Who We Are

General Council & Board

Aurora has a General Council which consists of the rectors/presidents of the Aurora universities – or their formal representatives and two members of the Aurora Student Council. The General Council meets twice a year.

Veronika Sexl

Aurora President & Rector of Universität Innsbruck

Barbara Albert

Rector of the University of Duisburg-Essen

Karine Bergès

President of Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC)

Matteo Lorito

Rector of the University Federico II of Naples

Wilbert van der Meer

International Office Director

Joy Johnson

President & Vice-Chancellor of Simon Fraser University

Simona Gibalová

ASC President – Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice

In addition to the General Council, Aurora has a board of four rectors/presidents and the president of the Aurora Student Council who are charged with the management of the association. As of May 2025, the board composition is:

Michael Kohajda

Aurora Board Member,
Rector of Palacký University Olomouc

Josep Pallarès Marzal

Aurora Board Member,
Rector of Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Margrethe Jonkman

Aurora Board Member,
President of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Silja Bára R. Ómarsdóttir

Aurora Board Member,
Rector and President of the University of Iceland

More about General Council & Board

Vice-rectors of Research

Jiří Drábek

Palacký University Olomouc

Gregor Halff

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Karen Shire

University of Duisburg-Essen

Carole Hénique

Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC)

Morten Irgens

Copenhagen Business School

Urbano Lorenzo Seva

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Lorenzo Marrucci

Università Federico II of Naples

Gregor Weihs

Universität Innsbruck

Rögnvaldur Jóhann Sæmundsson

University of Iceland

Dugan O’Neil

Simon Fraser University

More about Vice-rectors of Research

Vice-rectors of Education

Jitka Petrová

Palacký University Olomouc

Jacqueline van Muijlwijk-Koezen

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Karen Shire

University of Duisburg-Essen

Francesco Palumbo

Università Federico II of Naples

Arnaud Thauvron

Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC)

Ragna Benedikta Garðarsdóttir

University of Iceland

Wilbert van der Meer

International Office Director of CBS

Montserrat Pinent Armengol

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Janette Walde

Universität Innsbruck

More about Vice-rectors of Education

Aurora Institutional Coordinators

Each Aurora university has an institutional coordinator who monitors the Aurora activities in their own institution as well as in the network. Below you will find an overview of the institutional coordinators per university.

Esmee Paques

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

e.m.paques@vu.nl

Fanney Karlsdóttir

University of Iceland

aurora@hi.is

Thomas Baumgartner

University of Innsbruck

thomas.baumgartner@uibk.ac.at

Alessandro Arienzo

University of Naples Federico II

alessandro.arienzo@unina.it

Petra Günther

University of Duisburg-Essen

petra.guenther@uni-due.de

Joan Miquel Canals

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

jmcanals@urv.cat

Selma Porobic

Palacky University Olomouc

selma.porobic@upol.cz

Martin Schwell

Université Paris Est-Creteil

martin.schwell@u-pec.fr

Anne-Karen Hüske

Copenhagen Business School

ahu.msc@cbs.dk

More about Institutional Coordinators

Aurora Central Office

Aurora is supported by a small central office consisting of six team members:

Ramon Puras

Secretary-General

r.a.puras@vu.nl

Alexander Lindemans

Programme Manager

a.l.g.lindemans@vu.nl

Maria José Montaña Correa

Programme Manager

m.j.montanacorrea@vu.nl

Pim de Boer

EU Liaison – Policy Advisor

w.i.de.boer@vu.nl

Anna Klas

Communications Officer

a.r.c.klas@vu.nl

Chiara Cardigliano

Administrative Officer

c.cardigliano@vu.nl

More about Aurora Central Office

Aurora Student Council

Aurora Student Council (ASC) consists of two elected student representatives from each university, who collectively decide on student priorities within Aurora. The council is led by the elected president and vice-president.