Dr. Margrethe Jonkman Elected As New Aurora President

VU Amsterdam’s Dr. Margrethe Jonkman has been elected as the new Aurora President for the next 12 months.

The official Aurora Presidency handover took place during the 2026 Aurora Annual Conference, held in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Aurora network. The opening session marked this milestone by reflecting on and celebrating the longstanding collaboration among Aurora’s member universities. The conference was hosted by the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, and began on 18 May.

Margrethe Jonkman, Aurora President. © Photo credit: eventfotograf.in

During the conference, Margrethe highlighted the importance of sustaining strong inter-university collaboration in the context of rapidly evolving international and societal developments. Furthermore, the conference provided a platform for discussions regarding joint educational projects, knowledge exchange, and Aurora’s strategic direction leading up to the application for funding renewal in 2028. Read more ab0ut Dr. Margrethe Jonkman here.

Left to right: Janette Walde, Vice Rector for Teaching and Students at Universität Innsbruck, and Margrethe Jonkman, Aurora President and President of the Executive Board of VU Amsterdam. © Photo credit: eventfotograf.in