Group: For students

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

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on 2024-11-20. 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.

4th seizmic Hackathon Re-thinks Food Systems in the Anthropocene

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on 2024-11-06. Posted in News.

Hosted by the University Federico II of Naples (UNINA), the fourth edition of the seizmic Hackathon “Re-thinking Food Systems in the Anthropocene” is one of the most consolidated training initiatives by the social entrepreneurship and innovation team at Aurora universities. Part of seizmic activities, the hackathon is the culmination of a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) organised by UNINA, in partnership with Copenhagen Business School, University of Iceland, University Rovira i Virgili and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

From 21 to 25 October 2024, 50 students from Aurora universities visited Naples and the surrounding rural areas, Pietraroja and Morcone (in the province of Benevento). Thanks to the collaboration with Mario Festa, architect and President of the Rural Design for the Regeneration of Territories association (Ru.De.Ri.), the students were able to visit interesting examples of the regeneration of urban green areas and social promotion such as the orchard maintained by N’sea Yet in Viviani Park and Quartiere Intelligente in Naples.

Assessing Systemic Change

Coordinated by Ramon Rispoli, Adam Arvidsson, Benedetta Toledo and Nunzia Ambrosino, the aim of the seizmic Hackathon workshop was to develop design proposals for the transformation of food production and distribution systems in the Campania region. Students from diverse disciplines like Design, Business, Social Sciences, and Environmental Sciences, fostered a transdisciplinary dialogue to address the potential of real, systemic change within the region.

Through various field trips, students learnt more about local agriculture and tasted local food products. Chefs Peppe Zullo and Annamaria Mastrantuono delighted all participants with their exquisite regional cuisine. These field experiences enabled students to question the new role that particularly fragile rural areas – such as those in the Campania hinterland – could play in reorienting the food chain towards ecological compatibility and social justice.

seizmic Hackathon: A Comprehensive Programme

As a BIP funded by the Erasmus+ programme, the seizmic Hackathon workshop was divided into virtual and in-person components. Both components consisted of lectures which covered the following topics:

Anthropocene by Adam Arvidsson, full professor of Sociology, UNINA.
Re‐thinking the City Through Food, and Design for Social Innovation by Ramon Rispoli, associate professor of Design, UNINA.
Consumer Input in Designing Sustainable Food Supply Chains by Laurence Beierlein, visiting professor from Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC).
Social Innovation and Food Waste by Nunzia Ambrosino and Benedetta Toledo, PhD students, UNINA.
How to Integrate a Community In a Social Innovation Project by Marco Cecere, architect and designer, Avventura di Latta.
Introduction to Naples Markets by Adam Arvidsson, and Eugenia Santoro, researcher, UNINA.
Glocalizing Food: The Informal Kitchens of Piazza Garibaldi by Dario Minervini, Cristina Trey and Najoua El Kasmi.

After a week of lectures, field trips and intense group work, the students presented their systemic design proposals for rethinking food systems in the Campania Region before the Final Jury composed of Laurence Beierlein, Dario Catania and Luca Esposito. These projects will be part of the seizmic Awards 2024, a competition organised by Copenhagen Business School to promote creative and innovative social entrepreneurs.

To learn more about the seizmic Hackathon course content and discover its activities in detail, as well as staying up-to-date on the next editions, follow the seizmic Hackathon instagram page @hackathon_aurora_dbe.

SDG-Oriented Research and Education in Transdisciplinary Hubs

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on 2024-09-23. Posted in News.

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)

Global Learning Experience at the VU Amsterdam Summer School

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on 2024-09-12. Posted in News.

This past summer, VU Amsterdam hosted its 11th Summer School edition, welcoming 380 students on its campus, including several students from Aurora universities across Europe.

Throughout July and August, VU Amsterdam Summer School provided 24 exceptional short courses designed specifically for students from Bachelor, Master and PhD levels. Lasting between one to two weeks, these highly-intensive courses cover diverse subjects such as international law, environmental science and policy, and statistical research.

Passionate Professors Empowering Future Entrepreneurs

Dedicated professors from the university shared their knowledge and expertise through interactive lectures, challenging group discussions, and practical assignments. One course in particular, “New Venture Creation in the Amsterdam Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” used a state-of-the-art tool for students to work on their business ideas. Led by professor Enno Masurel, Aurora students were able to envision the potential growth of their start-up ventures through “Business Model Canvas for Start-ups & Scale-ups”.

Beyond business models, Aurora students also reflected on how they could each make a positive impact that responds to the issues within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Creating A Lasting Impact

The summer school would not have been complete without offering students insights into the Dutch culture. Thanks to the university’s International Office, students explored Amsterdam through an array of cultural activities, including city tours, museum visits and workshops.

The VU Amsterdam Summer School offered a comprehensive and enriching experience. It blended quality academic knowledge and hands-on learning, with immersive cultural activities. The programme’s diverse and inclusive environment fosters cross-cultural understanding and promotes collaboration among students from around the world. It provided opportunities for students to network, form friendships, and create lasting memories.

Success for First Aurora Summer School in UPEC

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on 2024-07-22. Posted in News.

From 17 to 28 June, Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) hosted its first-ever Aurora Summer School on Futures Literacy and social foresight. The two-week course focused on training students from Aurora universities to reframe today’s challenges to better anticipate the impact of decisions taken for the future.

Held at AEI International School in UPEC, the Aurora Summer School welcomed 26 students from UPEC, University of Iceland, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Università Federico II of Naples and Copenhagen Business School. Over a fortnight, our students were exposed to an immersive educational and intercultural experience.

Anticipating Tomorrow Today

The Aurora Summer School in UPEC introduced our students to the disciplines in social entrepreneurship, prospective studies and social innovation. Its objective is to encourage them to master the skills to prepare for the future by addressing today’s complex societal challenges.

The programme included courses that were designed to enable our students to understand how actions and decisions can have a real impact on society. By learning the fundamentals of Futures Literacy, they looked at issues touching social, societal, economic and entrepreneurial aspects.

Led by professor Felipe Koch, Vice-Dean of AEI International School at UPEC, the first week of the summer school began with comprehensive lectures and practical sessions on the topic of Futures Studies. These sessions took place in the Futures Literacy Laboratory, where our students experimented with innovative methods to drive transformative change.

Week two of the summer school further broadened perspectives and provided our students exposure to a wide range of expertise. Renowned speakers included:

Philippe Frouté, Dean of AEI International School, UPEC, lectured on data analysis and forecasting.
Fabio Scarano, UNESCO Chair on Futures Literacy: Planetary Wellbeing and Regenerative Anticipation, spoke on regenerative futures.
Rocco Scolozzi, professional futurist, trainer and facilitator, explained the implementation of systems thinking.
Dr Fernando Bozza, lead researcher at the World Health Organization (WHO), exchanged on social innovation, entrepreneurship and managing decision-making under deep uncertainty.

Intercultural Exchange in the Heart of Paris

One of the benefits of student mobility between Aurora universities is the possibility for a rich intercultural exchange. Incoming students get to learn more about the French culture while also being introduced to other European cultures, thanks to the diversity of the students coming from different universities within Aurora.

The Office of International Affairs at UPEC organised two cultural visits in the heart of Paris:

Opéra Garnier on the theme Intermezzo: Our students discovered the history of Palais Garnier, its unique 19^th century theatre art architecture and the various artistic activities undertaken by the Parisian opera house.
Seine river cruise: Through a guided cruise by some of the most beautiful monuments viewed from the Seine river, our students learnt more about Parisian culture and the city’s historical heritage.

The Aurora Summer School at UPEC was a huge success for the university that officially joined Aurora as full member in 2023. Since its entry into the Aurora European university alliance, UPEC has been co-leading two strategic work packages in the Aurora 2030 project: Enhancing Quality of Research through an Aurora Research and Innovation Community, and Impact and Dissemination.

Martin Procházka Elected as New Aurora President

Written by Niels Hexspoor on 2024-07-01. Posted in News.

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

Written by Niels Hexspoor on 2024-06-25. Posted in News.

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.

Aurora Students’ Round Table Highlights Student Participation in Aurora

Written by Niels Hexspoor on 2024-06-25. Posted in News.

During the Aurora Spring Biannual hosted by the University Federico II of Naples, the Aurora Student Council (ASC) organised the Aurora Students’ Round Table plenary session, an opportunity for the ASC members to review the major projects of their year within the council and discuss the status of student participation in Aurora.

The plenary session was chaired by Hanuš Patera, former President of the ASC, accompanied by two members of the Council Nana-Kirstine Bruhn Rasmussen and Sören Daehn, as well as Alma Ágústsdóttir and Niels Hexspoor, who leads the activities on Aurora Student Support and Engagement, and the Aurora Student Community (Work Package 7). Part of the Aurora Students’ Round Table session focused on the students’ work in 2023-2024.

Panelists reminded the audience that the ASC members are only present for one year, which is not enough time to realise all their projects. Thus, the ASC members presented a strategic document containing several goals to be achieved for future members of the council. These goals include:

Creation of a social media communication plan.
Presence of members of the council at all Aurora events.
Increase in the number of in-person meetings.

Sören Daehn, Copenhagen Business School

Alma Ágústsdóttir, University of Iceland

Niels Hexspoor, Palacký University Olomouc

Nana Bruhn Rasmussen, University of Iceland

Diversity and Inclusion Moving Forward

Hanuš further addressed the topic of diversity and inclusion. Indeed, the ASC chooses a topic on which it proposes that Aurora universities could improve by the year end. The council highlighted four areas for improvement:

Collaborating closer with institutional student parliaments, to strengthen the presence of Aurora students in the university’s decision-making process.
Establishing the position of equality officer, or thematic equality days, that would result in a concrete equality plan to follow, beyond just recommendations.
Responding to the problems of people with disabilities by providing easier information, or the creation of a support checklist.
Offering diversity education for new staff so that they know the support available to respond to these problems.

The Aurora Student Ambassador Programme

Subsequently, the panel discussed the participation of students in Aurora, based on the existing Student Ambassador programme that allows them to participate in Aurora’s various task teams. The first three questions focused on how to include students in task teams. They also addressed the biggest obstacles to developing the Student Ambassador programme properly. Most participants emphasised that student participation should be implemented better and more broadly.

Sören Daehn explained that, the ambassador programme allows for a win-win situation where students can develop international skills and task team leaders benefit from a different viewpoint within their team. He stressed that students do not participate in the programme to join inactive task teams. Therefore, the biggest obstacles in setting up the programme are finding the right way to include students in task teams. The panelists also touched on the fact that students feel overworked, as they must attend classes, work, have a social life, and get involved in associations at their universities, leaving little time for participation in Aurora.

The last two questions posed the problem of recognition and rewards for the student’s work. The topic of financial compensation to student ambassadors was challenging due to strict budgetary constraints within Aurora universities. Despite this fact, the panel agreed that fair recognition should be in place for all students’ activities, in order to promote student participation in Aurora more seriously.

The panel concluded that currently the Student Ambassador programme is not sufficiently developed to allow student participation in all task teams. However, in the long term, it would be ideal to have meaningful student representation across all task teams to ensure Aurora’s activities also meet the expectations of its students.

Aurora Social Entrepreneurship Online Platform Undergoes Rebranding

Written by Aniza Pourtauborde on 2024-06-19. Posted in News.

During the Aurora Spring Biannual 2024 in Naples, the Aurora team for Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation unveiled seizmic, its freshly rebranded online platform.

Launched during the first phase of the Aurora European university alliance, this platform was previously known as SEISMIC (Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scales to Measure Impact Competence). SEISMIC referred only to the survey tool that provides quantitative measures for the twelve competencies needed to achieve societal impact.

Following the rebranding, the social entrepreneurship online platform today goes by the name seizmic. It consolidates diverse tools and elements that equip students with the competencies required to drive impactful societal change.

One Platform, Multiple Applications for Social Entrepreneurship

Led by Professor Kai Hockerts and Aurora Institutional Coordinator Anne-Karen Hüske of Copenhagen Business School (CBS), the development of teaching and learning activities related to social entrepreneurship and innovation has grown in strength within Aurora universities. Further boosted by the Aurora 2030 project, there is continuous effort to unify all such activities under one seizmic identity:

seizmic Courses: These learning modules present the latest research and tools on how social entrepreneurship can address current societal challenges.

seizmic APP: This free web-based digital platform guides learners through the social business development process. It focuses on identifying solutions against issues related to different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

seizmic BUSINESS MODEL: This tool covers each step in the social entrepreneurship development process: from problem identification to growth and replication, and beyond.

seizmic Awards: An annual award ceremony celebrating the creativity and innovation of students and early-stage social entrepreneurs.

seizmic Survey (former SEISMIC): A tool to assess how study programmes or courses contribute to enhancing students’ social entrepreneurship competencies.

seizmic Community: seizmic gathers students and budding social entrepreneurs under one space. They collaborate on entrepreneurial projects with a common vision to make positive societal impact.

Educating the Next Generation of Social Entrepreneurs

seizmic enables Aurora students to engage in social entrepreneurship and innovation in multiple ways. They learn through seizmic Courses and use the seizmic APP to build business models. In addition, they participate in seizmic Awards and further assess their competencies with the seizmic Survey.

With the recent addition of the MSCA-funded seizmic Doctoral Network, seizmic offers new doctoral positions across Aurora partner universities in Europe. The Doctoral Network aims to develop an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for studying the replication and imitation of social entrepreneurship ideas. It will also set new benchmarks for doctoral training.

As part of the work undertaken in Aurora, seizmic aspires to cultivate a community of educators dedicated to advancing the discussion and research around social entrepreneurship and innovation.

Shaping the Path Forward at the Aurora Spring Biannual 2024

Written by Niels Hexspoor on 2024-06-11. Posted in News.

Between the 27th and 30th of May, the Aurora community gathered in the historic city of Naples for the Aurora Spring Biannual, hosted by the University Federico II of Naples (UNINA). This biannual combined a historic perspective with Aurora’s transition into its exciting new phase.

This year’s biannual event offered the Aurora community a chance to celebrate the 800th anniversary of UNINA, placing Aurora’s ambitions in a grand historical context. The 800th anniversary of UNINA served as a powerful reminder of the importance and transformative potential of our universities. By situating Aurora’s contemporary aims within this historical framework, the biannual meeting in Naples not only celebrated the past but also inspired the Aurora community to continue shaping a better society through collaboration in education and research.

The event covered a range of thought-provoking topics. The plenary sessions featured panels on Joint Education Programs, Stakeholder Engagement, and Student Matters. These were complemented by inspiring talks on Citizen Science and Participatory Democracy that sparked new thoughts and initiatives. Aurora also reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable development, with Aurora’s universities signing a Common Footprint Reduction Plan. This joint commitment is key to making our universities greener and more environmentally sustainable.

Another highlight of the event was the Presidency Handover. This was an opportunity to thank the University of Iceland Rector Jón Atli Benediktsson, for his tenure as Aurora President. Jón Atli proceeded to pass the torch to the Rector of Palacký University Olomouc, Martin Procházka. Martin wants to continue working closely with our students during his time at the helm: “It will be my goal to continue working on creating a student-centred and inclusive environment within Aurora, where students are truly heard.”

Work packages and task teams also had time to convene. In these in-depth meetings, our task teams could discuss all our specific activities and develop them further. In addition, the biannual featured workshops on topics such as seizmic, Peer-Learning and Vulnerability.

As the biannual came to a close, we looked forward to next year’s biannual, which will be organised by the Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC). We also looked back at a great Spring Biannual that allowed us to appreciate all that Aurora has achieved so far, as well as the exciting journey ahead.