Belonging by Design: Learning, identity and connection across our academic community (2026)

Time

Activity/session

Presenter(s)

Slides and Recordings

9:15 – 9:45

Arrive and breakfast

9:45 – 10:00

Welcome

Prof Elizabeth McCrum, PVC Education and Student Experience

Student Spotlight and Keynote

Keynote Building Belonging from the Beginning Practical Approaches to Foster Early Connection.pptx

10:00 – 10:30

Student Spotlight on Belonging

Victoria Grace-Bland (CQSD) and Student Partners

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

Prof Kelly Edmunds, Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia

11:30 – 12:00

Refreshment break & transition to parallel workshops

12:00 – 13:00

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)

Compassionate Communication Handout.pdf

Communicating to Connect Workshop.pptx

Parallel session 2

Spatial belonging: How university spaces shape student experience (Talks & table discussions)

Billy Wong (Education)

Ruth Ng (Library)

Shweta Ghosh (Film, Theatre & Television)

Rhi Smith (Archaeology, Museums and Collections)

Unlocking belonging How an Escape Box Challenge Welcomes Students into the Library Ruth Ng.pptx

Making space for belonging A spatial belonging perspective on student experience Billy Wong.pdf

Parallel session 3

Belonging in the classroom: Teaching approaches that work! (Lightning talks)

Katie Gray (Psychology)

Kate Jones (Henley Business School)

Emma Pape (Psychology)

Linyao Wang (Education)

Laura Girling (Agriculture)

Brian Turner (Global Academy)

Session 3

More Than Just a Name Card Listening to Students About Belonging Linyao Wang.pptx

The class playlist Brian Turner.potx

Hedgehog CSI Laura Girling.pptx

Using a team-based quiz approach to foster a sense of belonging Katie Gray.pptx

Student Belonging - Why Representation Matters Emma Pape.pptx

Enhancing Engagement and Collaboration Through a Staged Audit Case Study Kate Jones.pptx

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch break, posters & marketplace

Supporting Student Belonging Marketplace

14:00 – 15:00

Parallel session 4

Belonging at scale: Making large classes feel personal (workshop)

Angela Buckingham (CQSD, ADE)
Tasha Barrett (Biological Sciences)

Emma Herrod (CQSD, TEL)

Jackie Fairbairn (CQSD, TEL)

Self audit checklist Large Classes belonging T&L conf.pdf

T&L conference 26 Belonging at scale TO SHARE.pdf

Parallel session 5

Seen and Heard: Valuing Experience, Voice and Identity in Higher Education (Talks & table discussions)

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)

Its Just a Toilet.pptx

T&L conference talk G Peacock - event version.pptx

Parallel session 6

From Classroom to Career: Building Students’ Sense of Professional Belonging (Lightning Talks)

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)

Session 6

From Student to Marketer Using Industry-Aligned Assessment to Build Belonging Louise Smith .pptx

A place-based innovative practice-based learning model on campus in MSc Dietetics Dorothy Balhatchet.pptx

Building and Beyond A female BAME Construction and Surveying Initiative Tabarak Ballal.pptx

Belonging between two worlds the split identity of primary PGCE trainees Scarlett Murphy.mp4

Belonging between two worlds the split identity of primary PGCE trainees Scarlett Murphy.mp4

From Malaysia to the UK Building Student Belonging Through Cross-Border Industry Assessment Noor Azeyah Khiyon.mp4

Embedding Peer Feedback to Address Isolation and Build Learning Communities in Apprenticeship Programmes Andrea Tresidder.pptx

15:00-15:10

Moving to final session

15:10-15:55

Plenary panel: Perspectives on Belonging by Design

Chair: Prof. Alana James (Psychology)

Lydia Fletcher, Research and Evaluation Manager (CQSD)

Jamie Samson, Campaigns and Insights Manager (Reading Students’ Union)

Ellie Vialls, Director of Academic Tutoring (Charlie Waller Institute)

Yashvi Borisager (Student, Pharmacology)

15:55- 16:00

Closing remarks

Prof Robert Van de Noort, Vice Chancellor