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.