By Signe Bak Pedersen, student assistant in AAU Communication. Photo: Caroline Jochumsen, AAU Communication

More than 200 students chose to spend the afternoon in the CREATE building on March 24th for this year's Student Environment Day, and this is a record number of participants compared to previous years. The Study Environment Day was canceled in 2020 and in 2021 due to Corona.

Well-being in focus

The theme this year was student well-being, and after two years of Corona there has been an extra focus on the good study environment, and this is important according to pro-rector Anne Marie Kanstrup:

- It is great that so many have signed up for this year's Student Environment Day, where the theme is student well-being. I see this as an expression that the students are committed and interested in improving the study environment at AAU, said the vice-chancellor.

One of today's many presentations came from Studenterrådgivningen and was called 'How to become the perfect student - a showdown with unrealistic expectations at university'. The purpose of the presentation was to confront the narrative that exists on every degree about 'the perfect student'. A story that a great many students take to heart, and as a consequence of that, a similar number of students experience that it is a story that is really difficult to live up to. The point of the presentation was therefore to make it clear that as a student you should not strive for such an ideal. In addition, Studenterrådgivningen presented the participants with how to understand and do away with the burdensome and often untrue notions of what it means to be a good student at AAU.

Subsequently, the participants could opt in to up to two out of four different workshops related to 'student well-being'. Alternatively, they could stay in the Idea-café, where along with fellow students or staff they could come up with their good ideas for how we can together create an even better student life at AAU.

Committed students

Pro-rector Anne Marie Kanstrup was among other things to be found in the Idea-café, and she was delighted by the great commitment of the participants:

- Above all, I hope that the participants have a good day and some good insights that they can take with them further. And it is also a day when students can share thoughts about the good study environment in Aalborg, said pro-rector Anne Marie Kanstrup, who added that Study Environment Day is a day where the focus is placed on the well-being of the students.

It is not many weeks ago that the National Board of Health published a large study which showed, among other things, that stress among young people aged 16-24 had increased significantly. Therefore, this year's theme of student well-being is especially relevant, and the high number of registrations can be seen as an indication of just that.

- I think it is important that we focus on and talk about our students' well-being, but also that we reach out and offer help to work with the problems, said the pro-rector.

One of the students who had turned up for this year's Study Environment Day was Freja Rosenlund, who studies Language and International Studies in English in the 6th semester, who had placed herself in the Idea-café.

- I came alone, so I think it was super nice to talk to a lot of new people and just let my thoughts flow, says Freja Rosenlund.

She adds that her group has come up with a lot of good ideas for a better study environment at AAU, but the most important thing is that she has gained a greater and better insight into well-being and what good well-being is.

- I think I have gained a special approach to well-being in general after today. The thing about if you don't manage to read one chapter, that's enough. It is the more general well-being that counts, says Freja Rosenlund.

Lastly, pizza was ordered for the attending students, after which preparations were made for board game fun.

Great satisfaction with Study Environment Day 2022

The evaluation of Study Environment Day 2022 shows that there was generally great satisfaction with the day. 96% of the participating students were 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the setting and content. The evaluation also shows that several students particularly expressed that it was good to be able to put into words some of the challenges they experience. According to the evaluation, the participants experienced that the Study Environment Day created some good frameworks and tools for dialogue about well-being and dissatisfaction. The participants were particularly happy that the focus was placed on where you can seek help if you are not happy in your student life.

The participants were confirmed on the day that there are many of them who share the same challenges in relation to well-being and dissatisfaction at the university, and in the evaluation they expressed that it was nice for them to know that they are not alone about having a hard time.