Belonging and Beyond
Belonging and Beyond is here to support student belonging and inclusivity at the University of Kent
Belonging and Beyond - Student Success - University of Kent
What is Belonging and Beyond?
Belonging and Beyond is an initiative designed at welcoming our diverse student body to Kent, helping them to feel seen, valued and empowered. It offers opportunities for students to feel at home in their learning community, build networks with peers and staff and flourish in their studies. Belonging and Beyond centres around the higher education journey of ethnically marginalised students, but at Kent we believe that all of us are involved in making everyone feel welcome. We encourage all students and staff to participate and help continue our work towards creating an inclusive and connected university.
Belonging and Beyond is developed through co-collaboration with students as we believe that the student voice should be at the centre of all we do. It has involved input from Student Representatives, the Racially and Ethnically Marginalised People (REMP) Student Network, the Global Majority Staff Network, and our Student Success academic researchers.
Why We Run Belonging and Beyond
We understand that belonging develops over time and in different ways and so Belonging and Beyond offers a wealth of different social and academic activities throughout the academic year so there is something for everyone to enjoy.
We hope that students who engage with the programme gain a greater sense of belonging at our university and for this to empower them to progress successfully through their studies. For more information on this and other work we do please read our Student Success website.
A Big Kent Welcome
Starting university is exciting, nerve-wracking, and life-changing all at once. To help you navigate the leap into higher education, we’ve gathered a collection of short video clips from current University of Kent students who know exactly what you’re going through.
Dr Yetunde Kolajo, Student Success Research Associate
Finding your Community
I was quite shy about socialising on campus and was closer to my friends in London. I was not keen to step out of my comfort zone but I joined the Martial Arts society and found like-minded people. Now, I understand that, in certain situations, you have to be more direct and I like to debate about things. I’ve remained my authentic self.
Darren, Black, Male, Social Science Student
Finding your Community
On campus everyone is very friendly here. You’re meeting people, I love meeting different people from different backgrounds, and I was so surprised how many international students there are and then there are people who have come from all across the country
Maurice, Black, Male, Computing Student
What We are Doing
We are offering pre-arrival and transitional Welcome Week activities to ensure students are supported through one of the most exciting yet challenging moments in their time at university. This will include, for example, an online pre-arrival roundtable discussion to share experiences of transition and belonging.
We aim to build on this momentum by continuing to offer events throughout the year, delivered through networking, informational, developmental and academic initiatives.
Events will be visible on the University of Kent Events Calendar and the calendar below, so keep an eye out!
We Invite YOU to Collaborate With Us!
If you wish to work with us on developing this programme you can get in touch with us at studentsuccess@kent.ac.uk. Your voice will help make this work flourish!
You can also support similar work happening at Kent through the Belonging at Kent web page!
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