EAIR Forum Cork 2024

Practical information

Track 7: Sustaining staff and student wellbeing

Track Chairs: Dr Eithne Hunt, Professor Mark O’Hara

The importance of sustaining and nurturing the individual and collective welfare, wellbeing, and meaningful engagement of staff in the delivery of higher education cannot be underestimated. The development of students’ attributes of personal wellbeing and resilience is being increasingly linked to student success and is highly valued by employers. In addition, the wellbeing of staff is a key enabler of individual and institutional performance and in developing a strong and effective learning and work-based values-based culture. Many institutions are now committing to a wide range of initiatives to support and sustain the wellbeing of their staff and students. For student facing activities, this includes curricular, co- curricular and extra-curricular initiatives. Academic staff and professional services staff are all key to the successful design and delivery of such initiatives and co-creation with students is also highly valuable.

 

  • This new track aims to bring together both theory and practice to consider the importance of and means towards enabling, embedding, and sustaining a focus on individual and collective wellbeing, and welfare as part of a healthy higher education institution. Important considerations include:
  • How can students be equipped to develop their capability to adopt and sustain healthy habits for wellbeing and success, within and beyond the curriculum?
  • What institutional strategies, policies and approaches are necessary to empower students to be well and learn well?
  • What wellbeing challenges are faced by staff in their day-to-day higher education context of rapid change, performativity demands, and increasing diversity of academic and professional challenges?
  • What institutional strategies, policies and approaches are necessary to empower individuals to develop and sustain healthy professional and personal lives in balance? How might achieving this balance enable staff performance and potential? What exemplary practices and case-studies of proactive and sustainable wellbeing and welfare approaches might be shared?
  • How has the post Covid 19 era and new work practices including remote/blended working impacted on staff wellbeing and what are institutions doing to encourage staff to engage in wellbeing matters?
  • What action can we take as institutions to support and enable staff in supporting student wellbeing?

This track is chaired by:

Eithne Hunt


Dr Eithne Hunt

Mark O'Hara


Professor Mark O’Hara

Track Details

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Sustainable Travel Ideas for the EAIR Cork Forum

Travelling from Europe

Visitors from Europe can travel via Eurostar from Paris to London and from there by train to Wales and by boat to Dublin. Travellers can then take the train or bus to Cork. Alternatively, there is a daily boat connection from Roscoff or Calais (in Northern France) directly to Ringaskiddy, Cork.  

Link for Direct Ferries: https://www.directferries.ie/

Travelling from the UK

There are ways to travel to and from Ireland without flying, as there are train and bus services that link with ferry services across the Irish Sea which connect several ports in England, Wales and Scotland with Irish ferry ports of Rosslare, Dublin or Belfast with ongoing travel by car, bus or train. 

Cross County Rail Services

Where taking a flight is necessary, attendees are encouraged to consider direct flights to Ireland (Cork, Dublin) airports and to use cross country rail services where a direct flight to Cork is not possible.

Link for Irish rail: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Travel options in Cork

Cork is a city where active travel options are both available and encouraged – walking and cycling.  Visitors to Cork City can get a 3 day TFI bike subscription.

Link to TFI Bike Subscription: https://www.bikeshare.ie/pricing-and-subscriptions.html

All accommodation options and EAIR Forum venues in Cork can be accessed easily by foot. 

Offsetting Travel Emissions

Forum attendees are invited to offset the unfavourable impact of air travel by combining attendance at the Cork forum with other meetings in Ireland, the UK and Europe. 

Forum attendees who wish to consider sustainable travel options may also wish to combine their attendance at the Cork EAIR Forum with their annual holiday and by so doing minimise the number of air flights taken in 2024.