LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT STUDENT INCLUSION AND BELONGING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
EVENT SUMMARY
During this event we will look back at three years of #IBelong by sharing what we have collaboratively done and learned to improve sense of belonging in a disruptively changed context. Changes erupted due to Covid-19, due to the prevalence of global social movements against racism, sexism and hetero-sexism, and due to the existing inequities in access and persistence in higher education. We have learned what sense of belonging means to students and university lecturers in different regional and national contexts of the consortium partners while also learning from other contexts by colleagues working at universities in the Global South.
Furthermore, we will be moving forward by sharing new conceptualizations of the tools and instruments developed by the #IBelong consortium, introducing ideas and outcomes of other relevant EU funded projects such as #MultInclude, E-Include, Connecting our Future, Students-4-Students practices of other regions and the urban context.
We are keen to provide a platform with this event to capture your thinking and experiences on how sense of belonging can be improved to make higher education more equitable, more diverse and more inclusive for students and staff and what this means to research, practice and institutional policy.
This Inclusiveness Meetup is the final #IBelong Multiplier Event. This event was organized by ECHO, Center for Diversity Policy and Erasmus University Rotterdam who is the coordinating partner of #IBelong.
Event Type: Inclusiveness Meetup – #IBelong Multiplier Event
Date: 14.12.2021, Tuesday
Time: 10.00 – 15:00 CET / 9:00 – 14:00 WEST
Location: Online. No registration fee.
Hosting institution: Erasmus University Rotterdam and ECHO Center for Diversity Policy, The Netherlands
The project #IBelong – ‘Towards a sense of belonging in an inclusive learning environment’ aims at improving the experiences and outcomes of students from diverse backgrounds (including, but not limited to migrant students and first-generation entrants) through creating a more inclusive learning environment in higher education.
Event Program
| CET:
10.00–12.00 GMT: 09.00–11.00 |
First Part: Looking back |
| 10.00–10.20
/9.00-9.20 GMT |
Welcome and opening
Professor Dr. Semiha Denktas, Chief Diversity Officer at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
| 10.20–11.10
/9.20-10.10 GMT |
#IBelong partner discussion and reflection
The aim of this session is to appoint what three years of #Ibelong yielded in terms of (attention for) diverse students’ sense of belonging in higher education, the importance of meaningful interactions between students and staff and among students, and the inclusiveness of higher education learning Discussants: Mary Tupan – Expert Centre Diversity in Higher Education, the Netherlands Moderator: Ivana Stanojev, Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC, Malta) |
| 11.10–11.15
/10.10-10.15 GMT |
IBelong Videos |
| 11.15–11.55
/10.15-10.55 GMT |
The importance of sense of belonging for student success.
Panel session with two students and two staff members who participated in #IBelong, reflecting on the importance of sense of belonging in higher education. Students: Amina Koric, EUR Joshua Pätzold, UOS Staff members: Kim Ouwehand, EUR Aike Dias-Broens, MSc, EUR Moderator: Ivana Stanojev, Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC, Malta) |
| 11.55–12.00
/10.55-11.00 GMT |
Closing morning session |
| 12.00–13.00
/11.00-12.00 GMT |
Lunch Break |
| 13.00–15.00
/12.00-14.00 GMT |
Second Part: Moving Forward |
| 13.00–13.45
/12.00-12.45 GMT |
Impact of Covid-19 on sense of belonging.
Synergy session between #IBelong university partners and other universities and programmes on how we navigate in challenging times to create sense of belonging in online/ hybrid education. Discussants: Dr. Sofia Marques da Silva, #Ibelong partner, University of Porto, Portugal – Moderator: Prof. dr. Liz Thomas, Edge Hill University, UK |
| 13.45–14.00
/12.45-13.00 GMT |
IBelong Videos |
| 14.00–14.50
/13.00-13.50 GMT |
Sharing ‘power’ with students
Engaging with students from programme design to programme implementation to make education more inclusive while taking the needs and contexts of students’ lives into account. Students: Daphne Leenders, student-assistant Pre-Academic Programme, EUR Moderator: Arundathi de Saram, ECHO |
| 14.50–15.00
/13.50-14.00 GMT |
Closing
By dr. Marieke Meeuwisse, #Ibelong project leader |
