Increasing Students’ Sense of Belonging at Research Conferences

Many postsecondary institutions host a knowledge dissemination event for students to publicly share their scholarly, research, and creative works. These events improve student communication skills and self-efficacy. The authors propose that these events also can affect students’ sense of belonging. CREATE is Vancouver Island University’s all-discipline student knowledge dissemination event. During the 2020–2021 academic year, seven specific tactics were employed to increase a sense of belonging at CREATE. A post-event survey indicated that overall students had a strong sense of belonging, and underserved students felt more able to be themselves at CREATE then in their day-to-day lives. Further, qualitative responses showed evidence that most tactics were beneficial. Taken in concert, these tactics give event organizers an applied model for increasing students’ sense of belonging at their events.