Sense of Belonging: A WP experience

Wednesday 27th April 2022 9:00 am - 3:15pm - Faculty of Arts Building

This joint event between the WP Staff and Student Networks is open to all staff and students at the University of Warwick around the theme of 'Sense of Belonging' for WP Students.

This event is an opportunity to highlight the support, opportunities and challenges faced by staff and students who study and work at the university. The event will take the format of Interactive Workshops (45 mins) or WP Insight presentations (20 minutes).

Programme

Opening Keynote - Current Student Panel - What does sense of belonging mean to me?

Workshop A - 'Finding Your Community'

The Warwick Scholars programme supports students before, during and after their studies. This session will examine how Warwick Scholars have built and developed a community, through the initiatives and regular events with students, as they go through their degree programmes. This session will be led by staff and students.

Workshop B - 'Representing the Student Voice'

The WP Student Advisory Group has developed over the last year as a vital way that students can share their views on important issues at the university, with the members being involved in providing insight into their experiences. This group was formed out of a student-staff partnership model, and the workshop will discuss how they developed an advocacy model for students and how they get their voice heard. This session will be led by staff and students.

WP Insights (1 and 2) - 'The WP Staff Network' and 'WP Student Network'

These two twenty minute snapshots will showcase the Staff and Student Network. The networks bring colleagues and students together twice a term to discuss pertinent issues, share practice, to build friendships and support networks. This session will be led by staff and students from each network.

WP Insights (3 and 4) - 'Reshaping your Success' and 'Taking Back Control; Supporting with the Transition to University'

These two twenty minute snapshots will each explore the following:

Reshaping your Success and Taking Back Control : This session will demonstrate a sense of belonging for WP students, giving an opportunity to self evaluate times where you may have encountered opportunities, attended events or had a period in life where being a WP student may have been a disadvantage. This session will give advice on how WP students can be proud of their background and experiences and utilise this in reshaping success and taking back control. This session will be led by students.

Supporting with the Transition to University: led by Dr Leanne Williams, this snapshot will explore how to support WP students in their transition to Higher Education. Through tips and experience, this session will seek to highlight challenges faced, as well as sharing ideas of good practice. This session will be led by staff.

Workshop C - 'Mature Student Experiences'

This workshop will explore the mature student experience at Warwick, and offer an insight into the successes and difficulties different students face as they navigate the university systems. Led by Leigh Mencarini (UG - History of Art) and Dr Damien Homer, the session will share findings of a recent research project, whilst reflecting on how we can make the university welcome for all. This session will be led by staff and students.

Workshop D - 'Belonging within an educational community: lessons from research and practice'

This session will be led by a student-staff team from the Department of Education Studies. Year 3 students, Yasmin Manjra and Seda Yilmaz will share recent research relating to different groups of students and their feelings of belonging in HE. The session will also present examples of department-led strategies (e.g. the peer mentoring programme) which have been designed to foster a sense of belonging for undergraduates in Education Studies. Through these discussions, and explorations of teaching and learning practices, attendees will be encouraged to think about their own sense of belonging at university and potential strategies that can be developed to support this. The team will also invite participants to consider potential opportunities for future collaborations and next steps for research and practice. This session will be led by students and staff.

WP Insights (5 and 6) - 'Re-engaging with university life – The Warwick Award' and 'Representation: The importance of connecting students and staff through events'

These two twenty minute snapshots will each explore the following:

Re-engaging with university life – The Warwick Award: This presentation will present the new institutional Warwick Award for UG and PGT students which is being piloted over Spring & Summer 2022, before its formal launch for the 2022/23 academic year. The talk will show WP students how after the pandemic disruption they can use the award to reconnect with the life of the university and its various communities through a wide range of co-curricular activities. This session will be led by staff.

Representation: Representation performs an essential function of connecting individuals together based on similar characteristics. Imposter syndrome results from a lack of shared identity in the university setting, and the importance of Widening Participation students and staff of sharing their experiences cannot be understated. This session will outline the importance of hosting events in which Widening Participation students and staff can share their experiences and connect with one another on the basis of their stories and shared backgrounds. This session will be led by staff and students.

WP Insights (7 and 8)- 'Young Carers' and 'Commuter Student Experience'

These two twenty minute snapshots will each explore the following:

Young Carers: This session will give an overview of young carers, the barriers that these young people may face and share examples of best practice. This session will be led by staff.

Commuter Students: This session will seek to explore what being a commuter student is like at Warwick. Whilst commuter students are increasingly common across the sector this presentation will highlight the benefits and challenges in being an individual who lives outside of the student accommodation system. This session will be led by students.

Lunch

Interactive Workshop - What next and how do we take lessons learnt forwards?

Closing Plenary - Rhys Hart - (Warwick WP Alumni) - Head of Policy for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner at The Home Office