National Student Wellbeing Network

” Collaborate, share, connect for better student wellbeing.”

The National Network Student Wellbeing is there to improve the (mental) wellbeing of students in the VAT and higher education. The network forms a central platform for knowledge exchange and cooperation, in which we learn from each other and develop solutions together. By sharing experiences and discussing bottlenecks, we put student welfare high on the agenda in education.

Why participate?

The National Student Wellbeing Network helps educational institutions and professionals actively contribute to student wellbeing. Participation in the network provides an opportunity to:

• actively exchange knowledge and experience
• Gain insight into new developments and research
• receive practical tools for improving student wellbeing
• collaborate on national initiatives and agenda-setting of bottlenecks
• participate in meetings, master classes and an online community.

For whom?

The network is for professionals who are committed to the wellbeing of students within college, university or university. Think about:

• Student wellbeing and inclusion policy advisors.
• Student deans, student advisors and confidential advisors
• Student services staff and support teams
• Psychologists, (youth) coaches and student supervisors
• Members of employee participation or student welfare task forces
• Researchers, teachers and managers with a focus on wellbeing
• Project leaders on topics such as mental wellness, social safety, diversity and inclusion.

What does the network offer?

The network contributes to improving student wellbeing in three ways:

1. By providing a central platform and gathering point for student wellbeing in education: it creates an overview of the various student wellbeing initiatives, knowledge and organizations.
2. By sharing knowledge that supports practice (practice-based knowledge). Educational institutions can take this knowledge locally and translate it to their own context (e.g., practices of other schools, new research, or national developments).
3. Collect signals and bottlenecks from the National Network and put them on the national agenda. To this end, there is close cooperation in the national Student Wellbeing Working Group.

Overview of activities

1. Networking meetings

Each year, the network organizes four free meetings for professionals in VAT and higher education. These meetings provide a stage for:

• Inspiring guest speakers and case studies
• Themes such as performance pressure, suicide prevention, and mental health
• Opportunity to network with other student wellbeing professionals.

2. Online community for current developments

To promote knowledge exchange between networking meetings, two online communities have been set up:

• Student wellbeing in the VAT
• Student wellbeing in higher education

In these communities you can:

• Sharing knowledge about current developments
• Post calls and connect with other network partners
• Instantly share experiences with fellow professionals

3. In-depth master classes

In addition to the network meetings, the network offers free master classes that take you deeper into specific topics. Keep an eye on the agenda for this. These sessions offer concrete tools for practice, such as:

• Increasing students’ mental resilience.
• Supporting students with mental health issues.

4. National Student Wellbeing Knowledge Base.

The National Student Wellbeing Knowledge Bank is the central platform where all available research, practical examples and tips on student welfare come together. It provides an overview of wellbeing initiatives and helps educational institutions to further improve their approach. Based on the StepChange model, the Knowledge Bank provides educational institutions with a quality framework for a successful and sustainable approach to student wellbeing. Based on the StepChange model, the Knowledge Bank provides educational institutions with a quality framework for a successful and sustainable approach to student wellbeing.

Governance National Student Wellbeing Network

ECIO faciliteert het Landelijk Netwerk Studentenwelzijn samen met individuele leden van mbo-, hbo-instellingen en universiteiten.

Program Committee of the National Student Wellbeing Network.

This committee is responsible for organizing the network meetings. They suggest interesting guest speakers and initiatives that meet the needs of members of the national network.

Leden van de Programmacommissie Studentenwelzijn:

• Floris de Boer, Global sustainability science student | Utrecht University
• Hilke Poetsma, school social worker St.de Kern /Deltion Youth Team and trainer THINK at school
• Liza Gan – van Iperen, project leader Student Life | Codarts, Rotterdam School of the Arts
• Miriam Zwaan, senior Study Career Coach Communication Studies | Hogeschool of Arnhem and Nijmegen
• Serge Feldmann, senior Policy Advisor Student Wellbeing | Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
• Zarrea Plaisier, student Wellbeing Officer | Tilburg University

Strategic team of the National Student Wellbeing Network.

The strategic team monitors the long-term goals of the National Student Wellbeing Network and translates the national student wellbeing framework to the network and advises the programme committee. The strategic team also outlines the frameworks for the network. In addition, the strategic team identifies points of attention and signals in the field of student welfare and raises these to the National Working Group on Student Wellbeing, a collaboration between the ministry, student advocates and the education umbrella organisations UNL and VH. The Student Wellbeing Strategy Team meets several times a year for this purpose.
The overview of consultation structures around student welfare provides insight into cooperation at student, institutional and national level.

Members of the Student Wellbeing Strategy Team:

• Jolien Dopmeijer, project leader and researcher | Windesheim and Trimbos Institute
• Stephanie Hulsebosch, Head of Student Life Codarts and researcher | Codarts Rotterdam
• Annemarie Urselmann, Manager Student Facilities | Eindhoven University of Technology
• Irene Alberti, advisor student wellbeing | MBO Utrecht
• Joppe Sorber, VU Amsterdam student and director / co-founder Door het Geluid

National Working Group on Student Wellbeing

In this, ECIO works with representatives of:

• ISO (Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg)
• Ministry of OCW
• UNL (Universiteiten van Nederland)
• VH (Vereniging Hogescholen)
• University of Humanistics
• LSVb (Landelijke Studentenvakbond )

In 2018, umbrella organizations, student unions and the Ministry of OCW took joint responsibility for student wellbeing. They identified the main bottlenecks and formulated five ambitions for improvement. To realize the implementation of this Joint Ambition Student Wellbeing, the Ministry of OCW established the National Working Group on Student Wellbeing in 2018. This working group, chaired by ECIO, focuses on the implementation of the policy within higher education. In 2023, this resulted in the National Framework for Student Wellbeing 2023-2030, which sets out the joint course for the coming years. The working group meets six times a year. The overview of consultation structures provides insight into cooperation at the student, institutional and national levels.

Jointly accelerating toward student wellbeing

An infographic provides insight into how ECIO is facilitating the collaborative acceleration of the movement toward student wellbeing.

Join, at no cost

The National Network for Student Wellbeing is funded by the Ministry of OCW, so participation is free. As a member of the network, you can participate in meetings, master classes and get access to the online community and knowledge base.