At the end of May, the Aurora community gathered in the historic city of Naples for the Aurora Spring Biannual, hosted by the University Federico II of Naples (UNINA). This biannual combined a historic perspective with Aurora’s transition into its exciting new phase.
This year’s biannual event offered the Aurora community a chance to celebrate the 800th anniversary of UNINA, placing Aurora’s ambitions in a grand historical context. The anniversary of UNINA served as a powerful reminder of the importance and transformative potential of our universities. By situating Aurora’s contemporary aims within this historical framework, the biannual meeting in Naples not only celebrated the past but also inspired the Aurora community to continue shaping a better society through collaboration in education and research.
The event covered a range of thought-provoking topics. The plenary sessions featured panels on Joint Education Programmes, Stakeholder Engagement, and Student Matters. These were complemented by inspiring talks on Citizen Science and Participatory Democracy that sparked new thoughts and initiatives. Aurora also reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable development, with Aurora’s universities signing a Common Footprint Reduction Plan. This joint commitment is key to making our universities greener and more environmentally sustainable.
Another highlight of the event was the Presidency Handover. This was an opportunity to thank the University of Iceland Rector, Jón Atli Benediktsson, for his tenure as Aurora President. Jón Atli passed the torch to the Rector of Palacký University Olomouc, Martin Procházka. Martin wants to continue working closely with students during his time at the helm.
Work packages and task teams within the Aurora consortium also had time to convene. In these in-depth meetings, the task teams could discuss specific activities and develop them further.
As the biannual came to a close, the Aurora universities looked forward to next year’s biannual, which will be organised by Université Paris Est Créteil (UPEC). Like this biannual, the next one will create a good opportunity to reflect on the achievements of Aurora to date, as well as to plan the exciting journey ahead.
About Aurora
Aurora is a collaborative network of European research-intensive universities that works on the development of teaching and innovation in university activities to meet today's societal challenges. Participating in Aurora allows the University of Iceland staff to learn new teaching methods, participate in events abroad, attract international students to courses and find European partners in research and teaching.