Project R-15018

A voice through and for diversity Building 'sense of belonging' through imagination and connection. (Education)

UHasselt explicitly aims to promote more inclusive education in light of increasing diversity, but challenges remain. First, many students and staff are not sufficiently aware of the concepts of diversity and inclusion. Second, there is limited understanding of the diversity within the UHasselt community itself. Third, the diversity that does exist is often not visibly represented, even though representation and the ability to identify oneself in the community are crucial for fostering a sense of belonging and experiencing a warm, inclusive learning and living environment. Lastly, initiatives around diversity and inclusion in organizations are often seen as too abstract and generic. In short, there is a need for a concrete translation of these goals into education and the university as a whole. The main objective of this project is therefore to embed inclusion, a sense of belonging, and diversity more structurally and more visibly, both within education and university-wide. This will be achieved by 1) bringing together and visualizing the 'collective knowledge' of stakeholders with different dimensions of diversity, both within academic programs and across the university, and 2) embedding inclusion and diversity as a 'hidden curriculum' within the university. To this end, a four-step cycle is proposed that is, on the one hand, "globally" aligned (i.e., consistent with and within the framework of university-wide policy objectives) but, on the other hand, also strongly "locally" grounded (i.e., tailored to the specific concerns and practices of individual programs through integration into existing course components). This approach pays attention to various dimensions of diversity (socio-cultural, physical, etc.) and employs different methodologies to give diversity a voice. In this way, we aim to foster a stronger sense of belonging among students and staff. Furthermore, this approach enables inclusion to be sustainably and structurally embedded in education (via students and staff) and, from there, to influence the professional field.

01 October 2024 - 30 September 2026