The board of the Aurora Universities Network has announced the appointment of Anne-May Janssen as the new Secretary-General, taking over from the esteemed Kees Kouwenaar. Anne-May will start work at the Aurora office in Amsterdam on 1 July.
For several years, Anne-May worked at the Netherlands House for Education and Research (Neth-ER) in Brussels, managing higher education policy for the Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU) and the Dutch organisation Nuffic. During her time in this role, she successfully influenced the research priorities of Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Since 2017, Anne-May has been Head of European Engagement at Universities UK International (UUKi) in London.
Kees and Anne-May recently discussed their visions for the future of higher education and you can watch this discussion in the video below.
Aurora is a dynamic network of European research universities, united by a shared commitment to social responsibility and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The University of Iceland has led the Aurora Universities Network from its foundation in 2016 and Rector Jón Atli Benediktsson is the current president. Aurora was expanded in 2020, when the Aurora Alliance was awarded a grant from the EU Commission to advance the Aurora universities' collaboration in pedagogical development, research and innovation.
The University of Iceland congratulates Anne-May on her new job. Her knowledge and experience will doubtless be a huge boon for Aurora.