Student Wellbeing is currently working on two activities within the work area Wellbeing and belonging to the local community, A coordinated study start and Student in volunteering.
A coordinated study start Agder
The start of studies is the students' first encounter with student life and the study city. That's why it's important that all relevant stakeholders work together to create the best possible welcome for both new and old students.
The Student Wellbeing project takes on the role of coordinating various actors that are important for students during the start of their studies in both Kristiansand and Grimstad. These actors include both those who work directly with students and those who play an indirect but important role in ensuring that students have a good start in their new study city.
To ensure effective coordination of the start of the academic year, the project has developed an annual wheel with an agenda and a fixed list of participants. This includes the sponsor boards, the campuses, student representatives, the municipality, associations for urban life and business, student societies, the student welfare organization, and Visit companies. Through regular collaboration meetings, each player contributes their strengths and disseminates information to their respective organizations. This ensures that the cities are presented from their best side and that everyone is pulling in the same direction during the start of studies.
To strengthen the collaboration, it is important that we communicate collectively to the students. Therefore, the project encourages all parties involved to actively use Studentsamskipnaden's studiestart app and studiestart profile. These tools can be used freely to provide information about student offers, services and events during the start of studies.
Through coordinated efforts, we ensure that all students in Agder have a fantastic start to their student period, with a good reception and facilities that promote well-being and a sense of belonging.
Student in volunteering
Finding a sense of belonging, an arena for learning and personal development, or just a respite for everyday joy and fellowship, can be achieved in many different ways. One of these is through volunteering. Surveys show that students who engage in volunteering find it easier to make friends than those who do not(SHoT, 2022).
Student volunteering is our collective term for the work we will do related to all volunteering students can get involved in. We have defined four main categories for this work:
- Student volunteering framework conditions and opportunities in the region
- Collaboration and joint meeting arenas between student volunteering and local volunteering
- The individual student's contact with local volunteers
- Contact with local teams and associations, and involvement in student associations as a link to working life
Student volunteering and student associations refer to volunteering and associations run by and for students. On the other hand, local volunteering and local teams and associations refer to volunteering and associations run by and for citizens in general.
Studenttrivsel is currently mapping support functions and resources for student volunteering in the region. Our goal is to increase the visibility and accessibility of these for both student organizations and individual students, so that even more people can seize the opportunity to participate exactly as they wish.
An important aspect of the project is to develop the measures together with student volunteers so that we contribute to the strengthening of volunteering rather than competition for or exploitation of volunteers. That's why we work to find opportunities that create win-win situations!
