Spring Aurora Biannual 20th - 21st May 2021 Hosted By On May 20th and 21st, Aurora will hold its 10th Biannual Meeting proudly organised by the University of Iceland. This Online Biannual will be a unique and exciting event where Aurora academics, students, university leaders and administrators will come together to continue ongoing work, meet new colleagues, celebrate existing friendships and reflect on the future of our ambitious cooperation! The Biannual programme features addresses from Adrienn Király from the European Commission, Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Education, Science and Culture of Iceland, Jón Atli Benediktsson, rector of the University of Iceland and President of the Aurora Universities Network and Mirjam van Praag, President of the Executive Board at the VU and President of the Aurora European Universities Alliance. Over the two days we will also have a mix of open informative sessions, perfect for those that are not yet involved in the work of Aurora but eager to learn more, and closed working sessions for colleagues that are working hard to deliver on our various ambitious projects. The Biannual will also give us a chance to reflect on the changing landscape in higher education, in particular in a panel discussion featuring Prof. Paul Boyle, the vice-chancellor of Swansea University, UK and EUA Vice- President, Prof. Yassine Lakhnech, president of the University of Grenoble Alpes, and Emily Reise, member of the Student Council of the University of Iceland and Aurora Student Council Secretary. Aurora also welcomes President Joan Gabel of the University of Minnesota as a guest of honour. President Gabel will take part in the “Sustainability” session and share her views on the topic. Registration & Virtual venue The virtual conference platform will allow us to switch between formal sessions and meeting informally and casually as we see each other passing by the Aurora Biannual lounges. You will also be able to visit our information desks on floor 10 Join us by registering through this link and indicate which sessions you will attend! Your registration will need to be confirmed by the Aurora institutional coordinator in your University. Once your registration is confirmed, you will receive information on how to log on to the virtual conference platform and instructions on how to navigate it. Once on the platform, if you have any questions or experience difficulties you may ask Maria José Montana Correa who will be present on the ground floor lobby. We look forward to seeing you there! Biannual information 01 20 09:00 Sign in, Mingle, May Info-desk 2021 Open sessions Closed sessions 10:00 11:45 Opening plenary Parallel sessions Future of academic collaboration between The following parallel sessions British and other European universities are scheduled to take place: following Brexit IT-services (3.3.3) in Parallel Session A Breaks A plenary session featuring Adrienn Király from in Lounge rooms the European Commission and panel discussion OER (3.3.4) in Parallel on the future of academic collaboration between Session B British and other European universities following 11:15 Brexit with Prof. Paul Boyle, the vice-chancellor CDS (4.4) in Parallel Coffee Break of Swansea University, UK and EUA Vice- Session C President, Prof. Yassine Lakhnech, President of Université Grenoble Alpes and Emily Reise Aurora SDG Research Dashboard student representative. John Style, Vice-Rector (5.1) in Parallel Session D International of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili will 13:00 moderate the discussion. Vice Rectors Research in Lunch Break Parallel Session E 15:45 Reports & Reflections Aurora Competence Framework (3.1.1) in Parallel 15:15 The afternoon features four broad parallel sessions, Session F Coffee Break each covering one of the more overarching Aurora themes. Aurora welcomes president Joan Gabel 11:45 - 14:30 of the University of Minnesota as a guest of honour. President Gabel will take part in the “Sustainability” Presidents’ Strategy session and share her views on the topic. Sessions 17:00 Coffee Break • Aurora & Education, moderated by Neil Ward in President’s Room and Barbara Buchenau • Aurora & Stakeholders, moderated by John 14:00 Style and David Kosina • Aurora & Academics, moderated by Karen van Parallel sessions Oudenhoven • Aurora & Sustainability, moderated by Susana International Internships (3.1.2) in Borras Parallel Session A 17:30 Culture (3.4.4) in Parallel Session B Reception Academic collaboration (4.2) in Parallel Session C Opening words by Jón Atli Benediktsson, Aurora Network President. Addresses by Lilja SDG Research Dashboard (5.1) in Alfredsdottir, Icelandic Minister of Education, Parallel Session D Science & Culture and Mirjam van Praag, Aurora Alliance President. Vice Rectors Education in Parallel Session F Ari Eldjárn, Icelandic stand-up comedian, writer and actor will perform. Eldjárn has a long Social Entrepreneurship & successful career in Iceland as a comedian and innovation (4.3) in Parallel Session G is best known internationally for his Netflix show Pardon My Icelandic. Spring Biannual Program *Times are displayed in CEST 02 21 May 2021 09:00 Sign in, Mingle, Info-desk Open sessions Closed sessions Breaks in Lounge rooms 10:00 10:00 Aurora Network 11:15 Parallel Dissemination Sessions Coffee Break Council Quality Management (closed working in President’s Room session) in Parallel Session A 11:45 13:00 Aurora Competence Framework (3.1.1) in Lunch Break Parallel Session B Parallel sessions International Service-Learning (3.1.3) in Alliance Board of Parallel Session C Presidents in President’s Room Turing seminar (3.3.1) in Parallel Session D Coordination (3.1) in Parallel Sustainability & Dissemination (6.1 & Session A 6.2) in Parallel Session E Social Transformation (3.2) Aurora Student Champions Scheme in in Parallel Session B Parallel Session F Pilot Sustainability (3.4.1 & 14:00 5.2.2) in Parallel Session C Plenary Wrap-up Sustainability pioneers (5) The plenary wrap-up aims to present reports in Parallel Session E from Education, Stakeholders, Academics, & Sustainability. The students will relay their Pilot Domain Digital Society summary of the biannual activities. & Global Citizenship (3.4.2) in Parallel Session E The plenary is taking place in the Plenary room. Spring Biannual Program *Times are displayed in CEST 03 Biography Speakers Lilja Alfredsdottir - Minister of Education, Science and Culture of Ice- land Lilja Alfredsdottir is Iceland‘s Minister of Education, Science and Culture and former Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade. Ms. Alfredsdottir is also a member of Parliament. Before her participation in politics, Ms. Alfredsdottir served as Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Iceland’s General Secretariat and International Affairs Department. Since her graduation from Columbia University, Ms. Alfredsdottir, has been a central banker, apart from temporary secondments to Iceland’s Prime Minister’s Office as a Special Liaison and previously, to the International Monetary Fund’s Nordic-Baltic Executive Office as an Advisor. Ms. Alfredsdottir holds a master’s degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University and received a Fulbright grant during her studies. She holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Iceland. She also studied at the University of Minnesota and Ewha University in Seoul. Ms. Alfredsdottir has written numerous articles on economic and educational affairs in Icelandic papers and international journals. In additions, Ms. Alfredsdottir has held presentations on economic affairs in the United States and Europe. Jón Atli Benediktsson - Rector of the University of Iceland and Presi- dent of the Aurora Universities Network Professor Jón Atli Benediktsson became President of the Governing Council and Rector of the University of Iceland 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. from Purdue University, USA in 1990. His research is in the areas of remote sensing, image analysis, signal processing and biomedical engineering and he has published over 300 papers and book chapters in his field. Professor Benediktsson has been a member of the Science and Technology Policy Council of Iceland since 2012. He 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. 04 Mirjam van Praag - President of the Executive Board Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Mirjam van Praag was appointed President of the Executive Board at the VU on March 1st 2018. After having worked at Procter & Gamble, Intomart and The Boston Consulting Group, Van Praag committed herself to a career in science in 1998. She held successive positions at the University of Amsterdam, first as Associate Professor in Organizational Economics and later as Professor in Entrepreneurship and Organization. In 2014, Van Praag took on the position of Professor in Entrepreneurship at the Copenhagen Business School. In addition to her professorship, she has held a range of various ancillary positions. Van Praag was a crown member of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (2010 – 2018), and has served on various advisory boards and academic networks,