Earlier in the summer, colleagues from across the University came together to celebrate 10 years of the AdvanceHE Aurora Leadership Programme.
Over the past decade, this initiative has nurtured and empowered over 10,000 women across the Higher Education sector with their personal and professional development.
202 women from Durham have taken part in the Aurora Leadership Programme over its 10-year duration.
So to mark this landmark anniversary, Human Resources & Organisation Development (HROD) held a networking event to reunite past participants, share success stories, and build inspiration to continue making a positive difference across our University community.
June Hedley, Organisation Development Business Partner, manages Aurora in Durham. She said:
Working together, we have fostered an Auroran community that believes in the power of collaboration, diversity, and innovation – all qualities that are essential in today's ever-changing world.
“The celebration event gave us the chance to look back on our journey and thank everyone who has contributed to the programme's success, as well as welcome colleagues who are considering becoming an Auroran in the future.”
Over the years, the Aurora programme has gone from strength to strength at Durham. It provides the opportunity to develop compassionate leadership skills, and instils values of integrity, empathy and resilience in participants.
Aurora supports women and their institutions to fulfil their leadership potential through activities, problem-solving projects and motivational stories from inspirational female role models.
June continued: “As we celebrated this milestone anniversary, we also recognised the accomplishments of each Auroran. Every participant has been on their own individual journey and can point to success stories that inspire us to continue pushing the boundaries of excellence.”
As part of our work with the programme, dedicated Aurora Champions, Aurora Mentors and inspiring guest speakers have all played a pivotal role in shaping the experiences of our Aurorans. Participants have been guided towards becoming exceptional leaders, managers and respected colleagues in their area of work.
June continued:
None of this work would be possible without the support and belief of our participants. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been involved for their dedication and contribution to making the leadership programme a great success.
“During the next decade, we’ll continue to nurture our leaders, future leaders, managers and all colleagues by addressing emerging challenges, as well as offer leadership and individual development opportunities.”
The learning continues
As well as the Aurora Programme, there is a wide range of learning and development programmes that colleagues from across the University can benefit from.
You can find out more about leadership courses, including Aurora, on the Leadership Development Programmes intranet pages.
You can pick from a variety of other courses including topics such as building inclusive teams; preparing for competency-based interviews; and managing your energy, not your time. For more details, click onto individual development courses.
Of course, there are other short and more in-depth courses available for you to browse on Oracle. Just open the app, head to the Learning section and search the catalogue.