Tuesday 11th June 2024
9:30am - 3:00pm
Virtual Conference
Student Belonging 2024 will explore the latest research and solutions in enhancing belonging and connectedness across the student experience.
Leading practitioners and experts will examine how to maximise impact on community development, assess the steps to overcome barriers on confidence and self-efficacy and evaluate what a practical toolkit for fostering inclusion looks like.
Objectives
Gain practical insights on enhancing student interventions to build belonging
Understand the latest research on inclusion and what it means for your delivery
Develop your tools for supporting connectedness and measuring belonging
Analyse how to improve the impact of course delivery on student inclusion
Explore solutions in empowering students to overcome barriers on confidence, imposter-syndrome and personal growth
Headline Speakers
Mary Curnock Cook CBE
Chair
UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission
Juliette Morgan
Senior Consultant (Student Success)
Advance HE
Professor Kate Lister
Professor of Education and Associate Dean of EDI
Arden University
Miriam Colombi
Head of Campus Experience
University of Nottingham
Dr Karen Gravett
Associate Professor in Higher Education
University of Surrey
Agenda
9:30 am
Chair’s Welcome Address
Nick Barratt
Executive Director, Student Journey
Royal Holloway University of London (CONFIRMED)
9:40 am
What We Learned From 1600 Students for the Student Futures Commission – Two Years On Report
Building on the work of the UPP Foundation Student Futures Commission, this session will explore insights from student polling from the Two Years On report. It will assess:
Challenges around loneliness and mental health provision
What ‘belonging’ means for students
What helps and hinders students to thrive at university
The impact of the ‘cost of learning’ crisis
Mary Curnock Cook CBE
Chair
UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission (CONFIRMED)
10:00 am
Enhancing Transitions to Higher Education: Embedding Belonging
What students need for a successful transition
How do we design transition programmes for today’s diverse cohort?
Transition into or transition through
David Woolley
Director of Student and Community Engagement
Nottingham Trent University (CONFIRMED)
10:20 am
Break and Networking
10:40 am
Panel Discussion: Maximising Outcomes on Community and Connectedness Across an Institution
Developing a 360 view of student’s needs and ambitions for connection across their university experience
Exploring the components for building a more integrated sense of community across an institution
Interventions for overcoming fragmented approaches to community cohesion
What are the core drivers of success in transforming campus culture and supporting real results on connectedness?
Professor Vrinda Nayak
Associate Dean for Taught Students (Racial Equality and Inclusion)
University of Exeter (CONFIRMED)
Dr Jennie Jones
Research Fellow, The Learning and Teaching Hub
University of Brighton (CONFIRMED)
11:30 am
Overcoming the Mental Health Barriers to Inclusion - A Holistic Approach to Belonging
Managing the unbreakable connection between mental health and belonging
The central challenges on self-doubt, isolation and loneliness
Embedding mental wellbeing and belonging into inclusive practice design across both the course and wider university experience
Practical action areas for enhancing inclusion for students with mental health difficulties
Professor Kate Lister
Professor of Education and Associate Dean of EDI
Arden University (CONFIRMED)
12:00 pm
Are We Really Building Student Belonging? Lessons from Advance HE’s Collaborative Project
The common barriers to meaningful belonging in an institution
The components for a successful toolkit in creating connection at course and faculty level
How to build an action belonging on student belonging based on what works for your students
Juliette Morgan
Senior Consultant (Student Success)
Advance HE (CONFIRMED)
12:30 pm
Break and Networking
1:20 pm
Designing a Framework for Enhancing Student Sense of Belonging and Mattering: Bringing A Concept to Life
Exploring and understanding staff and student needs to improve a sense of belonging and mattering and service provision
Building a maturity framework on the route to a high-impact approach on belonging and mattering
Translating the framework into tangible change in how an institution manages its spaces and delivery
Miriam Colombi
Head of Campus Experience
University of Nottingham (CONFIRMED)
1:40 pm
Measuring a Sense of Belonging
How to measure belonging when faced with varying interpretations across groups of students
Mapping belonging and connection through academic engagement and touchpoints beyond a course
Approaches to building a picture by joining localised and large scale data
What evaluation is missing in understanding belonging fully
Understanding limitations in the experiences of underrepresented students
Dr Mi Young Ahn
Lecturer
Goldsmiths, University of London (CONFIRMED)
Break and Networking
2:00 pm
2:20 pm
Understanding the Intricate Web of Student Experiences
Unveiling student experiences: the Being, Belonging, Becoming Survey
Evaluating student wellbeing, community integration and personal growth initiatives within academic settings
Examples/case studies of supporting strategies on campus, and the role of student voice on the journey
Professor Harriet Dunbar-Morris
Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic & Provost and Professor of Higher Education
The University of Buckingham (CONFIRMED)
2:40 pm
Belonging, Non-Belonging and Fostering Engagement in the Digital University
Students’ understanding and perceptions of belonging
Breaking away from a universal meaning and approach to belonging
How students make decisions on belonging and why the sector should begin to understand non-belonging
Thinking about community, relationships and connections in the digital university
Dr Karen Gravett
Associate Professor in Higher Education
University of Surrey (CONFIRMED)
3:00 pm
Conference Close
* Programme subject to change
Audience
This conference is designed for all higher education leaders and practitioners engaged in belonging and inclusion. Those in attendance will include:
Heads of Inclusion
Heads of Widening Participation
Deans
Pro Vice Chancellors
Mental Health Leads
Course Leads and Lecturers
Directors of Student Services
Directors of Teaching and Learning
Heads of Faculty and Department
Heads of Student Services
Heads of Student Success
Heads of Student Engagement
Heads of Campus Experience
Pricing
Public Sector
£345 + VAT
Attendance to Student Belonging 2024
Private Sector
£395 + VAT
Attendance to Student Belonging 2024
HE Professional
£395 + VAT
Access to all events and content
For group discounts and enquiries about your registration please contact us on enquiries@heprofessional.co.uk
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