General Council & Board

Veronika Sexl is a renowned cancer researcher specializing in tumor surveillance and signaling in leukemogenesis, with over 200 peer-reviewed publications and numerous awards. She maintains extensive international collaborations and serves on various boards, including the European Hematology Association (EHA). Since March 2023, Veronika Sexl is Rector of Universität Innsbruck.

Barbara Albert serves as Rector of University of Duisburg-Essen. She is a distinguished expert in the field of solid-state chemistry, former president of the German Chemical Society and member of the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. Prior to joining University of Duisburg-Essen, she held professorships at the universities of Hamburg and Darmstadt. At the Technical University Darmstadt, she also was Dean of the Department of Chemistry and Vice-President of Research and Early Careers.

Matteo Lorito has been Rector of the Università Federico II of Naples since 2020 and is Full Professor of Plant Pathology and Phytopathological Biotechnology. A Biology graduate, he conducted research at Cornell University and held academic leadership roles, including Director of the Department of Agriculture. He has authored over 200 scientific publications and has approximately 25,000 citations. He co-founded three startups and developed biopesticide and biofertilizer formulations distributed in 90 countries. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. 

Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé serving as President of Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) since 2018.  A medical doctor specialised in cardiology, he is a university professor at UPEC and a hospital practitioner in cardiology at Henri-Mondor Hospital since 1994. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at UPEC from 2010 to 2018 and was President of the Conference of Deans of Medicine in France from 2016 to 2018. Jean-Luc’s passion for medicine was further reinforced when he became Head of the Cardiology Department at Henri-Mondor Hospital since 2000. In addition, Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé has been the President of the Digital University in Health and Sports (UNESS) since 2020, and President of the UPEC Foundation since 2021.

As International Office Director, Wilbert van der Meer is responsible for international academic partnerships at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). He works closely with both internal and external stakeholders to strengthen CBS’s global network, including collaborations on educational programs, research initiatives, and strategic alliances. Wilbert is responsible for CBS’s policies and strategies for internationalisation.

Previously, he held the position of Head of Education at CBS and, prior to that, served as Deputy Secretary General at Universities Denmark.

Wilbert van der Meer represents the CBS Vice-Rector of Education, Anna Thomasson, in the Aurora European universities alliance.

In the third year of her Bachelor Degree in Administration and International Exchange, Mathilde serves as an assessor for the Aurora European university alliance at the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). She is also President of the Aurora Student Council. Additionally, she is an elected student representative at the General Council of UPEC and serves as the Treasurer of the Fédération des Associations de Créteil, which is an association created to represent students and assist other associations by providing training for their members, among other student-focused activities.

doc. JUDr. Michael Kohajda, Ph.D. graduated from the Palacký University Olomouc (UP) Faculty of Law (UP FL) with a Master’s degree in Law and Legal Science. He obtained his doctoral degree and received his habilitation in Financial Law at the Charles University Faculty of Law. He has taught at UP FL for almost twenty years. Since 2020, he has held the position of Vice-Dean – (first for Doctoral Studies, Qualification Procedures, and Finances, including investments; currently he is Vice-Dean for External Relations and Investments). He is a member of the UP FL Scholarly Board and several other boards at the law faculties in Olomouc and Prague.

His research and publication activities focus on financial law, especially on public budgets, taxation, banking, insurance, and capital markets. His main professional interest involves financial system rules and supervision. In recent years, he has also focused on the legal rules related to the issuance and handling of crypto assets. Since 2024 he has been the principal investigator of the Czech Science Foundation standard project Crypto Assets as a Threat to Sovereignty. As regards international cooperation, he has undertaken a number of international research and teaching stays in Europe, the USA, and Australia. In addition to his academic activities, he has a successful legal practice.

In order to contribute to the development of society, he has been involved in politics. Between 2014 and 2022, he was a member of the Šumperk City Council, where he focused on budget policy and investments. In 2021, thanks to preferential votes, he won a seat in the Parliament of the Czech Republic for the Olomouc Region. He serves, among others, as a member of the Budget Committee in the Parliament. He was also a member of the Chamber of Deputies’ special investigative commission on the tragic event that took place at the Charles University Faculty of Arts in December 2023.

Born in El Perelló in 1967, he has been General Director of Universities and General Director of University Planning and Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2016-19) and, at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Vice-Rector for Academic Policy and PDI (2014-16), Vice-Rector of PDI (2008-14), Vice-Rector for Transfer and Innovation (2006-08) and Director of the Department of Electronic Engineering, Electric and Automatic (2000-06).

With a background as Chief Technology Officer at FrieslandCampina and extensive involvement in international research collaborations, she spearheads initiatives for enduring societal impact. Her leadership highlights VU Amsterdam’s dedication to scientific excellence and global engagement, committed to addressing global challenges.

Professor Jón Atli Benediktsson was elected Rector of the University of Iceland and President of the Governing Council in July 2015. Prior to taking office Jón Atli Benediktsson was a professor in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was the Pro-Rector for Science and Academic Affairs from 2009 and served in various other administrative capacities within the University of Iceland.

Professor Benediktsson received his Ph.D. in 1990 from Purdue University, USA. His research focuses on remote sensing, image analysis, signal processing and biomedical engineering. He has published over 300 papers and book chapters in his field. Professor Benediktsson is the Chair of the Icelandic Rectors´ Conference and sits on the council of the European University Association. Jón Atli was elected President of the Aurora Universities Network in 2020 and re-elected in 2022.