An issue identified with previous generations of Neuroscience students had been the difficulty in forging an identity as Neuroscientists. Lack of a sense of identity can lead to a weak sense of belonging, with a negative impact on the students’ experience and success. This worrying difficulty was likely to be amplified this year, with virtually all teaching being remote. Fostering a sense of identity and belonging, creating a community of learners, was shown in several studies to increase student retention, wellbeing and academic achievement. To improve the students’ experience and build a community of Neuroscientists, thus facilitating the transition to University for our first year students, in the difficult circumstances imposed by the pandemic,  I organised an extra-curricular video competition for our yr 1 Neuroscience students, with the kind support of students from yr 2 and 3. The students had to identify a King’s Neuroscientist they were interested in and prepare a video of an interview with this researcher, to be uploaded to the Neuroscience Homepage, thus fostering greater interaction among Neuroscience students, and between students and staff. The views of the students on this project were sought in a survey administered in February-April 2021.

Part of the Learning & Teaching Conference 2021 Series.

KED Talk created by Dr Isabella Gavazzi, Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience Education, Faculty of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience