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Opening Workshops

Wednesday 29th (11:15-13:00)

EFYE: An Orientation Session: An Introduction to the European First Year Experience Conference, room W1.06

Willam Carey, Nottingham Trent University & Diane Nutt, Independent Higher Education Consultant

Is this your first EFYE conference? Are you new to debates about First Year Experience? This session will orientate you to the conference, FYE research, and the EFYE movement. Like an orientation session for students it also provides the opportunity to meet other new delegates and talk about shared interests and your aims for the conference.

Whole university approaches to transition and belonging – lessons from the University Mental Health Charter, room W1.01

Dr Gareth Hughes, Student Minds, United Kingdom

Students cannot belong to a community unless a community exists. In this workshop we will draw on evidence from the UK’s University Mental Health Charter Award to examine how universities are developing whole university approaches to student transition, social belonging and wellbeing. In discussion and activities we will explore the common challenges we face in building community and wellbeing, share examples of good practice and consider areas for future improvement.

The Uncontrollability of First-Year Experiences: Friend or Foe?, outdoor (we meet in room W1.02)

Rune Mastrup Lauridsen & Tine Wåst Nielsen, University of Southern Denmark

New students are worried. We usually combat these feelings by setting clear goals and rigid structures for the first year. Our workshop seeks to challenge this traditional approach. Inspired by Hartmut Rosa’s thoughts on Uncontrollability, we’ll delve into crafting First-Year Experiences that blend structure with resonance. Join us to reshape education’s landscape, navigating chaos to nurture learning and security. Let’s embrace the unknown together.

This workshop takes place in a nearby park. We will walk, talk, and use the beautiful outdoor setting as source of inspiration. Therefore, bring practical clothes. We meet in room W1.02.

Establishing staff communities through recognition, room W2.05

Jack Hogan, Julie Blackwell Young & Luke Millard, Abertay University, Scotland

This workshop will explore the implementation of recognition schemes and professional development opportunities for staff working within the first-year experience.

We will introduce different recognition schemes and research opportunities available which acknowledge and foster staff development.

The workshop will highlight the role of local, national, and international networks in promoting continuous enhancement in higher education. The workshop will enable you to discuss strategies for enabling first-year innovations through partnerships to support both staff and students.

The digital communities of Generation Z, room W3.11

Camilla Mehlsen, digital media analyst, author, upcoming fellow at the Centre for Journalism, University of Southern Denmark

Digital and social media have a major impact on how Generation Z (born 1995-2009) communicates and participates in educational settings.

What are the current digital trends and their impact on the communities of young people? Do young people get more social or more lonely when participating in social media groups – or both? When do digital communities enhance or decrease mental well-being and learning?

This workshop explores the influence of digital media on communities, relationships and participation among young people as well as how higher education can tackle the increased importance of digital communities.

From a lecturer’s point of view: Student communities in the classroom – dilemmas in teaching practice, room W2.11

Lærke Testmann & Thea Damgaard, programme coordinators at the first year at the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Social Education, University College Copenhagen KP, Denmark

The workshop will present experienced dilemmas in teaching within the first year at the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Social Education (pædagoguddannelsen), focusing on student communities. The workshop will provide opportunities for discussing possibilities and challenges for lecturers working with social and academic development in an educational setting.

Transferring good practices to support under-represented first years: what would work for your context? room W3.10

Pieterjan Bonne, Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, Belgium

Detecting good practices is a good start to improve support, but how transferable are practices? In this workshop, we share and discuss good practices to support under-represented first years, and what to take into account when transferring these into your own context.