Watch the recordings of the live transmission or view and download our posterbook
The initiatives coming out of many ECIU Universities imply constantly refining the portfolio of services available to students and staff, developing continuous education programmes for staff, recognising best practices, creating new opportunities for the development of mindfulness and wellbeing on campus and regularly monitoring and evaluating the results we are achieving. In the ECIU, we aim to achieve our strategic goals collaboratively, by sharing the results of their implementation, adjusting them according to needs and improving them always.
The member universities of the ECIU thrive on the work of many people from diverse academic backgrounds and with different interests. Universities will become stronger as they bring together the wealth of diversity available within, while fostering synergies and stimulating cooperation. Any effort to stimulate the sense and practice of student wellbeing can greatly benefit from the sharing of best practices and will provide a fitting opportunity to bring a wide range of contributors into the discussions about student life and welfare.
This is an invitation-only event (exception: the Keynote address will be open to the public).
The participants will include students and staff of the ECIU Universities who are engaged in wellbeing services and initiatives at University plus guest external partners.
Invitations to attend the ECIU Symposium on Student Wellbeing are organized by local contact points at each ECIU University, who are designated members of the «ECIU Steering Committee on Innovation in Teaching and Learning».
University staff are those with responsibilities in any field of work in the general domain of Campus wellbeing, including for example technological support structures, psychology support services, sport and well-being services at University, peer support initiatives like mentoring, those involved in arts and culture as a place of well-being, those linked with security on and off Campus, those dealing inclusion of vulnerable students and staff, university chaplains and others. The Staff will have 3 main tasks:
1. To participate in a pre-symposium local stakeholder event, which will be organized at the home University in the weeks / months prior to the Symposium.
2. To submit one or more POSTERS, which will be displayed during the Symposium on September 17th.
3. To actively participate in the Split group discussions / workshops on September 17th.
University students (around 2 students per ECIU member university) who participate will be those with interest and some degree of responsibility in the general field of student life and wellbeing (members of the students union for example). We hope they will not only enjoy the event but that they will participate actively in the workshop in the afternoon session on the 17th in particular. Students are not required to submit posters (see below) but are free to do so should they wish to share best practices in place or any plans they have to create a specific initiative that is relevant to the topic of wellbeing.
Students are also be invited arrive on the day before the event for pre-symposium activities and discussions.
External partners will be invited to actively participate in the event on September 17th, contributing to the debate throughout the day and particularly during the split group discussions.
(Further details about the programme will be sent by e-mail to participants after registration)
16 September – Pre-Symposium Activities (all welcome but targeted mainly at students)
12h00 – Participation in the University of Aveiro Mega Picnic on Campus.
15h00 - Practical Session: Roundtable discussion in preparation for topics covered during the Symposium the next day, 17th at 14h00. See programme.
17h00 – Guided tour of University Campus including the Marinha Santiago da Fonte saltpans with birdwatching. Refreshments at Autocarro Bar.
20h00 - Dinner
17 September : ECIU Symposium on Student Wellbeing
09h30 - Welcome. Registration. Coffee.
10h00 - Official Opening by Prof. Dr. Artur Silva. Vice-Rector, ECIU Board Member for UA
Welcome, context and organizational aspects of the event – Prof. Dr. Sandra Soares, Pro-Rector, ECIU SC member for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
10h15 - Presentation of conclusions from Pre-symposium stakeholder events held at the ECIU Universities. 4/5-minute summaries (pitches)
11h00 - Keynote Address: 'HealthyU: putting student well-being at the heart of university strategy'. Sarah Speight, University Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, University of Nottingham
12h00 - Buffet Lunch, Poster Session and networking – Dissemination of good-practices / projects
14h00 – Split group discussions (topics covered may include technological support structures, psychology support services, sport and well-being at University, peer support initiatives like mentoring, arts and culture as a place of well-being, security on and off Campus, inclusion of vulnerable students and staff, academic culture and how faculty and staff can contribute to well-being etc.)
17h00 – Roundup of split group discussions. Conclusions of the day.
17h30 – End
Do you have a project or initiative in place at your University that you would like to tell everyone about during the ECIU Symposium on Student Wellbeing? Do you have plans for future initiatives? We would love to hear from you. Why not submit a POSTER? Poster abstracts can be submitted at the time of registration for the Symposium, and later, when your idea has been admitted, we will send you the poster template, which you can use to elaborate more on your idea / initiative, include photos and graphics and provide contact details and links to relevant resources. The POSTERS will be printed and displayed here in Aveiro, so there is no need to carry it with you on your journey to Portugal or to send it to us in advance. So what do you have to lose? We would love to hear from you.
To submit a POSTER abstract, please choose the registration option below: Registration (which includes an option for submission of a Poster abstract) or Submission of Poster abstract (for those who will not be in Aveiro for the Symposium but would like to submit a poster anyway).
The deadline is 14 August 2019.