Belonging by Design: Learning, identity and connection across our academic community (2026)
Teaching & Learning Conference 9th July 2026
Belonging by Design: Learning, identity and connection across our academic community
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Time |
Activity/session |
Presenter(s) |
Slides and Recordings |
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9:15 – 9:45 |
Arrive and breakfast |
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9:45 – 10:00 |
Welcome
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Prof Elizabeth McCrum, PVC Education and Student Experience |
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10:00 – 10:30 |
Student Spotlight on Belonging
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Victoria Grace-Bland (CQSD) and Student Partners
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10:30 – 11:15
11:15-11:30 |
Key Notespeaker (presenting remotely) Building Belonging from the Beginning: Practical Approaches to Foster Early Connection
Q&A
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Prof Kelly Edmunds, Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia
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11:30 – 12:00 |
Refreshment break & transition to parallel workshops
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12:00 – 13:00
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Parallel session 1 Communicating to connect: the power of language, co-creation and design in building compassionate learning environments (Workshop) |
Zola Dean (Psychology) Karenjit Sandhu (Art) Amanda Hall (Politics)
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Parallel session 2 Spatial belonging: How university spaces shape student experience (Talks & table discussions)
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Billy Wong (Education) Ruth Ng (Library) Shweta Ghosh (Film, Theatre & Television) Rhi Smith (Archaeology, Museums and Collections) |
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Parallel session 3 Belonging in the classroom: Teaching approaches that work! (Lightning talks)
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Katie Gray (Psychology) Kate Jones (Henley Business School) Emma Pape (Psychology) Linyao Wang (Education) Laura Girling (Agriculture) Brian Turner (Global Academy) |
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13:00 – 14:00 |
Lunch break, posters & marketplace Supporting Student Belonging Marketplace
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14:00 – 15:00
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Parallel session 4 Belonging at scale: Making large classes feel personal (workshop)
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Angela Buckingham (CQSD, ADE) Emma Herrod (CQSD, TEL) Jackie Fairbairn (CQSD, TEL) |
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Parallel session 5 Seen and Heard: Valuing Experience, Voice and Identity in Higher Education (Talks & table discussions)
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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) |
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Parallel session 6 From Classroom to Career: Building Students’ Sense of Professional Belonging (Lightning Talks)
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Andrea Tresidder (Henley Business School) Louise Smith (Agriculture) Noor Azeyah Khiyon (Built Environment,UoRMalaysia) Dorothy Balhatchet (Food and Nutrition) Scarlett Murphy (Education) Tabarak Ballal (Built Environment) |
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15:00-15:10 |
Moving to final session |
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15:10-15:55 |
Plenary panel: Perspectives on Belonging by Design
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Chair: Prof. Alana James (Psychology)
Lydia Fletcher, Research and Evaluation Manager (CQSD) Jamie Samson, Campaigns and Insights Manager (ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø Students’ Union) Ellie Vialls, Director of Academic Tutoring (Charlie Waller Institute) Yashvi Borisager (Student, Pharmacology) |
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15:55- 16:00 |
Closing remarks
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Prof Robert Van de Noort, Vice Chancellor |
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