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Aurora - Leadership Development for Women

Aurora is a women-only leadership development initiative facilitated by Advance HE. It aims to encourage women in higher education to think of themselves as leaders and to develop leadership skills. If you are starting to think of moving into a leadership role the programme offers an ideal opportunity for development. Some previous managerial experience would be beneficial but is not essential.

 

To apply, you should be in a role up to and including Associate Professor or Professional and Managerial Grade 8.

 

This programme will enable you to:

 

Learn - Tools, techniques and strategies from a team of leadership experts, guest speakers & online resources

Develop - Leadership skills through experiential processes, reflection and conversations

Network - Meet delegates through five live online development days with interactive breakout sessions and two action learning set meetings

Connect - With a UK wide network and niche groups through a members only group

Grow - Supported by a mentor within UoR.

 

For more detail on the programme content, visits Advance HE’s About Aurora Webpage.

 

Aurora is made up of a mix of development days, action learning sets and online resources, and includes mentoring by a senior member of University staff. While most sessions are run online, there are some opportunities to meet with your cohort in person, travel costs for this are to be agreed and covered by your school or department budget.

 

It is important that as part of the programme, you are able to attend all sessions. You can find the dates, times and locations of the cohorts in the Aurora Cohort Guide.

 

In addition to the cohort dates, we will host a celebration event for all participants, their manager and their sponsor. You must ensure that you are also available for this, as well as your chosen cohort dates.

 

The University sponsors a number of places on the programme and  applications are reviewed by a panel to decide which applicants will be given a place, and the decision of its members is final. 

 

Please note, it is not open to individuals to apply direct to Advance HE for a place, delegates must be sponsored by the University centrally.

 

As part of your application, you and your line manager will each need to prepare a supporting statement.

 

Applicant’s Statement –

 

This should be a short statement of no more than 300 words covering: 

  • What skills and knowledge you hope to gain by attending the programme.

  • Your leadership aspirations for the future and how you believe the content of this programme will help you to achieve them, making reference to the programme content in your response.

  • How you will apply your learning from the programme.

 

Line Manager Statement – 

 

This should also be a short statement of no more than 200 words covering: 

  • The applicant’s level of commitment to taking part in Aurora

  • How the applicant will benefit from the programme

  • How the programme aligns with their strengths and development needs

  • How you will support the applicant during the programme and with applying the leadership skills that they are developing on Aurora back at work.

 

Applications for this year's cohort are now closed and will reopen in Summer 2025.