The Aurora Foundation

Aurora's leadership programs are specifically designed for aspiring and emerging leaders within the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector. Aurora supports diversity, and we welcome all participants who are ready to unlock their leadership potential, accelerate their professional growth, and become influential leaders. To be eligible for Aurora’s leadership programs, we request evidence that your organisation supports your participation.

Aurora's Leadership Institute offers an intensive and immersive 5-day, face-to-face learning experience set in the captivating city of Sydney. Over the course of the residential retreat, you'll engage in 35 hours of applied learning, gaining insights that will reshape your leadership journey. The Leadership Institute is not just about what happens in formal learning sessions. With up to 30 like-minded peers participating in the program, both within and outside the sessions, you'll have the chance to network, connect, and learn from participants from across Australasia. These informal interactions offer an unmatched experience, opening doors to future collaborations and growth.

Aurora’s Virtual Leadership Program has been designed for those who are unable to attend the Leadership Institute or who prefer the flexibility of online learning. The Virtual Leadership Program also spreads learning over a longer period of time. The Virtual Leadership Program is held online across 7 weeks and uses fortnightly blocks to rotate between bringing the entire cohort together and breaking into smaller teams for personalised group coaching.  

Both the Leadership Institute and the Virtual Leadership Program encourage a strengths-based approach to development. Committed to evidence-based practices, you can have confidence that our programs draw from current research and provide experiences that step beyond theory. The Aurora leadership programs complement each other, offering distinct and varied levels of learning experiences that build on your existing knowledge.

Guidance for Prospective Applicants

Applications consist of the following five documents:

1. Your current Resume
2. A short statement detailing where you consider you are in your leadership journey; for example, are you an aspiring or an emerging leader and why you consider this to be so (200-250 words max.)
3. A short statement detailing your aspirations for your career and leadership should you be successful in securing a spot on this year’s Institute (200-250 words max)
4. Aurora values and supports diversity. Please provide a short statement about what diversity means to you (200-250 words max.)
5. A statement of recommendation and support from your employer indicating that your organisation will cover the costs for you to attend the Institute
6. If a scholarship is being requested, please provide information as to why your organisation is not in a position to fully and or partially fund your participation

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Key Features to be Demonstrated by Applicants

Individuals who demonstrate:

• KF1: Aspiration and a hunger to understand leadership and be the best possible leader they can
• KF2: Aptitude, knowledge and skills to be engaged and stretched, and to learn and self-reflect
• KF3: Curiosity, emotional maturity and empathy, and the ability to handle the Institute content and challenges it might bring up for them
• KF4: Refined understanding of diversity
• KF5: Organisational support for them undertaking the Institute

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Applications are open NOW and we encourage applicants to apply as soon as practical to allow Aurora time to review applications and allow successful applicants time to plan and book travel to Sydney.

Please email your application to programs@aurorafoundation.org.au by no later than Monday 30 September 2024. Please note that applications will be reviewed, and decisions made as they are submitted.