SEED stands for 'Student Enhancement Engagement and Development'. The SEED Award was created to recognise students' contribution through co-creation.
Students are invited to apply for this recognition. Applicants complete an online form and have a limit of 600-words to submit a reflection on their co-creative work. They are asked to evidence a minimum of 10 hours of activity and to share their learning and the recommendations offered to the educator they have been co-creating with.
The application is endorsed by the educator who worked with the student. Applications are reviewed by a panel which aligns processes with our Teaching Recognition processes for staff. This process follows the AdvanceHE Professional Standards Framework (PSF), a globally-recognised framework for benchmarking success within HE teaching and learning. Successful applicants receive a certificate, and the award is recorded on their Higher Education Achievement Record.
Visit the SEED Award website for more information.
The Queen Mary University of London Mission is to...
"...create a truly inclusive environment, building on our cherished cultural diversity, where students and staff flourish, reach their full potential and are proud to be part of the University."
Local research and experience point towards co-creative working inviting flourishing for students and staff alike.
'…allowed me to flourish and grow in that it allowed me to reconnect to learners and students in a way that I didn't realise I was missing, but that I was missing' (Educator interview, 2023
Philosophically, flourishing has been approximated with Aristotle’s term ‘eudaimonia’ which is wellbeing through meaning making, finding purpose, mastery and personal growth (Kahn, 2017). Flourishing moves the conversation beyond individual ‘resilience’ (bouncing back and toughing it out alone) towards nurturing spaces between us of connection, relationship, voice, agency and growth (Younie, 2020). Flourishing is also connecting with difficult parts of our lives, ourselves, our teams, known as shadow work (Younie, 2024).
The Flourishing Spaces team is researching and developing the field of flourishing in higher education supported by The President and Principal’s Fund for Educational Excellence:
To learn more about the project:
Twitter: @Flourish_Med @CreativeEnquiry
Instagram: @CreativeEnquiry
LinkedIn
If you are interested in learning more about flourishing spaces contact Louise Younie, m.l.a.younie@qmul.ac.uk
References
Kahn, P.E. (2017), 'The flourishing and dehumanization of students in higher education', Journal of Critical Realism, 16(4), 368-382. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2017.1347444
Younie, L. (2024) How might we cultivate flourishing spaces? Journal of Holistic Healthcare, 21, 14 - 16.
Younie, L. (2020) 'When I say flourishing in medical education...' Journal of Holistic Healthcare, 17(3), 44-46.