Aurora Central Office

Professor Ramon Puras recently assumed the role of Secretary General at Aurora. With a PhD in biomedical sciences focusing on HIV research, he’s known for establishing the Amsterdam University College and in his previous role as Dean of the Faculty of Education at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Drawing from his extensive experience in higher education, Professor Puras is dedicated to enhancing programs by integrating cutting-edge research and emerging technologies. His passion for teaching the interdisciplinary course Gastronomy, the Art and Science of Cooking reflects his blend of interests in science, cooking, and education.

Maria José is a multilingual Programme Manager with significant financial, administrative and operational experience. Her anthropological background has enabled her to develop effective communication skills at different levels and integral understanding of complex projects. She has worked and supervised different development projects in Colombia and had the opportunity to work in diplomacy in The Netherlands, representing Colombia and its economic and commercial interests. As Aurora 2030 Programme Manager, her main activities are maintaining the financial overview of the project, ensuring the health of the programme, and supporting the different stakeholders.

As senior strategic policy advisor EU and EU Liaison, Pim de Boer pro-actively enlarges visibility, reputation and competitiveness of VU Amsterdam and Aurora universities at EU authorities, EU services, academic institutions and other stakeholders in Europe. This entails providing advice on strategy and policies related to EU programmes and acquisition, networking, representation and lobbying in Brussels and other countries for VU and Aurora universities. To effectively achieve results, Pim involves scientists, lecturers and staff in EU-related policies, meetings and other activities. These tasks can be summarised as being a knowledge broker and bridging mediator. This also relates to his background as pathobiologist and assistant professor, director of research and grants at a charity and patient organisation, and entrepreneur combining societal and scientific engagement.

As an Administrative Officer, Chiara Cardigliano is responsible for providing ongoing support to the management activities of the Aurora Central Office. Thanks to her educational background in the legal field and previous work experience in the administration of activities for university students, Chiara’s goal is to foster a smooth organisational and working environment for those who work with the office on a daily basis.

Chiara’s tasks are transversal to all the posts and bodies within the Aurora Central Office, focusing on the creation of tools and activities that facilitate everyone’s work. From the Secretary General to the Programme Director to Project Management, Chiara’s presence is devoted to understanding the needs and analysing solutions for smoother administrative management of the Office.