Aurora Student Council Student Representative Handbook

Table of content

What is Aurora? 2

History of Aurora 4 Purpose 4 Membership 4 Network activities 5 Future 5

Structure 6 General council 6 Board 6 Institutional coordinators 6 Communication officers 6 Aurora office 6

Working groups / thematic and project groups 8 Purpose 8 Diversity and Inclusion 9 Societal impact and relevance of research (SIRR) 9 Students’ engagement 9 Innovation of teaching and learning (ITL) 10 Student participation 10

Student involvement 12 History of the Aurora Student Council 12 Positions within the Aurora Student Council 12 Aurora Student President 12 Vice President 13 Secretary 13 Editor 13 Statute of the Aurora Student Representation 13 Student Representatives 13 How to prepare for a biannual 14

1. What is Aurora?

Aurora is a network of nine European universities: 1. Vrije University in Amsterdam (VU) 2. University of Iceland (UI) 3. University of Gothenburg (UG) 4. University of East Anglia (UEA) 5. University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) 6. University of Bergen (UB) 7. University of Antwerp (UA) 8. University of Aberdeen (UA) 9. University of Grenoble-Alpes (UGA)

These universities are united by their commitment to build different kind of inclusive university community. The universities are all leaders in academic research, within the top 250 in the world. The universities, both faculty and students, are committed to working together to find solutions to globally relevant problems, in areas such as sustainability, climate and energy, digital technology and human life and health. Students have been an active participant in the network since it was founded, and have structured a student council within the network which you can read about in chapter 3.

Aurora formally launched on October 21, 2016. From even before then, the drive has been to identify themes of common interest with enough enthusiasm at the grass root level to learn with and from each other. This work is reflected in the working groups (WG) which are active during each biannual, and some are active between the biannuals as well. You can find the students involvement and what has been going on in the groups h ere. i. We have student representatives in the working groups, which ensures that the student voice is always taken into account, and they are responsible for filling out summaries after each session to ensure continuity between summits. ii. At the beginning of each student representative term, the student representative picks out a WG they would like to be involved in. The student will then be a part of that WG for the duration of their term in Aurora.

Biannuals are held biannually at the universities which are a part of the network. Between the summits, some working groups have digital meetings (DM) to maintain work all year around, while others meet physically in between biannuals.

Students have a DM once a month. The student president gives out an agenda a week before and chairs the meetings. The student secretary writes minutes which are then accessible after the meeting for all student representatives.

Through the network we share our collective best practices in being relevant, socially inclusive and diverse institutions.

The aim of the network is for universities to learn from each other and create exciting new projects together. The network is dedicated to provide their students with a voice, and has addressed the importance of actively involving students in the work within the network.

2. History of Aurora

The University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK, and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) jointly took the initiative to set up a new network of engaged research universities. Both universities are within the world top 80 field- and subject normalised citation scores; both had refrained from entering one of the existing international networks or associations of universities; both felt that the time had come to become more internationally engaged in a platform of mutually learning universities.

Purpose

The principal aim of the network is to provide reciprocal and mutual learning for the participating universities, as well as a platform for fruitful cooperation. Mutual learning is in terms of strategy & leadership, planning, implementation and management of the core processes in education, research and service to society. In order to make this cooperation effective, not only faculty leaders will actively take part in the network; also supporting staff and students.

The secondary aim is to aggregate the influence and power of the partners so as to have significance at a European level and hence allow the participants to shape and drive the policy agenda at an international level.

Membership

The universities that are members, or strive to be, need to fulfill these following characteristics: 1. High levels of trust. It is essential that network partners are able to share information between each other without the fear that the information will leak back into their domestic environments, which in most countries is increasingly cut-throat. Consequently, only one university per HE system (ie one English, one Dutch, one Norwegian etc.) can participate. 2. High reserach intensity. Intensity measures not the size of an institution but how much important research is performed given the size of the institution. High research intensity not only allows easier collaboration with international equals, but it also allows the network to build influence and respect. a. Members should belong to the global top 200 (minimally top 250) in terms of the Times Higher World Rankings citations score rank. 3. Inclusiveness. The ability of citizens to access higher education is high on the political agenda of most countries. The network is committed to focus

on access and quality to higher education, especially by focusing on educating students from families that have not previously sent students to higher education. 4. Potential for co-created research. Enchanced research collaboration may become an important side benefit of the network.

Other preferred characteristics of network members: ● A strong emphasis on societal impact, i.e. with public, non-profit, or not for profit status. ● A strong emphasis on inter-/multi-/transdisciplinary research. ● A positive and active attitude towards diversity in all aspects (gender, cultural, societal and religious background), in addition to the special attention for ‘first generation´ students. ● Willingness to also include students in the activities of the network.

Network activities

The key activities for the network as a whole:

● Joint activities to organize mutual learning. ● Specific initiatives to learn from each other’s policies, practices and challenges in the domain of inclusive education. ● Specific activities to disseminate best practices in inclusive education beyond the confines of the network. ● Biannual meetings for faculty, supporting staff and students, to exchange experiences and views of issues of strategy development & implementation, governance, and organisational culture & change. ○ These biannual meetings may also be used to identify topics for mutual learning at the level of key support functions.

Future

As the network was founded in 2016, it’s still quite new. From the start, it hasn’t been precluded that the network can grow in various ways which would mean the activities and purpose could change. It will be for the network to decide its own constitution, rules and modi vivendi.

3.Structure

General council

Aurora has a general council which consists of the rectors/presidents of the Aurora universities - or their formal representatives. The Aurora students president also has a seat there. The council meets twice a year. General Council is the highest Aurora body.

Board

Aurora has a Board of three rectors/presidents, which is charged with the day-to-day management of the association. The board is the executive body of the network, responsible for its day to day management. The current board composition formally is: i. UEA president David Richardson, president ii. UGA president Patrick Lévy, member iii. U Iceland rector Jón Atli Benediktsson, member

The Aurora student president has a standing invitation to participate in Board meetings.

Institutional coordinators

Each university has an institutional coordinator who monitors the Aurora activities in their own institution as well as in the network. They actively support their respective president and are therefore practically responsible for much of the general day-to-day execution and oversight of the network’s affairs.

Communication officers

Aurora has a dedicated communications officer at each university, who also form the Aurora communications group.

Aurora office

The Aurora office supports the staff of the Aurora Network, and are responsible for logistical, organizational, and coordinating tasks related to the network. The network is supported by a small central office in Amsterdam which consists of 3 part time collaborators:

i. Kees Kouwenaar is the head of the office ii. Joke Verwers is the office manager iii. Ilyes Machkor is a part time communication officer

4. Working groups / thematic and project groups

It was clear from the start that the presidents/rectors of the universities wanted Aurora to be really active, not just with meetings but with actual work. The General Council has expressed the need for Aurora to maintain a clear focus. The member universities have identified four key priority themes to this end: 1. Diversity & Inclusion 2. Societal Impact & Relevance of Research 3. Student Engagement 4. Innovation of Teaching & Learning

Two other themes of broader scope have been active since before the official launch of Aurora in October 2016: Internationalisation and S ustainability.

Sustainability - or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) - is quickly evolving into an important perspective of higher education and research in Europe and glbally. It is also an excellent example of the core of Aurora = matching academic excellence with societal relevance.

As Aurora is maturing, concrete project initiatives have been developed within the key projects themes and Internationalisation and Sustainability as well as beyond these broad thematic areas on more specific subjects.

In addition, there are still also less developed areas of activity, where those involved are still in a more formative phase.

Purpose

The overall purpose of the working groups/projects is to bring the relevant key persons on one theme or specific projects from the network universities together to identify specific areas where we can cooperate in a way that make individual universities better and increase and articulate the value of the network.

Here you can find a overview from June 2018 of all the projects, and what work has been done in the groups so far.

Students are active participants in all active workgroups.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Aurora workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion aims to: ● Create equal opportunities for our staff and students; ● Create a working and learning environment at our universities in which different perspectives are explivitly valued; ● Capitalize on the ability to generate creativitiy from different perspectives both in teaching and in education.

Overview of thematic activities within Diversity & Inclusion: ● Diversity award ● Inclusive Internationalisation ● Structured mobility ● Improved student exchange agreements ● Gendersense ● Refugees ● ePortfolio Intercultural competence

Societal impact and relevance of research (SIRR)

The overall purpose for this workgroup is to learn from and with each other in order to reach the highest possible levels of achievement in Societal Impact & Relevance at the Aurora member universities and to show SIRR as a distinctive characeristic of the Aurora network.

Overview of thematic activities within within SIRR: ● SDG analysis ● Aurora Benchmark on Research quality ● Open Data Indicators ● Research data management ● Societal impact: good practices and pathways

Students’ engagement

Student engagement is a broad concept, which may cover i.a.: ● Ideas initiated by the student representatives in Aurora for joint Aurora activities ● Views of student representatives on the overall vision & mission, strategy, and activities of Aurora ● Active participation in the various thematic and project groups by students witha particular engagement with that topic

Specific a ctive projects within Students’ engagement: ● Aurora Open Educational Resources Portal ● Joint Sports Event ● Summerschool

Innovation of teaching and learning (ITL)

The aim of this workgroup is twofold: 1. Exchange innovations in pedagogy and tools amongst the partners and to implement promising ones in each of our programs: 2. Develop shared resources and develop joint educational modules on important thematic themes of the Aurora network.

Overview of thematic activities within within ITL: ● e-Assessment tools & practices ● Open Educational Resources ● Positive teaching culture & teaching quality standard ● Blended learning design and research ● Health edcation ● Aurora Lecture series

Student participation

Each student representative picks out a working group at the beginning of their term. At the biannuals, the working groups come together and the student representative is responsible for their working group, as well as writing a summary after the biannual.

The chair of each working group is responsible for providing students in the group with information and to keep participation active throughout the year. However, the Student Council decided at the biannual in Essen, May 2018, that each student representative would be responsible for filling out a summary after each working session at biannuals. That way there would be some information for the Student Council, and new students at the group, available from us and it is a way to ensure continuity within the council.

Students’ participation is important in these groups. It ensures that students’ voices are heard throughout the network.

5.Student involvement

History of the Aurora Student Council

For Aurora’s founding biannual in October 2016, it was decided that it was imperative for the network to also have students come together and form a vision on what the network should work towards. During this student workgroup, students decided on an overarching student vision, as well as the need to form a structural group: the Aurora Student Council (ASC), led by a student president. A VU Amsterdam student, Martijn Goosensen, was elected to be the inaugural holder of this position. Since then, students have worked on their aforementioned priorities, optimizing their representational structure within the network (leading to their president being on the general council and the board), and ensuring the network continues a student focus.

The Student Council is Aurora’s student representation within the network which ensures that students can get the most out of the network. The council represents all Aurora student’s, around 230.000 in total, and decides and executes Aurora student priorities.

Each university has two student representatives, so all in all the council consists 18 representatives. It varies between universities how these student representatives are elected, and their terms vary as well.

The student representation consists of three pointers: 1. To r epresent Aurora’s students and ensure the network’s student focus 2. To c ooperate on conceiving and executing student initiatives 3. To e xchange experiences to improve university student representation

Positions within the Aurora Student Council

Aurora Student President The President leads and represents the Aurora Student Council. They have a seat on the General Council and the Board within the network. The President chairs Aurora Student Council meetings and determines their time, place and agenda. The President appoints Vice Presidents, Secretaries, and other functionaries.

Vice President A Vice President assists the President and replaces them if absent. They also carry out additional responsibilites if so assigned.

Secretary A Secretary handles the ASC’s administrative and logistical affairs. They can be assigned responsibility over specific ASC functions. A Secretary organizes digital meetings and makes meeting minutes.

Editor An Editor oversees communications for the ASC, including social media and increasing the visibility for the ASC. They take the lead on creating a newsletter for the ASC which could be sent out biannually.

Statute of the Aurora Student Representation

The first version of the Statute was entered into effect on 10/11/2017 at Norwich biannual. Aurora Student Council members can propose specific changes to the statute, in which case these changes are coted on during an ASC meeting. You can find the statute h ere.

Student Representatives

The students have couple of platforms where our work is done i. The Google Drive 1. On our drive are all our important documents, the agenda for each digital meeting and for our meetings at the summits. Also there is the council roaster, with information on each student representative. 2. An important file on the Drive is the Council Roaster, where each student representative is responsible for updating their information over their term. Here y ou can find the Roaster. ii. Slack 1. We have a Slack channel where most of our communication and information will be posted on. 2. Here y ou can find a tutorial on Slack 3. New student representatives need to send the current Student President their email to get an invitation to our Slack Channel iii. Facebook 1. We have a F acebook group as well as a Facebook chat.

2. We use that platform for quick contact and conversation. 3. We also have a Facebook page.

How to prepare for a biannual

Twice a year, academics, leaders and administrators from Aurora universities meet at one of the member universities' campuses.

The bi-annual Aurora gatherings usually consist of:

● A number of parallel thematic workshops, both of the key priorities of the Aurora Network and on other themes that are interesting to all, most or some of the academics/ administrators concerned in the Aurora Network partner universities. ○ Students participate in these working groups. ● The Presidents’ meeting, which is the formal general council meeting of the Aurora Network association. ● A plenary meeting at which the various working groups report on their progress, plans and aspirations and at which the strategic development of the Aurora Network of engaged research universities takes shape. ● Student work meeting: this is our time to have a meeting in person, which only happens twice a year! The president of the student council oversees the agenda. If student representatives are interested in bringing up a certain topic, they can contact the president. ● Student’s activities: sightseeing, going out for a dinner together, and everything that’s nice.

Student representative need to keep following things in mind for biannuals:

● Keep in mind that students often have a “students day” before the official program of the biannual begins. That means that arriving early to the biannual is key. ● The biannuals are often around 2 days for formal activities. ● Before the biannual, a program will be published on the Aurora webpage, with all important information.