ibelong

Higher education (HE) institutions have not yet succeeded in offering equitable opportunities and outcomes for the diverse student population participating in HE. Research shows that there is still a gap between the traditional students and non-traditional students in drop out rates, retention and success but also in engagement and sense of belonging.

Sense of belonging in HE refers to a feeling of ‘fitting in’ and feeling at home at university. The project´s main objective is to build a programme of interventions to develop sense of belonging amongst HE students irrespective of their diversity, thereby increasing student retention and promoting a fair chance of succeeding.

The sub objectives are:

• To raise awareness among staff and faculty of higher educations to effectively engage with the current diversity of students,
• To develop the capacity of higher education staff to understand and value (cultural/ethnic) diversity and sense of belonging, and to design and deliver learning that is inclusive of the breadth of diversity found in a modern HE cohort,
• To develop a set of culturally sensitive interventions, which can be adapted to various contexts, positively impacting HE needs in terms of diversity, sense of belonging, inclusion, retention and success,
• To provide evidence and examples of interventions for HE institutions to develop their own policy and practice on improving students’ sense of belonging,
• To collaborate and share practices with EU and global networks with valuable knowledge, expertise and skills in field of diversity in HE.

The project has four target groups:

1. The diverse student population with a specific focus on migrant students and first-generation students
2. Teachers at HE Institutions
3. Students who will be trained to become peer-mentors
4. HE Institutions which will use the results of this project for their curriculum to develop integrated inclusive approaches