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
9:40 am
A Growing Disconnect: What We Learnt from 1,600 Students on the Realities of Student Life
Building on the work from the UPP Foundation’s Student Futures Commission, this session will explore insights from students emerging from the Student Futures 2 report. It will assess:
The expectation versus reality gap and why students are feeling “underwhelmed”
A growing trend of loneliness and declining engagement with the wider university experience
How the cost-of-living crisis is presenting barriers to participation in wider student life
What this growing disconnect means for the state of belonging in higher education
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)
Professor Belinda Colston
Founding Director
Eleanor Glanville Institute (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 Belonging: Bringing A Concept to Life
Understanding the connection between the ‘intangible asset’ of belonging and service provision
Conducting a staff and student evaluation process to build a picture on meaning and ambitions on belonging and connection
Building a maturity framework on the route to a high impact approach on belonging
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
Supporting Emotional and Personal Growth – The Journey to Self-Efficacy for Students
The route for students on self-actualisation and enabling their whole selves in the university environment
The emotional and social tools needed to support mattering and belonging
How can institutions deliver interventions that deliver meaningful development on personal confidence and self-efficacy?
Professor Mark O'Hara
Senior Consultant, Education
Advance HE (invited)
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
What is a HE Professional Subscription?
HE Professional is a new subscription package allowing you to attend all our events over the next 12 months for just £395 + VAT.
As a member you also gain exclusive access to our premium content, allowing you to explore the latest practice, innovation and ideas for professional service leaders in higher education.
