Aurora Alliance: "Geopolitical and societal shifts have clarified our purpose" (V. Sexl, President)

"My ambition is to strengthen Aurora further as a vibrant, value-driven European university alliance. I want to foster community building, not just at the leadership level, but among students, researchers, and staff, because real innovation happens when we connect across roles and borders", declares Veronika Sexl, the new President of the alliance Aurora, in an interview with News Tank on 27/05/2025.

Veronika Sexl is the Rector of the University of Innsbruck (Austria) and assumed the role of President of Aurora on 01/05/2025. During the alliance's annual conference, taking place in Créteil (France) from 19 to 22/05/2025, she received the "torch" from her predecessor, Martin Procházka, as the presidency of Aurora changes every year.

She takes her new position as the international context surrounding universities and research organisations is tense: "Aurora’s core ambition, academic excellence with societal impact, is more urgent than ever. Geopolitical and societal shifts—climate change, war in Ukraine, threats to academic freedom—have not only influenced our activities; they’ve…