and other social media experts, who are working on the university’s social media platforms. I wanted to compare our strategies, methodologies, processes, and tools.

It was a very enriching stay, both professionally and personally, adding real value to my role and allowing me to gain a concrete understanding of social media management in both the local and the European context. I realised that, despite being in different countries, our challenges in terms of social media communication were often quite the same… .”

Seamless Mobility Opportunities for Staff in Aurora Universities

Aurora strongly encourages staff members from its universities to actively participate in the international mobility opportunities made available and further facilitated through the close collaboration between its universities. Being part of a European university alliance such as Aurora can only increase the scope for peer learning, continuous professional and personal development, and an enriching intercultural experience.

Discover participation opportunities in Aurora.

LOUIS As A Transformative Force for Societal Impact

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

As we celebrate the International Day of Education, it is important to reflect on how higher education can be a transformative force for societal impact.  

Aurora works towards this goal through its innovative approaches to teaching, such as the Learning Outcomes in University for Impact on Society (LOUIS), which fosters transversal skills essential for addressing real-world challenges. In this interview, Maria Inmaculada de Molina-Fernandez from Universitat Rovira i Virgili and participant of the LOUIS Blended Intensive Program (BIP) in Olomouc shares her insights on how collaboration and open dialogue among educators can enhance teaching practices and improve learning outcomes.

What was your BIP experience in Olomouc?

Participating in the BIP in Olomouc was an inspiring and enriching experience. Over the course of five days, I collaborated with educational experts and lecturers from a wide range of institutions, including universities and small enterprises, to discuss critical issues in education.

The discussions were focused on fundamental questions about the purpose of teaching and how to address challenges like creating a shared language across disciplines and institutions. We explored the difficulties educators face when adopting new tools like LOUIS and the complexities of assessing high-level competencies. A particularly meaningful topic was the use of LOUIS as a tool for self-reflection, helping educators refine their teaching practices. 

The open and engaging atmosphere encouraged participants to exchange ideas freely, leading to valuable insights into how LOUIS could unify educational frameworks and empower both teachers and students. This experience reinforced the importance of collaboration in addressing shared challenges in education. 

Do you currently use LOUIS in any of your curricula?

While I do not currently use the LOUIS competency framework, I believe its implementation could significantly enrich our educational offer. It can clearly define learning objectives, making expectations more transparent for students, and foster essential competencies such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and effective communication. Additionally, LOUIS supports more robust and fair assessment methods. Its flexibility allows it to adapt to the specific needs of different subjects and institutions, promoting collaboration and enhancing both teaching and learning outcomes.

What are your key takeaways from this BIP?

The BIP highlighted the value of LOUIS as a structured yet adaptable framework to develop transversal skills such as communication, ethical reasoning, and lifelong learning. Based on the VALUE approach by the AACU, LOUIS offers tools that guide students’ learning progression and emphasizes qualitative feedback over rigid assessments.

One of its strengths is its ability to break down competencies into sub-competencies that align with diverse disciplines and provide progressive descriptors to help educators and students track growth. By focusing on a small set of sub-competencies, educators can tailor their use of LOUIS to their teaching objectives and integrate it effectively into classroom tasks. The framework offers clarity on learning goals, helping students achieve measurable and meaningful outcomes. 

How do you foresee implementing LOUIS in the future?

To implement LOUIS, I plan to introduce it to colleagues through a careful and systematic process. This will include assessing current curricula to identify areas of alignment, engaging with stakeholders to set clear goals, and designing modules that incorporate LOUIS competencies. I also aim to organize faculty training sessions to ensure the effective use of the LOUIS Framework. Initially, I would pilot this approach in select courses to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments before expanding it further. My goal is to create a collaborative culture that uses LOUIS to prepare students with the cross-cutting competencies they need for future success.

Would you recommend this BIP?

I would highly recommend this BIP to educators. It provides practical strategies for helping students develop essential soft skills, which are increasingly valued by employers. The program equips teachers to foster critical thinking, teamwork, and other transferable competencies, enhancing classroom interactions and better preparing students for future challenges.

Aurora in 2025: New Year Message from Ramon Puras, Aurora Secretary General

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

Ramon Puras, Aurora Secretary General, welcomes 2025 with a message centered on the future of Aurora, its vision and the commitment of the Aurora community. 

As 2025 unfolds, two words come to mind: enrichment and transformation.

Aurora is built on European and global collaboration between higher education institutions working collectively toward a shared vision: combining academic excellence with societal relevance.

Through high trust and close cooperation, we enrich our experiences, broaden our perspectives, and influence impactful policies in education, research, innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity. Together, we achieve more than any single university could accomplish alone.

Aurora universities create opportunities for students, staff and faculty:

  • To enrich teaching, learning, and research across borders and disciplines.
  • To travel abroad, embrace change, and discover new cultures.
  • To foster societal innovation through the power of trust and collaboration.

Aurora is a laboratory for transformation, a space where we cultivate research, leverage technology, and ensure equal access to higher education for all.

2025 marks a pivotal year of transformation for Aurora. Highlights include:

Aurora is also stepping up its European engagement, advocating for more Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and highlighting the importance of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in Horizon Europe’s successor, FP10. We are proud to support initiatives like FOR-EU4All.

At the heart of these transformations are the people who make them happen. The shared passion and commitment of our Aurora community to societal impact and transformation is truly inspiring.

2025 promises to be an exciting year – stay tuned!

Ramon Puras
Aurora Secretary General

seizmic AWARDS 2024 Celebrates Creativity and Innovation

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

Open all year round, the seizmic AWARDS is part of the social entrepreneurship and innovation activities being developed within the Aurora 2030 programme. Led by Copenhagen Business School (CBS), the AWARDS is an opportunity to recognise the creativity and innovation of students and early-stage social entrepreneurs. 

 This year, the seizmic AWARDS received a total of 45 submissions from across the globe. Projects submitted are built on the seizmic APP, an open access tool for all social entrepreneurs who aim to transform their business ideas into reality.

“We started the seizmic AWARDS with a shared passion for making a positive impact,” explains Kai Hockerts, professor at CBS and seizmic project coordinator. “The diversity and innovation in the submissions reflect the collective drive for positive change worldwide. Congratulations to every participant who contributes to building a better future.”

Truly inspired by the quality of the social entrepreneurship projects submitted this year, the expert jury faced the challenging task of selecting the 2024 winners. After two rounds of jury selections, the following projects won the seizmic AWARDS 2024:

To access their full business model on Babele, you first need to create a user profile. Follow this step-by-step guide. 

First Place: thisABILITY

Team: Victor Ilic, Mathias Brun, Benjamin Eriksen, Augustas Skarbalius and Svend Hahn Larsen (Copenhagen Business School)
Discover the business model.

thisABILITY is a social enterprise dedicated to raising awareness about invisible disabilities through interactive exhibitions that allow people to experience what living with such conditions feels like. In Denmark, approximately 20% of the population lives with an invisible disorder, and the challenges they face are significant. Currently, 340,000 individuals with disabilities are unemployed, with one in three young people from this group lacking a job or education – compared to less than one in ten among those without disabilities. This disparity negatively impacts the life satisfaction of individuals with hidden disabilities and costs the Danish government up to 6 billion DKK annually (approximately 800 million euros).

 

Runner-up: Empowering local businesses

Team: Anna Rumenova, Daniel Türk, Stijn van Meerten, Miles del Prete, Lea Marie Adams (ESADE, Spain)
Discover the business model.

The objective is to build a sustainable business that empowers local shops by providing a digital platform to connect with both local and global customers. This social enterprise addresses a pressing social challenge: small local businesses often struggle to compete with online retail giants like Amazon. These businesses typically lack the resources, technical skills, and support necessary to establish a strong online presence, leaving them vulnerable to losing local customers to larger platforms. This trend weakens local economies, reduces the diversity of retail options and erodes respect for small businesses.

 

Runner-up: Synergy Hydrogen Solutions

Team: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), Netherlands
Discover the business model.

To address the issue of excess electricity during periods of high production and low demand, the project proposes using this surplus to produce hydrogen gas. Currently, wind turbines are often shut off because the power grid cannot accommodate the excess electricity, hindering the continuation of large solar and wind energy projects. Building local hydrogen plants can harness the full potential of existing green power sources, free up capacity for new renewable installations, and create green hydrogen fuel for mobility and various other applications.

 

Curious about the seizmic AWARDS 2025?

Submissions are now open! Go to seizmic AWARDS.

The Social Business Model Panorama helps in navigating each step in the development of an impactful project. To find out more, contact: seizmic@cbs.dk.

Aurora Virtual Autumn Summit: Reflecting on the Legacy and Vision for the Future

Written by Anna Klas on . Posted in News.

The Aurora Virtual Autumn Summit brought together academic minds to reflect on the achievements of the Aurora Research and Innovation (R&I) Programme and to chart its course toward the future. The plenary session, “The Legacy of Aurora R&I Programme: Reflecting on the Past, Empowering the Present, Shaping the Future,” offered an insightful exploration of collaborative research efforts within Aurora universities. This inspiring event highlighted critical themes like open science, shared resources, and strategies for fostering future research collaborations.

A Roadmap for Innovation

Svandís Halldórsdóttir, Head of the Grants Office at the University of Iceland, emphasized the Aurora R&I roadmap’s cornerstone achievements. “This roadmap is built on six core building blocks,” Halldórsdóttir shared, detailing components such as joint online platforms, capacity-building plans, and the creation of open science training modules. She stressed the importance of institutional trust and collaboration, underscoring that Aurora universities have the collective will to innovate together even without substantial funding.

Svandís Halldórsdóttir acknowledged the challenges faced, such as navigating local legislation and addressing structural differences among universities. The feasibility study conducted during the project identified actionable strategies to enhance collaboration. She stated, “The main conclusion was to focus on uniting researchers around funding opportunities and encouraging research support staff to exchange best practices.”

Open Science and the Future

Sander Bosch, Chief Open Science Officer at VU Amsterdam, provided a compelling overview of the progress in open science practices under the Aurora R&I Programme. Bosch cited the UNESCO Open Science framework as foundational, broadening the scope of open science to include not only open access to knowledge but also increased collaboration and inclusivity. “Open science is a value-driven framework that aligns perfectly with Aurora’s mission,” he remarked.

Bosch showcased innovations like the Aurora Open Science Monitor and training programs that aim to make open science practices accessible for early-career researchers. He highlighted the importance of sustainable tools and increased community involvement in firmly establishing these practices within Aurora’s institutions.

Building Research Communities

Professor Guðmundur Hálfdánarson of the University of Iceland emphasized the critical role of fostering academic collaboration. Reflecting on Aurora’s journey, he highlighted the need to move beyond administrative coordination to actively engaging academics in shared research endeavors. “We must involve the academic community and make Aurora a part of their daily lives,” Hálfdánarson asserted, pointing to new initiatives like summer schools and collaborative research projects as steps in the right direction.

The roundtable discussions reinforced these sentiments, with participants agreeing that fostering trust and creating real-life opportunities for collaboration are key to building a robust Aurora research community.

A Shared Vision for 2030

The summit closed with a look toward Aurora 2030, the ambitious next phase. A focus on sustaining and expanding the tools, networks, and practices established under the R&I Programme was at the forefront. As one participant aptly summarized, “The most important outcome of this project is the trust we’ve built. That trust is the leverage we need to share more than strengths—it’s the foundation for shared resources and a unified vision.”

The Aurora Virtual Autumn Summit demonstrated that Aurora is more than a collaboration; it is a community united by a shared commitment to advancing research and education for societal benefit. Watch a recap of the summit on YouTube.

Aurora Student Council Makes Strong Impression at the European Students’ Union Conference 2024

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on . Posted in News.

The Aurora Student Council (ASC) recently showed its dedication to student advocacy and international collaboration at the European Students’ Union (ESU) Conference of Student Bodies of the European Alliances of higher education institutions.

Representing Aurora were four student leaders: Mathilde, ASC President and Andrea, ASC General Secretary, both from the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC), Sören, ASC Vice President from Copenhagen Business School, and Simona of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. Their participation highlighted the council’s commitment to working together and sharing ideas with student leaders from other European university alliances.

The ESU is an organisation of 44 National Unions of Students (NUS) from 40 countries. Since 1982, it has been standing up for students’ rights across European countries. It organized the conference to bring together student representatives from all over Europe. ESU focuses on working with key institutions like the European Union, the Bologna Follow-up Group, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO. Some of its recent projects include addressing the EU Commission’s European Degree proposal, supporting students at risk, improving Erasmus+ programmes, and promoting equal access to education.

Strong Student Representation on the European Agenda

Over 100 students from 30 alliances attended the three-day conference, which focused on common challenges and opportunities for student representation. The first two days featured speakers who explained important topics like the Bologna Process and the European Commission’s agenda for higher education. Students joined round table discussions to share their experiences and discuss solutions to common problems. Furthermore, they came up with ideas to strengthen student involvement in European university alliances.

“These kinds of conferences are incredibly empowering,” said Mathilde. “They allow us to learn from the best practices of other student councils. They also enable us to recognise our strengths and weaknesses, and work to improve them.”

Simona, Aurora student representative, agreed. “It was very enriching to gather with student representatives from different European university alliances. We exchanged experiences in addressing similar problems that impact students in different universities. This conference was just a beginning of a very important cooperation.”

The ESU Conference provided an opportunity for students to connect, exchange ideas, and work toward common goals. The Aurora Student Council’s active involvement showed their commitment to making a positive impact and building stronger partnerships across Europe.