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 (91导航 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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