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. 

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 2022 the board composition is:

Jón Atli Benediktsson

Aurora President and chair of the Aurora Board

Rector and President of the University of Iceland

Hanuš Patera

Aurora Student Council President and Board member

Student Council member at  Palacký University Olomouc

Mirjam van Praag

Aurora Board member

President of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Martin Procházka

Aurora Board member

Rector of Palacký University Olomouc

David Maguire

Vice-Chancellor of the University of East-Anglia

Barbara Albert

Rector of the University of Duisburg-Essen

Veronika Sexl

Rector of Universität Innsbruck

Matteo Lorito

Rector of the University Federico II of Naples

Josep Pallarès Marzal

Rector of Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Jean-Luc Dubois-Rande

President of Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne

Martin Jes Iversen

Vice Dean International Education of Copenhagen Business School

Aurora Coordinators

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

VU Amsterdam

e.m.paques(at)vu.nl

Fanney Karlsdóttir

University of Iceland

fanneyk(at)hi.is

Thomas Baumgartner

University of Innsbruck

thomas.baumgartner(at)uibk.ac.at

Alessandro Arienzo

University of Naples Federico II

alessandro.arienzo(at)unina.it

Helena Gillespie

University of East Anglia

h.gillespie(at)uea.ac.uk

Petra Günther

University of Duisburg-Essen

petra.guenther(at)uni-due.de

Joan Miquel Canals

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

jmcanals(at)urv.cat

Selma Porobic

Palacky University Olomouc

selma.porobic(at)upol.cz

Anne-Karen Hüske

Copenhagen Business School

ahu.msc(at)cbs.dk

Dr Eylem Atakav

University of East Anglia

e.atakav(at)uea.ac.uk

Aurora Central Office

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

Kees Kouwenaar

Interim Secretary-General

kees.kouwenaar(at)vu.nl

Sabine Sainte-Rose

Programme Director

s.allain-sainterose(at)vu.nl

Auður Inga Rúnarsdóttir

Project Manager for Research and Innovation

air(at)hi.is

Maria José Montaña Correa

Project Manager for Education

m.j.montanacorrea(at)vu.nl

Pim de Boer

EU Liaison – Policy Advisor

w.i.de.boer(at)vu.nl

Anna Klas

Communications Officer

a.r.c.klas(at)vu.nl

Elham Shayegh

Educational Developer

e.shayegh(at)vu.nl

Aurora Student Council

Aurora Student Council 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. 

Hanus Patera

Aurora Student President – Palacky University Olomouc

hanus.patera(at)gmail.com

Ivo Garnham

Aurora Student Vice-President – University of East Anglia

i.garnham(at)uea.ac.uk

Nana-Kirstine Bruhn Rasmussen

Aurora Student Council Secretary – University of Iceland

internationalcommittee(at)hi.is 

Lucy Baderova

Aurora Student Communications Officer – Palacky University Olomouc

lucy.badurova(at)gmail.com

Serene Shibli

ASC member – University of East Anglia

S.Shibli-Sexton(at)uea.ac.uk

Nathan Wyatt

ASC member – University of East Anglia

Nathan.Wyatt(at)uea.ac.uk

Sophia Neßler

ASC member University of Innsbruck

sophia.nessler(at)oeh.cc

Hannah Gratl

ASC member – Universität Innsbruck

Vorsitz2-oeh(at)uibk.ac.at

Sören Daehn

ASC member- Copenhagen Business School

soda.msc(at)cbs.dk

David Ellebye

ASC member – Copenhagen Business School

david.ellebye(at)cbsstudents.dk

Sigríður Helga Kárdal Ásgeirsdóttir

ASC member – University of Iceland

sho16(at)hi.is

Andréa Gaucher

ASC member – Université Parist-Est Créteil

auroraupec(at)gmail.com

Xènia Roviralta

ASC member – Universtat Rovira i Virgili

xenia.roviraltai(at)estudiants.urv.cat

Vincent Mesrine

ASC member – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

mesrinev(at)gmail.com

Sumeyye Dalkiran

ASC member – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

sumeyye.dalkiran.usr(at)vu.nl

Gaetano Loffredo

ASC member – University of Naples Federico II

ga.loffredo(at)studenti.unina.it

Gaia Nunes

ASC member – University of Naples Federico II

gaiangn(at)outlook.com

Michel Breuer

ASC member – University of Duisburg Essen

Michel.Breuer(at)asta-due.de

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