2024
Well-being is not only an individual experience – it is also a joint effort. This year's event is titled "Shameful (un)well-being" - a topic, which speakers Ditte Roth Hulgaard and Christian Hjortkjær will enlighten us with.
Introduction to the presentations:
Shame is to blame – Psychological failure to thrive and existential development
Young people are not really afraid of doing something wrong but rather of being found out. Therefore, it is not so much guilt that they are dealing with but shame. The reason may be found in a new morality of orders and ideals, which exhausts and makes them anxious about losing control of what is most important in their lives. How did we get here, how do we understand the shame mechanisms that lock us down and how can we help?
/By Christian Hjortkjær, PhD and folk high school teacher at Silkeborg Folk High School
Perspectives on young people’s (un)well-being
The VIVE survey on the welfare and well-being of children and young people from 2020 showed that around 25% of 15–19-year-olds report that they are or have been affected by a mental disorder. In this presentation, I will offer perspectives on how we can understand this development and how the development affects young people who are starting at university.
/By Ditte Roth Hulgaard Clinical associate professor • Psychiatry (Aabenraa)
9:00 – 9:05 Welcome, Helle Waagepetersen et al.
9:05 – 10:20 Christian Hjortkjær
Presentation
2 – 4 discussion questions in plenary
10:20 - 10:35 Pause
10:35 – 11:55 Ditte Roth Hulgaard
Presentation
2 – 4 discussion questions in plenary
11:55 Tak til oplægsholdere og studerende
The theme 'well-being' is an important part of SDU's strategy towards 2030. Thrive together will launch a discussion on well-being at the University and put our knowledge from student- and employee surveys into play.
The good student life is a core value at SDU, but what does it actually entail? How do we reach that goal and what challenges stand in the way? These are the key questions that we will delve into at our upcoming ‘Thriving Together’ event. We have invited Christian Hjortkjær and Ditte Roth Hulgaard to enlighten us on themes such as existential education, shame and being (un)able to thrive, and thus create the foundation for a collective dialogue on how we can approach the good student life at SDU.
The good student life at SDU!
SDU gives high priority to the students’ well-being and study environment. Our 2030 strategy, ‘Value. Quality. People’, places particular emphasis on the development of ‘the good student life’ and the strengthening of well-being initiatives, especially for new students. However, creating the good student life requires collaboration. It is crucial that we understand and discuss the challenges affecting students in 2024. A good student life is not just an individual matter; it is a shared responsibility for both students and staff.
Towards a common understanding of ‘The good student life’
The good student life varies from individual to individual, but research points to a number of common challenges that students are facing in 2024. In order to carve out the good student life, it is crucial that we achieve a common understanding of these challenges so that we can find solutions together.
Anchored in Reality 2024
To make our dialogue relevant and meaningful, the well-being event is based on input from two leading experts in existential education, shame and being (un)able to thrive.
Christian Hjortkjær, theologian and PhD in Søren Kierkegaard and the Diagnostic Society, will talk about today’s existential conditions and the role of shame. His latest book, ‘Skamfuld’ (‘Shameful’), offers a societal diagnosis of the functions and challenges of shame in the light of contemporary morality.
Ditte Roth Hulgaard, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at SDU, will contribute with insights from her research in child and adolescent psychiatry and being (un)able to thrive. Based on the 2020 VIVE study on children and adolescents, she will discuss how this development affects young people starting university.
Shared ambition: The good student life
On 8 November 2024, we invite everyone to explore these themes together to gain greater insight and understanding. Through this dialogue, we hope to strengthen our efforts to create the good student life at SDU and thereby improve well-being and the study environment for everyone.
2023
Introduction text to the event:
Trivsel er ikke kun en individuel oplevelse, det er også en fælles indsats. På årets trivselsarrangement vil vi udforske temaet "Fællesskab" og undersøge, hvad det betyder at skabe og opretholde fællesskaber på et universitet. Hvad er fællesskab, og hvordan definerer vi det inden for rammerne af en uddannelsesinstitution som SDU?
Fællesskaber kan være alt fra det overordnede fællesskab på universitetet til mere specifikke enheder som studiegrupper, læringsmiljøer, undervisningslokaler og studenterforeninger. Vi vil udforske betydningen af fællesskaber og reflektere over, hvad det betyder at føle sig uden for fællesskabet, eller hvis fællesskabet er fraværende.
Arrangementet er struktureret som en samskabelsesproces, hvor vi først vil høre et oplæg til inspiration fra Rune Mastrup Lauridsen, som vil introducere os til en måde at se trivsel på. Derefter vil vi gå i dialog ved rundborde og anvende en citizen science samskabelsesmetode for at fremme dybdegående samtaler og idéudveksling.
4.00-4.45 pm.: Presentation by Rune Mastrup Lauridsen (danish)
Student well-being: And how we make it so much easier for everyone to contribute.
4.45-5.00 pm.: Break
5.00-5.30 pm.: Introduction and first round of table dialogues (danish/english)
We will discuss the theme ‘Communities’ based on working issues developed by a group consisting of academic staff, technical/administrative staff and students.
5.30-6.00 pm.: Break
We will serve refreshments and light snacks.
6.00-6.25 pm.: 2nd round of table dialogues (danish/english)
Participants will switch tables to explore new issues together with different participants.
6.25-7.00 pm.: Summing up and closing plenary session (danish/english)
Table hosts will present the main points discussed at their tables, and everyone can contribute with additional comments, reflections, and questions.
The theme 'well-being' is an important part of SDU's strategy towards 2030. Thrive together will launch a discussion on well-being at the University and put our knowledge from student- and employee surveys into play.
SDU is committed to community!
SDU's strategy to create excellent research and learning environments focuses on well-being, with the goal of creating an inclusive community where everyone at the University thrives. Well-being is not just an individual matter; it is a shared obligation for all who are part of SDU, both staff and students.
We believe that by building trust and psychological security, we can engage competent people to challenge the status quo and contribute to the development of the University as well as society. We have confidence in our students and staff and believe that the best solutions come about through close collaboration across the entire University.
Common understanding of well-being
Well-being is a frequently discussed topic, especially in the education sector, and many initiatives are underway to promote well-being.
But what does well-being really mean? How do we define well-being and how can we ensure that our well-being initiatives are aligned with the people it concerns?
We believe that our students and employees possess valuable skillsets and lived experiences that can give us insights into how they experience SDU in practice. These insights can help us identify areas where, together, we can challenge the status quo and develop new approaches.
Often the best solutions arise in concrete situations and through experience. With this in mind, SDU would like to invite everyone to a co-creation process, where together we will qualify our approach to and strengthen well-being at SDU.
Anchored in reality
To ensure that our dialogue is concrete and meaningful, the well-being event is based on the results of the 2023 Study Environment Survey as well as input from employees in connection with work environment and education evaluations.
While many at SDU are generally thriving, it is important to address the 24% of our student population who are not. People who don’t thrive are a concern for all of us, whether they are students or employees. In this year’s Study Environment Survey, 76% of the respondents indicated they are thriving, but we want to delve deeper into the question of how well-being can be improved overall and how we can support those who are not thriving.
On October 31, 2023, we will explore these issues together. In preparation for the event, we have carried out an analysis of free-text responses from the 2023 Study Environment Survey, and the results have been discussed in a working group consisting of students as well as academic and technical-administrative staff. These achievements have helped shape the themes of this year’s event.