Jun 15, 2017 - What most affects international students' wellbeing and what kinds of support would ... Policy Analyst in
ICOS Annual Seminar, Thursday, 15th June 2017 Venue: Royal Irish Academy (RIA), 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 2–4pm
Reaching out to International Students How can student counselling and wellbeing services become more accessible and inclusive? HEIs report a relatively high number of international students facing adjustment and mental health challenges and yet international students can be reluctant to fully engage with support services. What most affects international students’ wellbeing and what kinds of support would help? Speakers at this seminar will present relevant research findings, brief us on national initiatives and share experience of approaches that have worked.
Chair:
Mr Gerry O'Sullivan, Head of International Programmes, Higher Education Authority (HEA)
2-2.05 pm
Welcome and Introduction Sheila Power, Director, ICOS
2.05-2.25 pm Mental Health Matters for International Students Dr Esther Murphy, Research Fellow, School of Nursing and Midwifery/ School of Education, TCD 2.25-2.45 pm Inclusive Counselling Services : The Institutional Perspective Mr John Phillips, UCD Student Counselling Team and Chairperson of the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland (PCHEI) 2.45-3.05 pm Students Reaching out to Students Dr Sharon-Harris Byrne, Lecturer in Business, IT Carlow and recent TCD graduate where she was also a representative on the Graduate Students Union (GSU) 3.05-3.15pm Connecting for Life: National Action on Suicide in Higher Education Dr Abigail Chantler HEA Policy Analyst in the Higher Education Authority (HEA) 3.15-4.00 pm Panel discussion.
Event registration here: https://icos_annual_seminar.eventbrite.ie
Mr Gerry O'Sullivan Gerry O’Sullivan is Head of International Education at the Higher Education Authority in Dublin – the statutory planning and policy development body for higher education and research in Ireland. He has addressed many international fora and conferences including the Education and Culture Committee of the European Parliament; the FAUBAI Conference in Brazil and many meetings in Brussels, the UK, Jordan, Germany, Russia and Austria. He is currently the Chair of the Erasmus+ Working Group on Special Needs and has been a member of the Bologna Working Group on Internationalisation and Mobility.
Dr Esther Murphy Esther is a Research Fellow in Mental Health at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Nursing & Midwifery and also a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Education. Esther holds a PhD in Disability Studies and Intercultural Studies and a MA in Intercultural Studies, both from Dublin City University. As a postdoctoral researcher, Esther has worked with Trinity College Dublin’s School of Education contributing to high impact national inclusive education research studies and at the NCBI’s Centre for Inclusive Technology, coordinating large EU funded projects. As Principal Investigator for the Association for Higher Education Access & Disability (AHEAD), Esther authored national research reports including the recent “Mental Health Matters: Mapping Best Practices in Higher Education”(2016). Esther is currently working with Professor Agnes Higgins on an innovative national study investigating the experiences of people coming off psychotropic medications.
Dr Abigail Chantler As a Policy Analyst in the Higher Education Authority, Abigail has wide-ranging experience of policydevelopment in higher education. She has been centrally involved in the preparation of reports on the arts and humanities, student-progression, performance-evaluation, international education, and gender-equality as well as in the management of the HEA’s Strategic Innovation Fund and of Ireland’s National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.
Mr John Phillips Psychotherapist - John Phillips is the current chairperson of the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland (PCHEI) and is a member of the University College Dublin Student Counselling Team. John is also a Lecturer on the Higher Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy programme in Dublin Business School. In addition to holding a Masters in Psychotherapy, John has also completed post-graduate studies in PTSD and Traumatology.
Dr Sharon Harris-Byrne Dr Sharon Harris-Byrne has worked in higher education since 2003 and currently lecturers in the Business Department in IT Carlow where she is programme leader for International Business. She has just completed her PhD in the Department of Education, Trinity College Dublin. Her PhD (2017) investigated the socio-cultural experiences of international students in Ireland and the impact that these experiences have had on their self-identity. While in TCD, Sharon also served on the Graduate Student Union. Sharon is currently completing her dissertation for her MA in Teaching and Learning where she is investigating the Cultural Competence of Omani students in IT Carlow.
