Well-being on the agenda for a whole week

By Katrine Findsen, kafi@sdu.dk, 3/12/2021

I think we can all agree that online teaching, social bubbles and queues for rapid tests have put a severe strain on us. But for a number of students, the corona period is not just tiresome – it also aggravates many of the challenges you may already be facing, regardless of whether it’s about having to juggle family life and a huge examination syllabus, loneliness, lack of physical exercise or something quite different.

These are some of the reasons why SDU puts well-being on the agenda for all students throughout week 11. From Monday 15 March to Friday 19 March, there will be virtual Teams presentations every day, all focusing on well-being in one form or another.

Because yes, corona makes it all worse, but poor well-being is not a new phenomenon created by corona.

It’s not just about corona

- Well-being and the lack of it as well as problems that students experience also existed before corona, so we think that a stronger focus on well-being in a wider sense is needed. The corona crisis has highlighted many of the issues that already existed, so it’s more relevant than ever. Maybe the positive thing about corona is that well-being has really come into focus, and a lot of projects, such as the well-being week, have been initiated, explains Morten Merhøj Mose, event coordinator for the well-being week at SDU.

- We cannot avoid talking about corona too because the reality of many students is that they sit at home looking at the same 12 square metres and have done so for a long time, and that’s hard.

- But well-being isn’t just something we should talk about in a time of corona. These are a number of general problems, and we are going to talk about balance in student life and about motivation, among other things, he continues.

All the way around

Well-being is a relatively broad concept, and that’s one of the reasons why the organisers have tried to get around the subject with a number of very different presentations. Among other things, you can hear the well-being counsellors talk about how to avoid loneliness, about lack of motivation and about the many student associations at SDU, where you can be active in anything from a film club to hunting.

And for Morten Merhøj Mose, it’s important to emphasise that well-being and the good student life is an individual matter where one size doesn’t fit all.

- I’m studying for a Master’s degree in sports and health, so I just think that everybody should get out and exercise more. That’s why it’s also exciting for me to broaden the definition of well-being because what motivates me does not necessarily motivate you, he says with a smile.

Well-being is not just for the vulnerable

But I’m fine, you may think. I don’t need to hear a bunch of things about well-being. Well, yes, you probably do, says Morten Merhøj Mose.

- It’s important for me to emphasise that this is for all students in all programmes and on all campuses. Even if you don’t feel lonely or lack motivation, the well-being week can make you think about how to get the best memories and the best time as a student and maybe make a difference for others along the way. Well-being is not for vulnerable groups – it’s for everybody, and we are all part of the solution to the poor well-being that may exist.

- There are communities for everybody, but there are also special communities for the ones who struggle with special issues. We are all students, but we struggle with different issues – whether we have a disability, are parents or athletes on top of that. We hope to be able to give everybody some insights that can be used to improve the study environment for everybody, Morten Merhøj Mose emphasises.

Hoping for a 2022 version, too

The well-being week is a completely new invention at SDU. But we are hoping that going forward, well-being will be a permanent part of the programme every year in week 11 – hopefully as a physical event next time.

- We can’t get around all the facets, but we are ambitious. We would really like to give you information and to get a lot of feedback, so the well-being can improve, says Morten Merhøj Mose.

- We know, it’s a challenge that people are fed up with sitting at the computer, but we still hope that many students would want to join us, he emphasises and continues:

- We don’t solve the well-being problems in a single week, but we hope to be able to inspire communities and reflections that can strengthen the well-being of all students. The success criterion is not that 3,000 will take part in our online sessions but rather to create a lot of great content that can also live on afterwards.

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THE WELL-BEING WEEK AT SDU

Every day from Monday to Friday, you can log on to Teams and listen to exciting presentations right here. They will all be in Danish but translated afterwards. You can see an overview of all the presentations here:

If you cannot participate in live sessions, you can watch them afterwards via the same links.

The well-being week is for all campuses. It’s not about where you study or what you study – this is relevant to everybody.