
Aurora is higher education's most renowned leadership development initiative for women. Run as a collaboration between Advance HE in conjunction with higher education institutions and advocates - known as Aurora Champions - it addresses the under-representation of women in leadership positions. Aurora is a leadership ignition journey, inspiring women to aspire and achieve leadership positions within higher education.
Launched in 2013, Aurora has grown year on year and is now a community of over 10,000 Aurorans. Led by a team of leadership experts and in conjunction with a mentoring process, participants will explore four key areas associated with leadership success: Identity, Impact & Voice; Core Leadership; Politics & Influence and Adaptive Leadership Skills with two Action Learning Sets, a face-to-face day - Your Future in HE - and optional Networking sessions.
Development Days and Action Learning Sets
Welcome and Introduction
Identity, Impact and Voice
Core Leadership
Action Learning Set 1
Politics and Influence
Adaptive Leadership Skills
Action Learning Set 2
Mentoring

Your Future in HE Event (Face-to-Face)
Your Future in HE
The day will begin with a panel of expert speakers discussing ‘The Future of HE’ before answering your questions. Delegates will then explore the topic further in smaller groups, sharing experiences and aspirations, examining the challenges women face as leaders and identifying the practical steps that can be taken to achieve their goals.
Throughout the day, we will revisit the four key areas associated with leadership success and delivered by Aurora:
- Identity, Impact & Voice
- Core Leadership
- Politics & Influence
- Adaptive Leadership Skills
Networking
To help Aurorans to network across all cohorts, we have curated a range of 1.5-hour online optional informal networking events hosted throughout all cohorts, by facilitator, Claire Burgess. The sessions involve collectively watching a Ted Talk, followed by discussion in smaller rooms to share insights and themes. These sessions are designed to supplement participants' learning journey, as well as facilitating the discussion of more informal topics including:
- Wellbeing and Resilience
- Life Transitions: Career Breaks, Maternity and Menopause
- Challenging Attitudes, Opinions and Situations
- Mindfulness in Women’s Leadership
- Developing Confidence for Influence
- Developing Confidence for Influence
How to book onto Aurora
Aurora Champions or those looking to become Aurora Champions should contact our support team at aurora@advance-he.ac.uk to make enquiries. Details of how to book onto Aurora will be shared directly with Aurora Champions via their email newsletter.