Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

Time

Activity/session

Presenter(s)

Booking link

9:15 – 9:45

Arrive and breakfast

9:45 – 10:00

Welcome

Prof Elizabeth McCrum, PVC Education and Student Experience

10:00 – 10:30

Student Spotlight on Belonging

In this session, members of the UoR Student Panel and Student Partners scheme will reflect on their personal experiences and aspirations for belonging at University. Students will shine a spotlight on the ways in which belonging has shaped their university experiences, providing valuable insights for those seeking to support student success through meaningful engagement, collaboration and inclusive communities.

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, K1, K2, A4)

Victoria Grace-Bland (CQSD) and Student Partners

10:30 – 11:15

11:15-11:30

Key Notespeaker (presenting remotely)

Building Belonging from the Beginning: Practical Approaches to Foster Early Connection

Students are arriving at university with increasingly complex lives, competing time demands and diverse educational histories. Yet many of our teaching practices still assume a “typical” student who no longer exists. If we want to support meaningful engagement, we must first understand who our students are and the varied, often challenging journeys that brought them here.

Belonging has become a strategic priority for institutions, but the risk is clear: we talk about belonging far more than we design for it. As research and strategic initiatives in this area continue to grow, meaningful approaches to cultivating belonging are more crucial than ever. Through practical examples, quick wins and opportunities for discussion, I will share strategies and initiatives that can help embed relational pedagogy within teaching practice, offering insights and tools to help you foster stronger, more connected student communities.

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, K1, K2, A1, A2, A4)

Q&A

Prof Kelly Edmunds, Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia

11:30 – 12:00

Refreshment break & transition to parallel workshops

Posters available to view

12:00 – 13:00

Parallel session 1

Communicating to connect: the power of language, co-creation and design in building compassionate learning environments (Workshop)

In this session, you will have the opportunity to apply the University’s principles of Compassionate Communication to your own practice, considering how they can be used to develop a safe and supportive environment for students, particularly during times of stress and uncertainty. The session will offer insights from colleagues who have found impactful ways of communicating with students at individual, module and programme level that promote confident decision-making, assessment literacy and connection with peers and staff.

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, V5, K1, K2, A4)

Zola Dean (Psychology)

Karenjit Sandhu (Art)

Amanda Hall (Politics)

12:00 – 13:00

Parallel session 2

Spatial belonging: How university spaces shape student experience (Talks & table discussions)

The aim of this session is to enrich our understanding of how university environments influence belonging. Chair Billy Wong will introduce his framework for conceptualising space as an enabler (or constrainer) of belonging. He is followed by a series of talks that explore practices which connect students to place. Following this, delegates will be invited to discuss and reflect on the various ways higher education environments can foster and influence students’ sense of belonging and inclusion.

• Making space for belonging: A spatial belonging perspective on student experience
• Unlocking Belonging: How anEscape‑BoxChallenge Welcomes Students into the Library
• Enhancing student belonging and connection through community-engaged film practice
• Questioning Belonging through Collections

(This session aligns with PSF V3, V5, K2, K4, A1, A2, A4)

Billy Wong (Education)

Ruth Ng (Library)

Shweta Ghosh (Film, Theatre & Television)

Rhi Smith (Archaeology, Museums and Collections)

12:00 – 13:00

Parallel session 3

Belonging in the classroom: Teaching approaches that work! (Lightning talks)

In this series of short talks we will hear from colleagues in a range of Schools about ways in which they build belonging through their practice. Following the talks, there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience.

• Using a team-based quiz approach to foster a sense of belonging
• Enhancing Engagement and Collaboration Through an UG Staged Audit Case Study
• Student Belonging: Why Representation Matters
• From Name Cards to Research Proposals: Building Belonging in Classroom Practice
• “RAFT” (Resilience, Acceptance, Friendship, Teamwork) programme
• The class playlist

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, V5, K2, A1, A2, A4)

Katie Gray (Psychology)

Kate Jones (Henley Business School)

Emma Pape (Psychology)

Linyao Wang (Education)

Laura Girling (Agriculture)

Brian Turner (Global Academy)

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch break, posters & marketplace

Supporting Student Belonging Marketplace:

• Life Tools
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)
• International Student Support
• RED Award

14:00 – 15:00

Parallel session 4

Belonging at scale: Making large classes feel personal (workshop)

How can we foster connection and belonging, and counter feelings of anonymity, when teaching very large groups? This interactive workshop explores practical, evidence-informed strategies to create a sense of belonging in large cohorts. Participants will engage in discussions and shared reflection to consider how small design choices, both in class and in the online environment, can help students feel connected and supported. There will be opportunities to exchange experiences with colleagues, and participants will leave with adaptable ideas they can implement immediately in lectures, seminars, and online spaces.

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, K2, K4, A1, A2, A4)

Angela Buckingham (CQSD, ADE)
Tasha Barrett (Biological Sciences)

Emma Herrod (CQSD, TEL)

Jackie Fairbairn (CQSD, TEL)

14:00 – 15:00

Parallel session 5

Seen and Heard: Valuing Experience, Voice and Identity in Higher Education (Talks & table discussions)

How do we as educators ensure students feel like they matter at university? Bringing together perspectives on educator self-disclosure, student-led creative work, linguistically inclusive teaching, and the impact of institutional policy on marginalised groups, this session highlights both the possibilities and tensions involved in creating safe, welcoming learning spaces. Following their talks, panellists will facilitate discussions on how to create learning environments where lived experience and identity matter.

• Using Lived Experience in Teaching: Implications for Student Belonging
• Small Teaching Design Choices to Support Belonging in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms
• Student voices
• It’s only a toilet!

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, V4, K2, A1, A2, A4)

Julia Limper, Anjali Mehta Chandar, Emma-Jayne Conway and Nakita Oldacre (Charlie Waller Institute)

Gemma Peacock (Global Academy)

Rachel Warner (Typography)

Julia Crabtree (Art)

Rebecca Harris (Education)

14:00 – 15:00

Parallel session 6

From Classroom to Career: Building Students’ Sense of Professional Belonging (Lightning Talks)

In this series of short talks we will hear from colleagues in a range of Schools about ways in which they support their students to feel a sense of belonging to their discipline or their chosen career path, as well as to the University. Following the talks, there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience.

• Embedding Peer Feedback to Address Isolation and Build Learning Communities in ApprenticeshipProgrammes
• From Student to Marketer: Using Industry-Aligned Assessment to BuildBelonging
• From Malaysia to the UK: Building Student Belonging Through Cross-Border Industry Assessment in Project Quantity Surveying
• A place-based innovative practice-based learning model on campus in MSc Dietetics
• Belonging between two worlds: the split identity of primary PGCE trainees
• Building and Beyond: A female BAME Construction and SurveyingInitiative

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, V4, K2, A1, A2, A3, A4)

Andrea Tresidder (Henley Business School)

Louise Smith (Agriculture)

Noor Azeyah Khiyon (Built Environment,UoRMalaysia)

Dorothy Balhatchet (Food and Nutrition)

Georgia Aspinox (Education)

Tabarak Ballal (Built Environment)

15:00-16:00

Plenary panel: Perspectives on Belonging by Design

In our final session of the day, members of the panel will share their different perspectives on belonging and discuss what ‘belonging by design’ means to them, followed by questions from the audience.

(This session aligns with PSF V1, V2, V3, K1, K2, A1, A2, A4)

Lydia Fletcher, Research and Evaluation Manager (CQSD)

Jamie Samson, Campaigns and Insights Manager (Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Students’ Union)

Ellie Vialls, Director of Academic Tutoring (Charlie Waller Institute)

Student (TBC)

16:00

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