S09E02: Compassion - Student wellbeing’s newest buzzword

‘Compassion’ is the word of the moment in the HE sector. But why, and what does that look like in practice?

Join host Jenny Shaw and an expert panel for a deep dive into how compassion is shaping new approaches across UK Higher Education, in student support and beyond.

This lively discussion covers how compassionate communications can enhance the student experience, how to integrate compassion into your organisation’s policies and procedures, and examples of this in practice across accommodation and university functions.

Our expert panel includes:

• Dr Kathryn Waddington, Emeritus Fellow in Psychology at University of Westminster
• Julia Hunt, Mental Health Clinical Lead at University of Central Lancashire
• Katy Lemmon, Accommodation Manager at University of Liverpool
• Becca Hayhurst, Head of Resident Experience at Unite Students

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on Monday 24th February 2024 and was produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

 

Resources

The Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce (HEMHIT)’s Compassionate Communication Statement is available to download from Nottingham Trent University’s website: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/2526771/Compassionate-Communication-Statement.pdf

Read more about Unite Students’ CARE service philosophy on our website: https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/student-support-resident-experience

Find out more about Unite Students’ Support to Stay framework on our website: https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/student-support-to-stay-unite-students

Learn more about the Nurture-U and Compassionate Campus initiatives at the Nurture-U website: www.nurtureuniversity.co.uk

 

Dr Kathryn Waddington is currently writing a book called 'How to be a Compassionate Academic' and would love to hear stories from listeners where compassion has been brought to life through small acts of kindness. These will be used with permission and anonymised in the book, for more details please email Kathryn at: k.waddington@westminster.ac.uk with 'BOOK' in the subject line.