What does belonging mean to you?

Transcript

[Start transcript]

IMAGE: RMIT logo appears on screen

TEXT ON SCREEN: What does Student Belonging mean to you?

MUSIC: Upbeat music plays

SPEAKER: [Kerin Elsum]

TEXT ON SCREEN: Kerrin Elsum, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication

VOICE: It is really three parts that I see for student belonging. The first bit is making sure the students really feel like they belong as part of an RMIT student. And this sort of happens around first year and second year. But it's also really important, for me, with my advertising students, that they also feel like they belong as part of the advertising professional-- and start to get an identity for that profession that they are going into. There's also a bit more of a belonging, which is the society at large, which I think is really important to get them to feel like they are part of that as well.

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SPEAKER: [Julian Pratt]

TEXT ON SCREEN: Julian Pratt, Multidisciplinary Program Coordinator, School of Architecture and Urban Design

As a way of thinking about things in multifaceted ways and the idea of place, the idea of a tribe, and the idea of a profession. So, what student belonging is about feeling like you are part of all those three. Being accepted and being able to operate within that space and confidence and assurance that you feel accepted within that space.

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SPEAKER: [Marco De Sisto]

TEXT ON SCREEN: Marco De Sisto, Early Career Develop Fellow, School of Management

To me, belonging means-- in general, means like being part of something, like a team, a group, even a place where you feel comfortable, accepted, loved, not judged, in a sense. So, there's not much difference, to me, like from student belonging or any other form of employment or employer belonging or human belonging. Like at the end of the day it's like a psychological need that everyone has. That's why it's universal. And we have just to try to incorporate and feel that kind of need.

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SPEAKER: [Genevieve Dickinson]

TEXT ON SCREEN: Genevieve Dickinson, Student Experience Coordinator, School of Management

Yes, and I think from a student perspective, I think belonging, to me, I see it as students being perceived as being valued. I think, that's something that we need to make sure that they are valued. And it is part of all the inclusion, the acceptance, but I think, showing students that we do value you and that you do have-- that you are a very important part of this University is key to that belonging.

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SPEAKER: [Munir Muniruzzaman]

TEXT ON SCREEN: Munir Muniruzzaman, Program Manager Associate Degrees, School of Vocational Engineering Science and Health

We want our students to integrate with RMIT and feel that they are part of a bigger family, RMIT family. So, it's not that they are only paying fees and taking the services. They can be involved with us. And the more they get involved with us, the effective the teaching will be, the learning will be. So, basically, we want them to feel that they are part of RMIT, and we progress together, we enhance each other's abilities together.

IMAGE ON SCREEN: RMIT Logo

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