Aurora needs the support of the sector to deliver the full experience and opportunity to participants. The role of institutions will be to build upon the broad programme and networking experience of the Aurora delivery days with local support via mentors, role models and an ‘Aurora champion’.
Aurora addresses core areas associated with leadership success:
• Understanding organisations and the sector
• Developing leadership behaviours, skills and knowledge
• Identifying and overcoming barriers and obstacles
• Growing confidence and a leadership identity
• Building networks, coalitions and support processes
Aurora will address these areas by using a combination of development days (four, at approximately monthly intervals); self-directed learning that follows the interests, needs and time constraints of participants; two action learning sets and in-house mentoring.
Schemes such as Aurora are hugely important in enabling women to explore their leadership aspirations and abilities in a supportive environment, and to develop their leadership potential. Many of our former participants have found the “cohort” nature of the scheme, the shared learning and the mentoring it provides invaluable."Professor Jane Norman, Aurora champion Professor of maternal and fetal health and Vice-Principal (people and culture), University of Edinburgh
Benefits of Aurora
For the individual
Aurora will provide:
• An introduction to leadership in higher education
• An opportunity to identify and build a leadership identity
• Thought-provoking and challenging materials and activities
• An experience of collaborative problem solving processes
• A network of early career women from across the sector
• Motivating stories
• Inspirational women role models
• An in-house mentor for on-going support and guidance
• A positive view of leadership as a route to career progression
• Access to the Aurora on-line community
Aurora 2019-20
Aurora runs in a number of locations across the UK and Ireland and consists of six interlinked days.
To find a cohort search "Aurora" in our calendar.
For the institution
Aurora will provide:
• Early career women with a growing interest in leadership roles
• Experienced role models and mentors who can others in house
• A regional network of women to offer support and guidance to the Aurora participants
• A pool of potential female applicants for promoted posts
• An understanding of issues and barriers faced by this key group of staff