Aurora Women's Leadership

The first cohort of ambitious participants has now been selected

Date: 21 February 2019

Ten women from across London Metropolitan University, from both academic and professional roles, have been selected for the Aurora programme.

Organised by AdvanceHE, Aurora is a development programme that aims to inspire women in academic and professional roles to see themselves as leaders, enabling them to develop leadership skills, whilst also taking positive action in addressing the historic under-representation of women in leadership positions in the Higher Education sector.

The programme is designed for women in academic and professional roles who are keen to develop and explore issues relating to leadership roles and responsibilities.

Rosemary Benson, Professional Development Manager and Aurora alumna, said: “At London Met, we strive to provide ongoing support to allow our staff to be the best that they can be. Aurora is a personal development opportunity to grab with both hands, and to take advantage of all the networking opportunities that come with it. One lesson I learned from participating in the programme is to actively seek out ways to share your learning with others, to keep learning beyond the programme.

“It takes your breath away when you enter a room of 200 women! The energy in the room is incredible and you learn so much from the participants, the activities, the role models and the range of inspiring speakers.”

London Metropolitan University is pleased to fund up to ten places for the Aurora programme and, after a competitive application process, with supporting statements required from the applicants and their line managers, the Aurora participants for 2018/2019 have now been chosen:

  • Joanna Jenkins, Senior Lecturer Sports Therapy
  • Karen McNally, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader, in Film and TV Studies
  • Dr. Cecilia Oyugi, Academic Mentor, SCDM
  • Natalia Mulley, International Support and Compliance Manager
  • Mia Juritzen, Student Liaison Manager
  • Lara Bulut, Student Liaison Adviser
  • Zanda Pipira, Sustainability Assistant
  • Hina Kerai, HR Operations Manager
  • Ada Okechukwu, Estates Support Manager
  • Ka-Yan Cheung, Assistant Project Manager

From March until July, the cohort will take part in four workshops and an Action Learning Set, whilst also regularly attending meetings with their Aurora mentor.

The Aurora mentors are assigned from within London Met, meeting with their mentee 4-6 times in the year following the start of the programme. Opportunities also exist for Aurora Role Models - people who have already forged a leadership career in Higher Education. Here is more information on how to take part in the Aurora workshops as a Role Model, in London or across the UK.

London Met will be running the Aurora application process again in 2019/20.

Aurora logo