Applications Sought for Aurora Women’s Leadership Development Programme
Aurora is designed to enable a wide range of women in academic and professional roles to engage with
leadership development at an earlier stage in their careers to support greater representation of women in
senior leadership positions in higher education. St George’s, University of London has supported a number of
women to undertake the programme since 2013 and is committed to continuing to support women through
the programme in 2015/16.
The programme is a mix of 4 development days, an action learning set day, mentoring and self-directed study.
The development days and action learning set include:
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Identity, impact and voice
Power and politics
Action learning set
Core leadership skills
Adaptive leadership skills
If you are interested in participating in the programme, you will need to be:
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Employed by SGUL at or below SGUL Grade 8 (but if you are above this level and feel the
programme meets your needs, please apply);
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Not currently participating in another SGUL funded leadership/management programme;
Not yet taken on any substantive leadership role;
Keen to develop your career within Higher Education;
Able to make the dates and meet the expectations of the programme.
If you meet this criteria and you would like to apply for one of the four places being funded in 15/16, please
complete and return the following application form to Staff Development (staffdev@sgul.ac.uk), by Monday 24
August 2015.
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Aurora 2015/16 Application form
Name
Job Title
Institute/Department
In no more than 500 words, explain why you wish to participate in Aurora 2015/16, outlining how this meets
your plans for personal and professional development, both in the short and long term.
You may wish to include the following points:
1. Examples of projects and initiatives in your career that have had a positive impact on students and
stakeholders;
2. How you use your influence within the scope of your responsibilities to build productive working
relationships between individuals and teams;
3. How you demonstrate open and inclusive behavior, respecting the needs of others;
4. Your understanding of how external factors impact on SGUL.
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I confirm I am able to make the following dates:
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Identity, Impact and Voice (Wednesday 4 November 2015)
Power and Politics (Thursday 3 December 2015)
Action Learning Set* (Wednesday 20 January 2016: Delegates agree a host institution)
Core Leadership Skills (Wednesday 24 February 2016)
Adaptive Leadership Skills (Wednesday 23 March 2016)
I understand and agree to the expectations of Aurora participants, which are:
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Committed to the full Aurora process, attending all four development days plus the action learning set
day and be prepared to undertake some self-directed study;
Undertake all pre-work set for the course in advance of attending each development day;
Ready to embrace the mentoring relationship, and actively work with their mentors to address their
personal development and build their self-reliance;
Committed to a career in higher education and prepared to devote some time to thinking about and
planning their career;
Willing to host an action learning set day at their institution, with the support of their institution;
Prepared to embrace the extensive networking opportunities and participate fully in Aurora;
Willing to undertake projects or assignments for their institution in order to build on their developing
leadership skills;
Prepared to participate in a longitudinal study to gauge the effectiveness of Aurora;
Willing to act as mentors or role models to future participants.
Signed (applicant)
Date
Supporting statement to be completed by your line manager
Please outline below how you anticipate that the Aurora programme will benefit the applicant in their career
development.
Signed (line manager)
Date
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