The handbook, titled “Enhancing exchange students’ everyday well-being and sense of belonging in times of collective crisis: learning from the case of Ukrainian exchange students at the university of Helsinki during wartime,” documents and shares useful lessons learned from an initiative implemented at the University of Helsinki between 2022 and 2025. This project was dedicated to supporting Ukrainian exchange students during wartime, pinpointing effective methods for fostering their well-being, academic resilience, and sense of belonging amidst a prolonged collective crisis.
We suggest that the handbook can be useful for familiarisation for a broad spectrum of people involved in higher education and crisis support, for instance:
- University staff and administrators
It can provide practical inspiration for higher education institutions looking to establish similar student support systems or practices that are able to take into account ongoing collective crises and their effects on students.
- Academic staff (professors, lecturers, teachers)
This publication provides insight into adopting a trauma-informed approach to teaching and supervising students affected by a crisis. It underscores the necessity of fostering an atmosphere of respect, empathy, and generosity for students who have experienced trauma. It also contains specific recommendations for educators seeking to become trauma-informed.
- Support staff (project planners, tutors, counsellors)
The handbook outlines strategies to reinforce students’ everyday well-being and sense of belonging. These include organizing informal social activities, providing assistance with administrative and bureaucratic tasks, and spearheading community-building efforts. Furthermore, it stresses the critical role of culturally sensitive support.
The handbook is disseminated to different faculties and student services at the University of Helsinki giving insight and ideas on how to adopt trauma-informed and holistic approach to support students’ academic resilience