On September 24, the second Aurora Capacity Development Training Event of this year was held in Kosice, Slovakia, titled “Diversity and Inclusion – Ways Forward in Fostering Inclusive and Enriching Practices and Policies at the Aurora Universities.”
The event gathered 65 participants, including senior management, academics, administrative staff and international and domestic students from Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJS). Representatives from South-West University “Neofit Rilski” also joined in person with their extended Aurora team.
Together, the participants engaged in an interesting and interactive training programme jointly designed and led by colleagues from UPOL, UPEC and VU with the UPJS local experts and students. Its main aim was to open a wider dialogue on fostering inclusive and enriching practices and policies at Aurora higher education institutions and in a broader societal context where universities act as role models.
The full-day event was opened by welcome words from Vice-rector Silvia Rucinska and an introduction to Aurora 2030 ambitions, CDP programme and Aurora values of Inclusion and Diversity by Dr. Selma Porobic and Dr. Oleksandr Khyzhniak. It was followed by positioning the diversity and inclusion topic within the UPJS context and sharing the UPJS’s perspective, presented by Vice-rector Silvia Rucinska, who also highlighted current achievements, challenges and opportunities for improvement at UPJS.
The full day programme proceeded with an opening expert panel discussion ‘Diversity and Inclusion at Aurora Universities – Trend or Transformation?’ that brought together senior leadership and academics of three Aurora universities including Ludmila Elbert (Vice-Rector for Education, (UPJS), Zelmira Macejova (Vice-Dean, Faculty of Medicine, UPJS), Jozef Benka (Vice-Dean, Faculty of Arts, UPJS), Pavlina Flajsarova (Vice-Dean, Faculty of Arts, UPOL), and Puneet Bindlish (Professor, Faculty of Religion and Theology, VU Amsterdam). They discussed both whose responsibility and how it is to foster more inclusive and equitable learning environments across our universities as well as highlighting both challenges and positive developments and practices from their home institutions.
It was followed by two interactive workshops for staff and students in the afternoon:
a student peer learning event ‘Student Peer Learning on Diversity and Intercultural Competencies’, led by Mathilde Chaumont (UPEC) and Simona Gibalova (UPJS), and an academic interactive session ‘Educational Practices and Mixed Classroom Approach for Academic Staff’ moderated by Pavlina Flajsarova (UPOL) and Ingrid Madárová (UPJS).
While the student peer learning workshop focused on developing intercultural competencies and sharing ideas on how to contribute towards a more diverse learning environment by improving personal attitudes and beliefs, the staff workshop focused on techniques for fostering inclusive educational practices in the classroom.
The eventful day concluded with a wrap-up session and follow-up initiatives as opportunities for new peer exchanges towards the joint efforts to further implement diverse and inclusive policies at Aurora universities.
Based on very fruitful exchanges in Kosice, Selma Porobic pointed out at least 5 ways in which universities can be more inclusive and promote equitable learning environments:
- Develop inclusive policies and procedures and make sure that decision-making supports the inclusion
- Provide further education, development and training to faculty and staff to enhance their inclusion and support in developing inclusive curricula and pedagogies
- Foster inclusive values as part of the campus culture with awareness-raising events, workshops, dedicated open days and various student activities (
- Ensure university resources in support of inclusion such as spaces, technology and infrastructure
As this event is a part of the CDP series aimed at strengthening the capacity for academic excellence and societal relevance of the Aurora associate partner universities by supporting them in establishing the regional hubs for sharing Aurora best practices, the main takeaway of all participants was that diversity and inclusion topic deserves much more attention and continuation through in-depth Aurora CDP events to follow in 2025.
The official website of the event for programme details, speakers and their contributions:
https://www.upjs.sk/en/information/international-relations/aurora-alliance/diversity-and-inclusion/
