Since the first episode of „NextNormal“, it has become very clear that student wellbeing and mental health are subjects that matter and that should be talked about – especially during this time of uncertainty, isolation and anxiety. Nina Ruijfrok and Antonia Vegt are both studying in The Netherlands and working at ISO, The Dutch National Students‘ Association – and they proposed to focus on mental health in this „NextNormal“ episode, especially from a perspective of international students. What makes students and international students especially vulnerable when it comes to mental wellbeing, why is it so difficult to change the complex situation for the better – and, most importantly – how can we still try? Listen to Nina, Antonia and Laura discuss a more caring future of higher education in Europe.

What  is the “NextNormal” of European student life? There will be a time after  the Corona shutdown, and we want to discuss what it should look like.  How can we learn from the digital turn in order to create a better  future for higher education? In our podcast, we are talking to students  and student unions from all over Europe about the “NextNormal” – the  future of higher education beyond Corona. Each episode is dedicated to  one European country. “NextNormal – WeStudy@Home” is a podcast produced  by the NextEducation working group at DHBW Karlsruhe and strongly  supported by ESU.

0:28 – Introduction
3:23 – the student situation in the last months
4:14 – the Covid situation in the Netherlands in the past months and now
7:29 – biggest challenges and learnings
9:39 – What is mental health about and what’s the public narrative?
14:14 – Are (international) students especially vulnerable?
16:30 – impact of the Dutch educational and health system
20:41 – (mental) health on a European level and challenges for international students
25:06 – making higher education more inclusive
27:39 – the role of student organisations and the Caring Universities
30:30 – What could universities and teachers do?
33:39 – envisioning future higher education