Education for Societal Impact- Global Citizenship
The Aurora Universities Network brings together nine universities across Europe to make higher education more connected to society. Their shared mission is to help students gain knowledge, develop the skills and attitude needed to address real-world challenges such as climate change, global health, and digital transformation. Aurora has a strong focus on learning by doing, close cooperation with local communities, and combining knowledge from many fields (interdisciplinary collaboration). Aurora works not only with European university partners but also with societal organizations and associate partners beyond Europe, including institutions in the Global South and Karazin University in Kharkiv Ukraine. They are actively involved in many of our work packages.
Aurora collaborates through Educational Hubs which bring universities together around shared themes as sustainability, health and wellbeing, culture and identity, peace education and digital society. Within these hubs, universities co-design courses and programmes. This gives students access to knowledge and teaching from across Europe. It also helps teachers and researchers learn from one another and strengthen their work. The Peace Education Hub, focused on peace, justice, and inclusive societies, is a strong example. Here, students and partners explore how universities can contribute to conflict understanding, dialogue, and social cohesion, by working closely with communities and organizations. Activities in this hub consistently leave a deep impression on our students, motivating them to engage actively and contribute meaningfully.
A key element of Aurora is the Laboratories of Change: hands-on learning programmes where students work on real societal problems. Instead of studying theory alone, students test ideas, build solutions, and collaborate with local partners such as municipalities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and citizen groups. Teams are intentionally interdisciplinary, helping students see problems from multiple perspectives and understand how different issues are interconnected. These labs embody Aurora’s commitment to experiential learning and societal impact.
“In the end, I left the Aurora Peace conference in Innsbruck full of optimism and hope. The conference proved to me that people are actually capable of compassion and genuine efforts to understand one another. And that this could become the reality in many more places than just the one conference”
Community Service Learning programmes create meaningful collaboration between VU students, students from Aurora partner institutions, and a wide range of societal stakeholders to address complex metropolitan challenges. By working with diverse groups of stakeholders, across backgrounds, disciplines and perspectives, students discover how powerful joint action can be. The impact is not only visible – it is immediately felt. When students and community partners work side by side in real‑life situations, they see how their knowledge, creativity, and commitment translate into concrete change. These encounters deepen their understanding of societal issues and strengthen their motivation to contribute actively to their communities.
More info: https://aurora-universities.eu/
