How do we ensure higher education students are connected and well equipped to succeed in their learning?
At Dya we believe it is incredibly important to nourish students and surround them with the support they need to excel in their studies.
We recently were approached by Dee from the student union department within the University of Melbourne. Dee was facing the issue of disengaged students feeling isolated and removed from their student communities.
Working on a very tight timeframe our team jump onboard and met with Dee on the day she made her initial inquiry. Our creative team took the need of students and resources accessible to them and created a workshop that was focused on teamwork and encouraged interactions of students with one and other.
After meeting with the University of Melbourne student union we knew we wanted to utilise something special to the student body. We settled on creating a workshop centred around the union house wall.
Our instructors attended the site of the workshop and constructed a site inspection to be able to bring the workshop to life. Once we had the draft planned it was time to make our vision a reality.
Prior to the day of the event our creative team visited the location again to prepare everything for the class and ensure everything was ready for our students. We worked late into the evening with our instructor working together to create the base of the workshop. We drew from the nature of the event developing an outline the resembled connecting, socialising and wellbeing.
Working on this as a team provided us with an outlook on what the event will look like for students. By doing this we were able to draw on what the best practices for the day would be. Making the activity enjoyable, accessible and beneficial for all participants was amongst our top priorities.
As the day came for our workshop, we prepared all materials needed in our creative studio making it easy to transport and set up for the students upon arrival. Our team made up of Revi, Holly, Nikki, Chelsea and Dekel arrived on set each with their own tasks of the workshop to manage.
From the beginning student engagement and participation was high, the activity required students to communicate with each other, form social connections and gave them a sense of belonging.
Participants had the ability to channel creativity, engage in authentic self-expression and consider their fellow peers. This allowed students to become a little bit more familiar with each other and create a safe environment that promoted positive wellbeing.
Giving our students the social connections and aspects of their studies is so important for their mental wellbeing. This can ultimately give them the support and motivation they need in order to excel in their studies.
