Since its launch in 2013 more than 10,000 women from nearly 200 different institutions across the UK and the Republic of Ireland have participated in Aurora.

With a number of cohorts running regionally online, the Aurora is a mix of development days and action learning sets. Participants are also supported by mentors from their institution.

All bookings on Aurora must be made through or with the permission of your institutions Aurora Champion. You can find your institution's champion through our Aurora champion directory.

This makes it easy for you to share and celebrate your achievements by adding them to your email signature or including them in your social profiles including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Your learning certificates can also be easily verified and downloaded as a pdf.

For 2024-25 there will be 4 cohorts of Becoming an Aurora Mentor workshops, each consisting of two half-day virtual workshops. We are now also able to provide an in-house mentoring Aurora.

Led by a team of leadership experts, participants will explore four key areas associated with leadership success: Identity, Impact & Voice, Core Leadership, Politics & Influence and Adaptive Leadership Skills. This is in addition to an action learning set.

Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell explains how the programme is supporting the institution’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) efforts and creating a cohort of women leaders who are more confident, better connected and more satisfied in their roles.

Institutions are responsible for coordinating Aurora within their organisation, helping to provide mentors for their participants and supporting participants to attend all of the development days and their action learning sets. In each institution, Aurora is led by an Aurora champion.

For much of our portfolio for 2024-25 the learning of event attendees and Aurora participants and conference, symposia and colloquia presenters will be digitally recognised.

Core UK and IE, Alumnae Community and WorkshopsCommunications have been sent directly to Champions registered on our mailing list. If you are looking to participate in Aurora, please contact your Aurora Champion by visiting the Aurora Champion Directory.

Aurora Women’s Leadership is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Since it was launched in 2013, more than 10,000 women from nearly 200 different institutions across the UK and the Ireland have completed it – all gaining new skills, bigger networks and fresh perspectives on leadership. To mark this special milestone, women who have taken part in Aurora since its very earliest days share their stories and institutions outline the role it plays in their gender equality work.

Aurora is for women, up to senior lecturer level or the professional services equivalent, working in a university, college or related organisation who would like to develop and explore issues relating to leadership roles and responsibilities. Participants should have the endorsement of their institution (either their Aurora Champion, Human Resource department or line manager) and be committed to developing and enhancing their career.

Our five-year longitudinal study of Aurora participants tracks the careers and aspirations of women working in higher education.

©Advance HE 2020. Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales no. 04931031 | Company limited by guarantee registered in Ireland no. 703150 | Registered charity, England and Wales 1101607 | Registered charity, Scotland SC043946 | VAT Registered number GB 152 1219 50. Registered UK Address: Advance HE, Innovation Way, York Science Park, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR, United Kingdom | Registered Ireland Address: Advance HE, First Floor, Penrose 1, Penrose Dock, Cork, T23 Kw81, Ireland.

Advance HE’s Aurora women’s leadership programme is a key part of the University of Sunderland’s strategy to create a ‘pipeline’ of women leaders.