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Congratulations to our 2024 Aurorans!

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Celebrating excellence
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In September, the University of Leeds celebrated 114 colleagues from across the University who completed the Aurora Women’s Leadership Development Programme in 2024.

The event was a joyful celebration of the achievements of our Aurora participants in 2024 and provided an opportunity for networking and to hear from a series of guest speakers.

Participants heard from 2023 Auroran Dr Charity Brown, Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, who gave a talk about “Reflecting on Aurora, one year on”. Charity spoke about how Aurora has enabled her to think more broadly about her career and professional identity, discovering the concept of a ‘portfolio career’, and being open to a wider range of opportunities. Charity also reflected on letting go of perfection, embracing failure, and protecting time to think.

Additionally, Audrey Linton, Programme Director Aurora (International and Alumnae) from Advance HE, gave an overview of the ongoing development and networking opportunities available to Aurorans through the Aurora Community. The community is designed for women who have completed Aurora, offering a platform for ongoing growth and collaboration. It consists of 10,000 women from nearly 200 institutions across the UK and Ireland.

Aurorans also continue their development and connect with peers through the University’s Aurora Alumnae Network, which was launched in January 2024 by Organisational Development and Professional Learning (OD&PL), supported by Women at Leeds Network.

Emma Sykes, Digital Education Systems Officer and one of this year’s Aurorans, has documented her Aurora journey in a series of blog posts. Emma said:

“The Aurora Programme was the perfect opportunity to reflect not only on my own career, but also on the whole notion of leadership and what that means.

“As a result, I am more confident in my personal approach to work and career, and happier to consider myself a leader, despite not holding a formal leadership role.

“Investing my time and focus on Aurora during the programme was so valuable, and having the opportunity to connect with Aurorans from across the University and the UK was a really affirming experience.”

Maria Stopyra, Organisational Learning Partner in OD&PL and Aurora Champion, said:

“I’m thrilled to celebrate with our Aurorans on completing this year’s programme and hearing everyone’s story.

“People come out of Aurora more confident in their ideas, and in their ability to advocate for themselves and others. We gain so much as individuals and as a University by unlocking that potential, and I continue to see that realised through the Aurora Alumnae Network.

“Congratulations to all our 2024 Aurorans on completing the programme!”

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