Well-being

How can we ensure that students and staff enjoy learning and working at the University of Groningen? How can we teach students and staff to take responsibility for themselves and their working environment, and contribute to creating a safe, healthy, and inclusive study- and work environment? How can we help students and staff to maintain a healthy work-life balance? These are just a few of the urgent questions that universities currently struggle with.

There are many publications on high study- and workload, social safety problems, and (as a consequence) mental health problems (e.g. burnout) within academia. This has resulted in an increasingly loud call for a shift towards an academic culture that fosters positive health and wellbeing (e.g. Recognition & Reward, Diversity & Inclusion). We think that providing education can help to achieve this shift and will contribute to creating a safe, healthy, and inclusive study- and work environment within the University of Groningen.

The mission of this community is to create a breeding ground for educational knowledge and expertise that helps to foster positive health and wellbeing among students and staff at the UG. By bringing together teachers, researchers, trainers, and students from the different faculties and services and letting them share expertise, views, and practices, we can further develop our educational knowledge in the broad domain of wellbeing (including positive health, burnout, workload, and social safety), and create evidence informed educational interventions and provide educational policy advice to faculties and boards.

Janet Jackson - Community of Practice Leader
Janet Thompson Jackson, Juris Doctor,  joined the University of Groningen, Faculty of Law as a Wellbeing, Diversity & Inclusion officer in September 2022. Prior to that she was a guest professor at the UG Faculty of Law from 2018-2019 and 202-2022. While her background is in law as a practicing attorney and law professor, her research and training over the past decade have focused on wellbeing, particularly in the context of law students, staff, lawyers, and legal professionals. She is a certified wellness coach and yoga teacher and an international speaker on wellbeing; diversity, inclusion & belonging; and wellness as justice. She is Professor Emerita at Washburn University, where she was a member of the law faculty from 2004–2022.

More information & participation
Do you have a question or would you like to actively participate in this community? Please contact community leader, Janet Jackson, through j.jackson rug.nl.