Unlock academic success with inclusive mentorship! Join our session focusing on social and academic integration for all first-year students @UAntwerp. Learn practical tools from the Faculty of Science's mentorship case, emphasizing inclusion, connection, and well-being. Don't miss the chance to build a supportive community!
EFYE2024 – Copenhagen, Parallel session 6Presentation/Paper session | Academic integration/belonging
| The aim of mentorship is to increase the social integration (social networks, being a student, feeling at home, having self-confidence) and academic integration (study skills, getting around on campus, etc.) of each first-year student by focusing on community building within the programme, faculty and university. In this way, we try to increase the success progress of first-year students and reduce the dropout rate. An inclusive mentorship moves away from a target group-based approach. All freshmen are mentored based on their own specific questions and needs. It is a low-threshold support offer aimed at all first-year students, regardless of background characteristics. However, we do want to provide extra attention and support to those students in vulnerable situations. Each faculty at the University of Antwerp organises a mentorship based on their specific needs and built on what works well within that faculty, paying attention to students in vulnerable situations. For example, some faculties offer individual meetings with staff members acting as mentors or senior students taking on the role of a buddy. Other faculties organise group meetings around certain themes. Some faculties combine both. This session will give participants tools in setting up an inclusive mentorship. We use the Faculty of Science’s mentorship as a case, since it focuses on inclusion, connection and mental well-being. Since this year, the faculty has been deploying mentors from student associations (buddies). These buddies are senior students with their own experience and know better than anyone else what it is like to start a programme and find your way around our university. The link with the student association also gives the starter the opportunity to get to know an extensive network of students from the same study programme and thus to build their own community. The buddies receive formal training and are supported and monitored by the coordination of staff members of the dean’s office. Using this case, we want to focus on monitoring and maintaining the inclusive character and how to structurally embed this initiative in the institution. |
What do participants experience or learn?
Student mentor/tutor, Student, Academic adviser.
Relevant for all students, but with a specific focus:
Students as volunteers, Students as participants.