Author: Niels Hexspoor

UP Aurora Course Overview for 2022

For the upcoming Summer and Winter Semester Palacký University Olomouc welcomes Aurora students to participate in several of our courses. We have over 45 courses available, in various different fields.

The full overview of our available courses can be found here.

If you are interested in participating in one of these courses, you can use the following Registration Form. For more information on the courses or the registration procedure, feel free to contact Martina Baleková.

Course Code Course Title  Credits
KHI/HH History of Holocaust 5
KHI/EHM Economic history of the modern world 5
KHI/RFB The Rise and Fall of the British Empire 5
KHI/XDRNF Texts and Images in Early Modern Culture 3
JUD/PJL Prayer and Piety: Introduction to Jewish Liturgy 4
JUD/I6 Modern Hebrew for Advanced Students 2
KAA/APG2 Grammar in Use 2 3
ASK/19SKK Specifics of Korean Culture 4
KRS/DISPV Dialects and Languages in Spain 6
KRS/DLISV History of Spanish and Hispanoamerican Linguistics 6
KRS/IJLAV Indigenous Languages of Latin America 6
KRP/PK4 Portuguese Conversation 4 2
KFK/PTTPO Cognitive Theory 6
KBV/GINT2 General and Special Introduction NT (2) 4
KST/EMR Ethics of Marriage and Family 4
KST/PTTMT Actual Topics in Moral Theology 2
KUP / CSEC Constitutional Systems of European Countries 4
KFI/NTCP3 Embodied Cognitive Science 5
KPE/BPPS Problems of Post-Soviet World 5
KAA/AJC4 English Language 4 3
KAA/AJC5 English Language 5 3
KAA/BRL1 British Literature 1 (1800-1900) 4
KAA/BS2M British Studies 2: Modern Br. Society 4
KAA/BS3G British Studies 3: Cultural Geography 4
KBV/ITGOL The Gospel of Luke 2
 –  Czech for Beginners  –
KAE/SSE  Sustainable Social Enterprises 4
PCH/BIESP Introduction to Educational and School Psychology 4
 –  Summer School of Slavonic Languages   – 
KAJ/AJZ1@ Teaching English to Young Learners 1 2
KAJ/YBRL1 British Literature 1  5
KAJ/YCBRL Contemporary British Literature 5
KNJ/YLEX1 German Lexikologie 1/Lexicology 1 5
KAJ/DISK@ Teaching Language Skills 2

You can find out more about these courses and their syllabi by clicking here and looking up the course using the code or course title. 

 

COIL Virtual Partnering Fair – 17.02.2022

We all know that Virtual Exchange/COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) is a good opportunity to further internationalize our institutions. Within Aurora, we believe that there is still room for development. In this regard, the Universita Rovira I Virgili would like to invite you all to the first Aurora COIL Virtual Partnering Fair, set to take place on the 17th of February between 13:00 and 14:30 CET.

For academics looking for new COIL teaching partners, you are invited to fill in this form before the 10th of February so your information can be featured in the upcoming Aurora COIL Partnering Bulletin. The Fair is open to all academics, including all teaching staff members.

After registration, the event can be accessed through Zoom.  

Aurora COIL Virtual Partnering Fair

UP Aurora International Pub Quiz

On Friday the 18th of February, we will organize the first UP Aurora International Pub Quiz at 18:00 at the Kavarna na Cucky, at the Dolni Namesti

The quiz will test your knowledge of the Music, Culture and History of the countries of Aurora Members. So if you know everything about Italian Cuisine, Dutch Football and British Actors, or if you just want to have a nice evening, meet new people and practice your English, sign up now! 

The quiz is organized by our Aurora Students, and it is open for teams of 3 to 6 participants. 

It will also be a great opportunity to learn more about the possibilities to visit these countries as part of the Aurora program.  

Aurora Course Offerings at the University of Innsbruck

Through Aurora, you have the opportunity to participate in classes organized by other Aurora Universities. Our Aurora partners at the University of Innsbruck (UIBK) welcome you to particpate in a variety of courses, for example on Educational Inequality or Environment & Care: Canadian Perspectives

Take a look at the UIBK Aurora Course Offerings below for a complete overview of available courses, as well as practical information on enrolling and frequently asked questions. 

Aurora Course Offerings – University of Innsbruck (uibk.ac.at)

Aurora Research & Innovation – Kick-off

On the 9th of December, Palacký University Olomouc organized its local kick-off of the Aurora Research and Innovation (Aurora RI) program.

The program, funded through the Horizon 2020 – Science with and for Society (SwafS) – scheme aims to strengthen and empower research support and innovation within Aurora and will, for example, enable the sharing of research infrastructure, strengthen Open Science policies in line with EU frameworks and provide new training and support mechanisms for researchers.

The meeting was opened by the Vice-Rector for Strategy Michal Malacka, pointing the alignment of Aurora RI with the universities strategic goals.

The Aurora RI project manager, Auður Inga Rúnarsdóttir, joined us in Olomouc to attend the kick-off and meet the UP Aurora RI team, led by UP Aurora RI coordinator Marie Jadrníčkova.  

Auður Inga Rúnarsdóttir, Aurora RI Project Manager

During the meeting, the UP participants touched base on the current state of affairs in their international working groups, and had a chance to meet each other and identify any overlaps between their work.

 

Aurora Newsletter #3 – December 2021

Aurora has released its latest newsletter with seasonal greetings on December 23rd, 2021. The newsletter features a comprehensive update on the latest developments in Aurora, looking back at our achievements in 2021 and looking ahead at the year(s) to come.

Next to that, the newsletter contains interesting blogs, columns, and profiles, created by the active and engaged Aurora Community, including an internview with our UP Aurora Student Representative Hanus Patera.

You can read the newsletter here.

Want to stay updated, and be among the first to read about the latest Aurora developments? Why not subscribe to the newsletter!

Webinar Series: Open Education Resources – Nuggets To Go

Aurora partners are invited to the webinar series on Open Educational Resources starting December 14th. The series are meant to illustrate a strategic part of universities’ improvement in the sector of Open Education.

The OER group wants to sensibilize teaching staff and students in the Aurora network for Open Educational Resources. It aims to raise awareness within Aurora universities on the many possibilities that Open Educational Resources offer. OER stimulates collaboration between teachers by reusing and remixing open materials. Students can participate in developing new and open educational resources.

In the webinars, the motto “content is king” will be used to emphasize the importance of free access to content, benefits and conditions of the creation and provision of learning materials.

Grab this opportunity to learn more about Open Educational Resources in these four upcoming webinars:

  • 14 December 2021
    • Introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER): benefits & licences & search engines
  • 18 January 2022
    • OER-enabled Pedagogy for teaching and learning in the digital age
  • 22 February 2022
    • Creation Processes: How to produce free content? How to produce reusable open content? How to re-mix different resources and how can OER be part of it?
  • 15 March 2022
    • Best Practices: Scenarios from Aurora universities, how to address staff & teachers. How to make students co-creation and content owners.

The full program for the OER Nuggets to go webinar series can be found here.

To follow a webinar, click on the Zoom link below and uset he meeting ID and password:

https://uni-due.zoom.us/j/63276664698?pwd=clA0K0NwRFBTdzhldUxZMnlGT1RKQT09 
Meeting-ID: 632 7666 4698
Password: 170896

Highlights of the Aurora Autumn Biannual in Tarragona

Between November 15th and 18th, a UP delegation visited our partners at the University of Rovira i Virgili, to participate in the Aurora Autumn Biannual in Tarrgona, Spain. The biannual was a great success and an excellent opportunity to meet in person and strengthen the ties with all of our partners.

The Biannual combined plenary sessions with intensive workgroup and management meetings. The absolute highlight of the event was the signing of the Multilateral Aurora Mobility Agreement. This agreement opens up many new mobility possibilities for both students and staff, between all Aurora Universities. 

The momentous Multilateral Aurora Mobility Agreement was signed by UP Rector Martin Prochazka.
 

During the Biannual, the Aurora top-management met twice, during the Aurora Presidents’ Strategic session and the Aurora Council meeting. During these meetings, the Presidents and Institutional Coordinators of all Aurora institutions came together to discuss the progress so far, as well as the next steps and the road ahead. The ICs also met on Monday the 15th in preparation for the two Aurora top-management meetings on the following days.  

The plenary sessions covered topics such as the inclusion of soft skills and SDG-perspective in the teaching of Aurora Universities through the use of the Aurora Competence Framework, as well as approaches and opportunities to internationalization of the curriculum. Featured were several highlevel debates, with prominent keynote speakers such as Xavier Prats Monné, the former Director-General for Education and Culture of the European Comission.  

The voice of students was given center stage during the event. In the weekend before the start of the biannual, 

The agreement was signed by dignitaries of all Aurora Universities.

students for all Aurora Universities gathered in Tarragona early to participate in the Aurora Student’s Design Thinking Jam, and give their input on what the Aurora Universities can do to facilitate meaningful international experiences for their students.

The outcomes of this session, ranging from the need for Aurora Student Events to mental health support and tackling issues with inclusivity were presented to the Aurora community during the biannual by the students themselves. Palacky University was excellently represented by four its students from four different faculties: Hanus Patera (FF), Dominik Vorac (PdF), Serge Nengali (PF), and Dominik Hlubek (PrF).  

On the 18th of November, a dedicated Kick-off for the Aurora Research & Innovation program took place. During the kick-off the leaders of the various Aurora RI activities got together to present their activities and the way forward, identifying the where and how to collaborate most efficiently.

A full overview of the presented materials, as well as photos and videos taken at the event can be found below:

VIDEOS

 PHOTOS

 PRESENTATIONS

A part of the UP delegation.
The UP delegation, together with the University of Innsbruck‘s delegation.
The Aurora Research & Innovation activity leaders.

Aurora Competence Framework – Staff Training at Palacky University Olomouc

On Wednesday the 8th of December, Kees Kouwenaar will visit Palacky University Olomouc to provide a staff training session on the Aurora Competence Framework.  During this comprehensive session for educators, you will learn more about how to include soft skills in your courses and programs. 

Equipping students not only with the subject knowledge and skills but also with the proficiencies and mindsets to address societal challenges is one of the key objectives of Aurora’s Educational programme – Learning for Societal Impact. 

The Aurora Competences Training Workshop will show teaching staff how to easily integrate general academic and personal competences into the learning outcomes of their existing courses and modules. The Workshop will also familiarise the teaching staff of the Aurora universities and their associate partner universities with the intersection of these with the role of the SDG perspective in their teaching.

This training session is organized by the Aurora Capacity Delevopment Support (CDS) Team, as one of their planned CDS-Awareness Raising Events, which play a central role in strengthening the capacity of the Aurora associate partner universities in key innovative domains of internationalization and social engagement. As such, the session is open to our associate partners as well as local UP teachers.  

Please register here for the event 

Registration deadline: 01/12/2021

NB: Due to Covid 19 measures, we are able to host only 20 people. This will impact the number of selected applicants for the in-person training. In the selection, we will prioritise Aurora associate partner universities.  Face-to-face training will be followed by a networking day for the associate partner participants on 09/12/2021.

More information? Aurora Competence Framework Training DEC 8th UP – Invitation and Agenda

Olomouc ACF Training – Poster

Introduction to Learner Analytics – key concepts

Learner Analytics is a developing area for universities – but it is not always clear what is meant by the term. This session will cover key aspects such as skills needed, technology required, the data that may be used, as well as practical implementation and ethical issues.

The purpose of this event is to give those working in a university environment an understanding of the main aspects, challenges and benefits of a Learner Analytics project. It will also aim to facilitate networking between those interested in this area.

Please send an expression of interest to Lucy Mellor at: L.Mellor@uea.ac.uk to allow us to organise the practical part of the session and to communicate with participants before the event. Deadline for registration is 16:00 GMT on Friday 19th November 2021 and participation is free of charge.

Join the session through this Teams-link on Thursday 25th of November 2021, 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00 – 17:00 Central European Time).

Introduction to Learner Analytics – key concepts