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Aurora Meetings Highlight Strategic Development in Education and Training

International relations and mobility experts, and Aurora Institutional Coordinators, gathered to exchange views on the strategy for Aurora, and the development of Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) and the digital campus.

 Hosted by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the Aurora Central Office, close to thirty participants from across Aurora universities met over the week for two major events: Workshop on BIPs and the Aurora Executive Committee Seminar. The objective of these meetings was to move further in the work initiated by the Aurora 2030 Work Package 8 Enabling Mobility and Exchange, and to discuss the future of Aurora and its impact.

Aurora Executive Committee and experts on education and training gather at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)

Leveraging BIPs for Mobility and Exchange in Aurora

Opened by the Rector of URV Josep Pallarès, the programme began with the Workshop on BIPs led by Marina Vives from the URV International Centre and Nanna Teitsdóttir from the University of Iceland. Blended Intensive Programmes are short-term intensive programmes that use innovative learning and teaching methods.

Part of the training includes a virtual component that requires online cooperation between educators and participants. By enabling new and more flexible mobility formats that combine physical mobility with a virtual component, BIPs aim to reach students from all backgrounds, fields of study and study cycles.

BIPs may include challenge-based learning, in which transnational and transdisciplinary teams collaborate to address issues in society. These issues could be linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or other societal problems identified by companies, cities or regions.

URV Rector Josep Pallarès Marzal opens the Workshop on BIPs to a full room of participants, including Aurora Institutional Coordinators from all member universities

The workshop included sessions on the long-term strategy for BIPs within Aurora universities, a critical audit of the current and future challenges, and a thorough review of the manual for mobility and communication of Aurora opportunities. Further discussions allowed participants to reflect upon the key aspects of blended intensive programmes, such as the type of collaborations involved, skills the BIPs are intended to improve, and values like diversity and inclusion that must be considered.

“The organisers are very satisfied with the agreements reached in a very collaborative and almost unanimous spirit,” said Marina Vives, Lead for Aurora 2030 Work Package 8 at URV.

Aurora Institutional Coordinators and participants of the Workshop on BIP work hand-in-hand during brainstorm sessions on Blended Intensive Programmes in Aurora

Moving Forward in Aurora

The Workshop on BIPs was followed by the Executive Committee Seminar, a strategic meeting of Aurora Institutional Coordinators representing their universities. The seminar opened with an introduction by Ramon Puras, Aurora Secretary General, about milestone developments in Aurora and on the Aurora 2030 European university alliance programme.

During the meeting, Institutional Coordinators also weighed in on the future of Aurora and its impact. Intensive work sessions were organised around the strategic planning for the alliance, as well as the progress of the Aurora digital campus services.

Full member of Aurora, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) has been an integral partner since 2019. Together with other universities within the network, URV is aligned with Aurora’s vision of influencing societal transformation through academic excellence and research.

Aurora Communication and Dissemination Team Explores Impactful Communication

Aurora Communication and Dissemination team recently gathered at Universität Innsbruck for an intensive two-day workshop entitled “Impactful Communication”. Led by experts in the field, the team gained knowledge on communicating with impact, further focused on science communication and citizen science engagement.  

This workshop was part of the activities for Aurora 2030 Work Package 10 on Impact and Dissemination, and more specifically Task 10.1 on Communication and Dissemination. It offered a broad overview of communication best practices – with specific case study examples backed by research – in the areas of science communication and citizen science.  

Aurora Communication and Dissemination team with Universität Innsbruck Aurora Institutional Coordinator Thomas Baumgartner and science communication experts Melanie Bartos and Markus Weiskopf

Communicating with Impact 

Building on the initial phase of the Aurora European university alliance, and in line with the Aurora Communication and Dissemination strategy launched in July 2024, the Aurora Communications team is composed of at least one communication representative from each university in Aurora, called the Trusted Local Communicator (TLC).  

To ensure impactful communications, these TLCs have the responsibility to inform, exchange with, and engage target audiences at their universities and beyond. In addition, TLCs form an advisory committee to the larger Aurora community, and work as key reference persons on all topics related to communication and dissemination.  

The “Impactful Communication” workshop had a two-fold objective: 

  • To learn more about guidelines for effective communication, especially when disseminating information and engaging the general public about research and science 
  • To brainstorm ways to collectively undertake joint communication actions that, overall, will have an impact on the strategic positioning of Aurora within each member university.  

Strengthening the Foundation for Communication 

The workshop kicked off with Markus Weiskopf, science journalist and editor at Research.Table, who gave an interactive talk on “Science, Media and the Public: Current Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Universities”. He provided an overview of the current state of science communication, and shared resounding research about the public’s declining trust in science.  

Weiskopf further underlined two key aspects in which impactful science communication can help influence: the polarisation on trust in science and the role of (new) media. He explained how trust in science has been slowly chipped away since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The increased proliferation and use of new channels of communication such as social media, also exacerbated the spread of distrust in science.  

At a time when virtual communication continues to rise, science communication professionals are constantly seeking ways to keep abreast, hop on the bandwagon, and attempt to counter misinformation, disinformation and fake news related to research and science.  

From left to right: Uwe Steger, Head of Communications and Melanie Bartos, science communicator at Universität Innsbruck, and Markus Weiskopf, science journalist and editor at Research.Table

Speaker Melanie Bartos, science communicator in the Public Relations Office at the Universität Innsbruck offered some insights on this topic through her talk “Behind the Scenes: Exploring Science Communication at the University of Innsbruck”. Specialist in developing multimedia formats like podcasts, online and social media communication, Bartos touched upon the generational gaps on how people perceive and receive information, bearing in mind the different (virtual) channels through which they are exposed to the information.   

Above all, both Weiskopf and Bartos stressed upon science communication as being a solid bridge between science and society. Science communication, in and by itself, is also a research-based field of communication studies, and is especially critical for difficult topics like climate change, or the coronavirus pandemic.  

Science Communication and Citizen Engagement 

Science communication is a strong lever to make science and scientific findings visible and comprehensible to the public. As part of the “Impactful Communication” workshop, Universität Innsbruck science education specialist Florian Westreicher and doctoral student Friederike Barkmann organised an interactive workshop on Citizen Science. Using the Viel-Falter Butterfly Monitoring Austria project, they exposed the challenges scientists face to communicate about their research and its impact, and to engage citizens in their research projects. 

The Aurora Communications team experienced firsthand the preparatory work behind involving (non-scientific) citizens in research, such as accurate field data collection. Guided by Westreicher and Barkmann, the team underwent a crash training course on identifying diverse species of butterflies before proceeding to count mock butterflies hidden on the walls and windows indoors.   

This experience enabled the Communications team to understand the complexities of participatory research projects involving citizens, especially when considering the communication and dissemination actions prior, during and after experiments are conducted. A debriefing session concluded areas of improvement, such as having sufficient training, adequate equipment and tools, and being informed of research results. 

Florian Westreicher, science education specialist, and Friederike Bartmann, doctoral student at Universität Innsbruck, holding an interactive workshop based on the Viel-Falter Butterfly Monitoring Austria project

Collaboration to Catalyse Impact 

Fresh with the conclusions from expert talks and workshops, the Communications team set to work on creating concrete joint actions, in accordance with the strategy to further strengthen communication and dissemination within Aurora universities.  

Breaking out in smaller groups, each team was given the task to identify at least one achievable communication action that could be undertaken collectively. The objective was to raise the visibility of Aurora and its positioning within each university, and to encourage its communities to engage in Aurora activities.  

The Communications team came up with a list of ten joint actions, categorised by priority and ease of implementation, and a timeline of when these actions should be launched. Some examples include: 

  • Social media takeovers by students and staff to share Aurora mobility experiences of learning, training and research across universities 
  • Durable Aurora branded items to instil a sense of belonging 
  • Aurora chat groups to build communities. 

TLC Workshop 2025 on Impactful Communication at the Universität Innsbruck, Austria

The two-day workshop on “Impactful Communication” left the Aurora Communications team with a deeper knowledge of general communication and dissemination practices, science communication and citizen science. It also reinforced the fact that cooperation and intercultural understanding are essential values to ensure success in an alliance such as Aurora. 

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

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.

Staff Members in Aurora Universities Meet Counterparts Via Job Shadowing Opportunities

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

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.

Looking Back: Aurora Research and Innovation Conference

The Aurora Research and Innovation (RI) Conference occurred on Friday, 20 September, at the Muntpunt Library in Brussels. The event brought together 40 experts from the Aurora RI community and external stakeholders across Europe. It highlighted Aurora RI’s achievements and explored future opportunities for European University Alliances within the broader European Research and Innovation agenda.

The conference followed an Aurora RI working meeting held on Thursday, September 19, at the Czech Liaison Office in Brussels. As a result, this meeting set the stage for the discussions during the conference.

Morning Highlights: Celebrating Aurora RI Achievements

The day began with introductory speeches by Ramon Puras, Aurora Secretary-General, and Freyja Oddsdottir, Aurora RI Project Manager. Next, Svandís Halldorsdottir, Head of the Grants Office at the University of Iceland, followed with a presentation on the “Roadmap for Convergence of Research Support Schemes,” which highlighted Aurora’s long-term vision and support for the Aurora RI Project’s outcomes.

One of the morning’s key sessions was titled “Highlights – Aurora Research and Innovation.” It focused on Aurora’s achievements in three key areas:

Afternoon Highlights: Looking to the Future

In the afternoon, the focus gradually shifted to future prospects, beginning with a master class from Doris Alexander, Executive Board Member at Charm-EU, which notably outlined strategic funding avenues for European universities. In addition, Doris stated: “Alliances could serve as ‘testbeds’ for future EU policy, which would consequently require a more proactive approach, for example, through networks like ForEU4all.” Therefore, this presentation effectively set the tone for the afternoon’s exploration of new opportunities.

Next, these insights were followed by a panel discussion on the prospects for research and innovation within European Universities. The session covered several key topics:

  • The need to build and maintain research infrastructures across alliances.
  • Better integration of research and education, advocating for integrated funding schemes and long-term commitment.

Moderated by Helena Acheson, Europe Director at University Innovations Global (UI Global), the panel included expert insights from Olga Wessels (Head of the ECIU Brussels office and Coordinator FOR-EU and FOR-EU4ALL), Ludovic Thilly (Coordinator General of EC2U, Coordinator FOR-EU2), and Jorge Molina Martinez (Project Adviser at European Commission, Research Executive Agency (REA). The speakers provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Closing and Networking

The conference ended with insightful remarks from Aurora Secretary-General Ramon Puras and Halldor Jonsson, Director of Science & Innovation at the University of Iceland. They acknowledged the strong performance of the R&I project, emphasised the importance of maintaining and expanding the research infrastructures established, and stressed Aurora’s proactive role, along with its sister alliances, in advocating for better integration of research and education. The conference concluded with a networking reception, fostering ongoing dialogue and building new connections.

This successful event reinforced the importance of collaboration within the Aurora network and the broader European Research and Innovation community, laying the groundwork for future endeavours in university alliances.

SDG-Oriented Research and Education in Transdisciplinary Hubs

The new millennium is the first “urban millennium”: more people live in cities and towns than in the countryside, and urban settings are now the core sites of economic growth and social interactions. At the same time, too many urban dwellers lack access to public green spaces, public transportation, education, or health care. These are some of the fundamental changes addressed by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 (U.N., Transforming Our World, 2015). And these are changes that need to be studied by students and researchers alike.

How Can Universities Contribute to SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities?

The SDG 11 calls on academic research and education to help “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.” It lists cultural production, education, sports, and mental and physical health among the factors that improve the livability of cities. Aurora scholars, students, and professionals in the fields of literature, culture, society, and medicine ask: what does it take to intervene in urban change, especially if this intervention comes at the very point at which a concrete city becomes a better or a worse place for its human and non-human inhabitants?

There is a new sense that literature and the arts might play a bigger role than previously understood. Novels, poems, pamphlets, films, artwork, music: they all have a special license to connect the past to the present and to the future in fresh and sometimes startling ways. These cultural products explore the uses and consequences of history, they envision a different, formerly untold past, and they imagine a radically new future. And they might be able to change urban planning processes. As Simone d’Antonio, a member of the EU-funded project URBACT suggests, “[s]torytelling is a key tool for improving any urban planning process, both for engaging residents in different dimensions of the spatial regeneration as for helping professionals in better understanding users’ needs”. But how and in what ways has storytelling become crucial to these concise historical, social, and economic interventions? And how can the Aurora European university alliance leverage the power of storytelling to work towards healthy cities?

At the invitation of Barbara Buchenau from University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), lead of Aurora 2030 Work Package 2 and director of the City Scripts graduate research group funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, the two-day Scripting Futures for Urban Sustainability symposium pursued two interconnected goals:

  • First, concerning the proclaimed power of storytelling, key findings were presented from the city scripts research concerning the urban impact of a limited set of stories told about postindustrial cities in the United States and Germany. In examining “legacy cities” (Mallach/Brachman, 2013) like those affected by extractive economies of coal and steel, it was found that the narratives surrounding these places have significant implications for the kinds of futures that become possible. Visions of decline and stories of resilience often equally determine how communities engage with the urban transformations to be mastered. These examples illustrate storytelling’s contradictory roles in all attempts to ‘flip the script’ of any given neighborhood.
  • Second, the symposium drew on the expertise of Aurora researchers, students and stakeholders as well as international contributors to explore the potential of concrete changes in urban health management, in urban sports, and planning practice to actually “script” the direction of future social transformations (see Sulimma / Buchenau / Gurr 2023). Together, the task was set to find answers to the following question: What are the chances and the stakes of telling convincing stories about health, sports, and urban planning that allow a fair and equitable contribution to real urban change?

Welcome Address by Barbara Buchenau

Symposium on Scripting Futures for Urban Sustainability

The symposium “Scripting Futures for Urban Sustainability” took place on June 6-7, 2024, at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the College for Social Sciences and Humanities, Essen. This event, generously funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and UDE’s Förderverein, concluded the work of the City Scripts Graduate Research Group (2018-2024) and it launched the Healthy Cities Initiative of the Aurora Transdisciplinary Educational Hubs Culture: Identities and Diversities, and Health & Well-Being.

The symposium brought together 88 participants, including researchers, students, and professionals from the humanities, social sciences, and medical fields, to explore the crucial, yet complex role of storytelling in urban planning and sustainability. The event featured a public lecture by Aurora Fellow for Health and Well-being Marcus Zepf from Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) on “Adaptable and Healthy Cities: Permanent Autopoietic Process,” presentations by researchers from Università Federico II of Naples, Palacký University Olomouc and UDE, a critical intervention by Deputy Mayor of Essen Simone Raskob, and a comparative perspective provided by two members of UNIC, a European university alliance focusing on industrial cities. Additionally, talks by 19 international researchers, a visit by a student delegation from Johns Hopkins University led by the historian Victoria Harms, a book launch, and networking opportunities offered much food for thought.

Students played an active role throughout both days as presenters, interviewers, and critical voices who offered fresh perspectives on the core research question. They directed a poster presentation that showcased their own research in the field, they conducted interviews with participants, and they contributed to discussions with a critical eye, challenging assumptions and proposing new approaches to sustainable urban development.

Students as Critics of Academic Writers. Left to Right: Pia Schümmelfelder (MA student UDE), Jens Gurr (editor of City Scripts, 2023, UDE), Barbara Buchenau (editor of City Scripts, 2023, UDE), and Dana Sitnikov (MA student UDE)

Learning and Research for Healthy Cities

After the event, Mona Gutmann and Jacqueline Ruffen, M.A. students of American Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, presented an insightful report on the two-day event. They emphasized key themes and discussion points, focusing especially on the transatlantic comparison between the U.S. Rust Belt and Germany’s Ruhr region. Gutmann and Ruffen examined how both areas coped with deindustrialization and urban transformation. They used their own learning experience to explain the role of storytelling in urban planning, providing a poem by Mona Gutmann to show exemplarily how literature, street art, and architecture can help to bring about more sustainable and inclusive futures.

Additionally, they stressed the symposium’s alignment with UN SDG 11, showing where concrete paths towards inclusive and sustainable urbanization had been mapped out. Gutmann and Ruffen were particularly impressed by discussions on urban health management, gender sensitivity in medical care, and the role of visual and narrative arts in urban interventions. Their report emphasizes the importance of community involvement in urban planning, asking especially for processes that respect and integrate local histories and identities in redevelopment and revitalization projects.

To continue the work begun during the symposium, there will be a student-driven Aurora research workshop titled “Scripting Urban Resilience” hosted by Florian Freitag, Barbara Buchenau, and Zohra Hassan-Pieper in Essen at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities on 15 October 2024. Additionally, Barbara Buchenau (UDE) and Marcus Zepf (UPEC) will conduct an Aurora summer school 2025 called “Scripting Healthy Cities” to further explore sustainable and adaptable urban environments.

Brainstorming for Future European Transdisciplinary Research and Education. Left to Right, Anke Hinney (University Hospital Essen), Marcus Zepf (École d’Urbanisme de Paris, UPEC), Petra Günther (International Office, UDE) and Barbara Buchenau (Faculty of the Humanities, UDE)

Aurora Mobility and Internationalisation Feature Significant Developments

Aurora made important progress in mobility and internationalisation during the Aurora Spring Biannual held in Naples this May. These key advances were undertaken within Aurora 2030 Work Package 8 (WP8) for Enabling Mobility and Exchange, led by Marina Vives of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and Nanna Teitsdóttir from University of Iceland.

During the task team meeting, several universities have presented their institutional mobility plans. Key updates on mobility and internationalisation include the publication of the Aurora Mobility Guidelines for all Aurora universities and a Course Fact Sheet to support student mobility opportunities. The short-term mobility process description and the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) Handbook are also nearing completion. In addition, Marina and Nanna highlighted some relevant achievements and announced some changes on the composition, as well as upcoming initiatives.

Celebrating Collaborative Success

The meeting offered an opportunity to reflect on successful past events such as the recent Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) fair and COIL training organised by WP8, attracting over 70 participants. Additionally, the SUCTI (Systemic University Change Towards Internationalisation) training in Tarragona received positive participation and feedback. Looking ahead, future initiatives will include a sub-task on inclusivity, focusing on the inclusive mobility report, a students’ empowerment training, a BIP capacity development for instructors and an Intercultural Communication training for teachers.

The group also highlighted the great contributions by Barbara Tasser of Universität Innsbruck since the beginning of Aurora. Barbara will cease her participation in the WP8 from Fall on, given an internal re-distribution at the university level. Other changes within WP8 include:

  • Verena Heuking of University of Duisburg-Essen, who will now co-lead Task 8.3 on Internationalisation of Institutional Cultures substituting Marina Casals, who has left the URV
  • Valeria Constantino of Università Federico II of Naples will join Task Team 8.1 to Increase Mobility and Standardise Procedures
  • Larissa Jenewein of Universität Innsbruck has also joined Task Team 8.2 on Internationalisation at Home
  • Martina Buráňová, starting July 2024, will now be the contact person for Palacký University Olomouc, replacing Marek Sekanina.

Martin Procházka Elected as New Aurora President

Martin Procházka, Rector of Palacký University Olomouc, has been elected to be the new Aurora president by the Aurora General Council during the Aurora Spring Biannual 2024. He takes over from Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, who has held the position of Aurora President for the past four years.

Following the general council’s decision, Jón Atli Benediktsson passed on the torch in the public handover ceremony during the Biannual.  During this ceremony, Rector Procházka presented his predecessor with a vase made of Bohemian crystal to thank him for his service. “Jón Atli, this gift is not only a token of our friendship, but also a symbol of your excellent work for Aurora. Bohemian crystal, renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship, shines with the combination of tradition and innovation that we strive for at Aurora and reflects our commitment to excellence in education and research,” said Procházka.

In his acceptance speech, he emphasised that in his role as President, he wants to give the universities and all members of the community space for expression and the opportunity to shape the future Aurora and highlighted students as a key element in his vision of Aurora. “The students’ enthusiasm and their ideas are a great inspiration to us all. As President, I will aim to continue working to create a student-oriented and inclusive environment,” underlined Procházka.

Martin Procházka is the first Aurora President elected under a new system of rotating Aurora presidency. By unanimous decision of the Aurora General Council, the Aurora Presidency will rotate between the member universities. This system, inspired by the rotating EU-presidency, will allow all Aurora universities to leave their mark on Aurora’s policy and strategic decision-making.

In this system, the general council elects a rector  to serve on the Aurora board as  president-elect one year prior to them taking the mantle of Aurora President for a one-year tenure. After this year, they stay on the Aurora Board for one more year as Past President, to ensure continuity of governance.

Sustainability & Climate Change Hub Advances Micro-credentials Initiative

At the Aurora Spring Biannual 2024 hosted by University Federico II in Naples, involving task teams 2.1 “Establishing the Hub for Sustainability & Climate Change” and 2.5 “Coordination of joint education and joint accreditation”, marked a significant step forward to discuss micro-credentials, and make flexible and individual learning paths a reality within Aurora.

A major highlight was the near-finalisation of the much-anticipated document, “Guidelines for Setting Up Aurora Micro-credentials.” During the collaborative discussion on the guidelines draft, several key points were highlighted: 

  • Further Modifications and Provisional Decisions: Members discussed potential changes and provisional decisions, planning to forward these to other task teams and the Vice-Rectors of Education (VRE). 
  • Quality Assurance and Implementation: Each institution is responsible for quality assurance, teaching, and assessment of the micro-credentials, but institutions must agree upon joint implementation, coordinated processes and issuance. 
  • Innovative Methods: The importance of innovative teaching methods that guarantee active student participation and are recognized by employers and society was highlighted. 
  • Learning outcomes: The relevance of learning outcomes and their valid verification was reaffirmed, as was the use of the different Aurora Competence Framework tools. 
  • Branding Strategy: A strong branding strategy is needed to make micro-credentials attractive and popular among students. 

The quote “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time” by Leonard Bernstein resonates profoundly. Thus, following the discussion on the draft document and potential future issues, both task teams established a timeline for final feedback and approval.

Members of  task teams 2.1 and 2.5 agreed to respond to the draft within two months. The final version will then be sent to the board of Vice-Rectors for Education. Additionally, the “Guidelines for Setting Up Aurora Micro-credentials” have been sent to task team 6.1 Aurora IT Development & Services to discuss IT processes for shared student data and future perspectives on digital issuing.