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Aurora

Aurora – Women’s Leadership Development Programme

Aurora is a women-only leadership development programme provided by Advance HE. It is a unique partnership initiative bringing together leadership experts and higher education institutions to take positive action to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the sector. University of Galway provide internal funding each year for a number of employees to attend the programme.

University of Galway’s Aurora programme is targeted at women in academic, support and research roles in the University – from Postdoctoral up to and including Administrative Officer roles and Lecturer grades - in order to enable leadership potential and provide an opportunity for growth and development.

Information Session about the Aurora Programme for the 2024/25 academic year (15th Aug 2024)

The programme provides, in a social learning environment, core and adaptive leadership skills and knowledge over six interlinked days: four development days and two action learning set days. Participants are encouraged to access and use the online self-directed resources available to them. Led by a team of four leadership experts, participants will explore four key areas associated with leadership success: Identity, Impact and Voice; Power and Politics; Core Leadership Skills; Adaptive Leadership Skills. This is complemented by networking, role models, and guest speakers at each event. Further, on-going support is ensured through the online resources and institutional level support including mentoring and institutional Aurora Champions. Participants should have the endorsement of their institution and be committed to developing and enhancing their career.

For the individual participant, Aurora provides:

For the institution, Aurora provides:

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
Inspirational stories
Successful female 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

Early career women with a growing interest in leadership roles
Experienced role models and mentors who can support others in-house
A regional network of women to offer support and guidance to the Aurora participants
A pool of potential female applicants for promotional posts
An understanding of issues and barriers faced by this key group of staff

Aurora 2024/25

The call for 2024/25 programme was issued August 7th 2024. The deadline for applications is September 4th.

Title	Date	Delivery	Time	Requirement
University of Galway Welcome Event	2 October 24	In Person- Bizz Hub, Cairnes	11.00-12.30	Optional
Introduction	11 October 24	Online-Zoom	10.00-12.30	Mandatory
Identity, Impact, Voice	18 October 24	Online-Zoom	10.00-15.00	Mandatory
Coffee Morning	29 October 24	In Person- Moffetts	11.00- 12.00	Optional
Core Leadership	8 November 24	Online-Zoom	10.00-15.00	Mandatory
Action Learning Set 1	29 November 24	Online-Zoom	10.00-15.00	Mandatory
Coffee Morning	26 November 24	In Person- Moffetts	10.00- 11.00	Optional
Politics & Influence	12 December 24	Online-Zoom	10.00-15.00	Mandatory
Adaptive Leadership	22 January 25	Online-Zoom	10.00-15.00	Mandatory
Coffee Morning	23 January 24	In Person- Moffetts	14.00- 15.00	Optional
Your Future in Higher Education	14 February 25	Dublin	9.30- 16.00	Mandatory
Action Learning Set 2	6 March 25	Delegates Self-Host	10.00-15.00	Mandatory

Who can apply?

Female academics up to and including Senior Lecturer level or equivalent, female administrative and technical staff up to comparable administrative grades(i.e. AO, STO), and female research staff may apply. Applicants should be ambitious for a career in the sector and interested in exploring leadership and management as an option for progression.

Cost

Aurora funding is a collaborative initiative between the Office of the VP for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the Offices of the Deputy-President and Registrar, COO and VP for Research. The programme fee for participants will be jointly funded by the aforementioned offices. Travel costs are to be borne by the individual’s school or unit.

Application process

The programme opens for applications in August each year. The OVPEDI will communicate the call for applications to all staff, including an application form. Applicants will be asked to submit a personal statement of no more than 800 words, indicating why they are interested in the programme and what they want to achieve from the programme. Specifically, applicants need to address the following questions in their application:

What development needs and/or leadership challenges are you experiencing in your current role?
How do you perceive Aurora would support you in addressing these needs/challenges?
What outcomes do you expect to achieve from your engagement with the Aurora programme?
Give an example of when you showed leadership within your area of work and describe the impact and outcome of the initiative.
If applicable, give an example of where you showed leadership outside your direct area work in the University.

Applications will be scored out of a total of 100 marks (20 marks per question) and ranked.

Selection of Participants

To provide for equality of opportunity and transparent selection of participants, a sub-committee will assess the applications and select the successful participants based on the personal statements submitted.

Applicants must be available to attend the workshops on all specified dates, including any internal workshops that may be offered to participants to enhance their experience of Aurora.