For some this has meant more time for concentration and focus, for others it has been a period that has been less creative, and one marked by unproductive loneliness. The narratives of the pandemic are diverse, just as we are. As we now gather again, we will need time to digest what we have learnt, what competences we have acquired, what skills we possess that are new – and we need to look forward: Where are going from here? What do we bring with us that will further our research and learning environment?
The important relation between social wellbeing and academic learning
Earlier this month, seven of the University?s merited educators published an article calling for a strengthened focus on a more comprehensive learning environment. Acknowledging that many students during the last one and half years have been more lonely than before, not being able to meet other students or teachers, the authors of the column underlined the important relation between social wellbeing and academic learning. Learning, they said, does not only take place during the lecture or in the seminar but starts before and continues after. The informal meetings student to student in the hall, on their way to another lecture, or over a cup of coffee are vital in the formation of knowledge. Professors thus carry an individual responsibility for facilitating not only the formal learning processes, the authors underline, but also the informal, - and so does the institution. These informal spaces for learning must be integrated into the formal ones, and this is the responsibility of professors and institutions. Further, they ask that special attention is given first year?s students and those who are particularly vulnerable and more likely to fall out. Thirdly, they challenge us all to develop strategies that include a wider and more comprehensive perspective on learning environments.
We need to re-establish TF as a space for generous sharing and exchange
We will at TF this fall give special attention to questions concerning the research and learning environment, and how we can work together, faculty, administration, phds, postdocs and students in re-creating a stimulating environment for all. We need to re-establish TF as a space for generous sharing and exchange. We probably also need to get to know each other again, or even for the first time, since we after all have had colleagues that started working during the pandemic and lock down, and some that for pandemic reasons have not been able to join us in Oslo as of yet. We need to look forward and harvest from the insights and experiences we bring with us from the pandemic and integrate them into our knowledge of what works. Personally, I look forward to the new semester and I am hopeful in my expectations that we will grow stronger and be more forward leaning as we gather again and reconnect.
Warmly welcome to you all!
Aud V. T?nnessen