'Even an old pit pony needs the occasional pat on the nose.' A word of encouragement goes such a long way, especially when it is a long road that is less travelled. Most small children when they are learning to walk are given loads of encouragement to take the first...

Where an online integrity educators' practicum included a survey on the participants' own formal moral and ethics training, in relation to their work-field experience, most respondents stated that their higher education in this area was of little relevance. That they...

Is it possible we have become silenced to use the word 'love' in the workplace, and especially in formal education settings? It's as if the English word 'love' has become an unacceptable word to use in many workplace contexts, including education, health, and...

Docking is different to simply parking. A connection is made when something docks: whether it is a ship's hawser tied to the quay or a module locking onto a space station. Docking says you are now in a stable and secure landing place where you can offload, download,...

Support is a word that many people shrink away from. It can suggest 'You are weak', 'Something is lacking in you that needs fixing'. Many students would rather suffer low mental wellbeing than walk through a door where the word 'Support' is written because it is like...

World Kindness Day – often described as a day for doing good deeds in the community. Do we "do" kindness? Kindness is a human value that motivates us,  influences our behaviour, and the decisions we make. What we "do" is CARE. But do we always DARE to Care? It can...

Workplace mental health is this year's WMHD theme. Within Liferoute, there is Caring on Campus. It's an initiative to tackle mental health issues in higher education - where staff and students are both affected. Its approach is based on first principles rather than...

At CaringOnCampus we use a check list of three 'A's that help create the best environment for those with any suicide ideation to not feel alone with their thoughts. We share conversations where we learn how to ensure we always give a sense of ✔availabllity...

It's hard to know what you want if you've never seen or in some way experienced it. It's like you settle for a tomato because you've never seen or tasted a freshly picked, naturally sun-ripened strawberry. But somehow the tomato doesn't always seem to 'hit the...

The competent and rigorous research that we source from universities and that pertains to topics regarding our environment, economies, industries, and communities are always esteemed and valued. However, in matters closer to home, within the campus gates, is it...

STRIVING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE is the MOST VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION we can all make in life. It is the commonly held belief that equity in education is a powerful tool to help bring about Social Justice. But we need to add, only if the chosen pedagogies also enable the...

...The UnWelcome It takes us to scary places, but that's also where the buried treasures lie. When we learn we are Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Lyra Silver-tongue... Where we re-discover all that is strong and brave and good within us. It's a good way to define both...

The world’s most played song is the one we keep singing to ourselves, often all day long. You can spot it in conversations when it is clear no one is really listening. Hearing, yes (maybe), but not listening to a level where they are engaging their mind and heart with...

Universities and colleges don't 'own' knowledge anymore. Internet technology and MOOCS now enable a shift to individual access any where and at any time. It is a good time for educators to ask themselves: 'What is the job here?' Or even 'Is this still the work I want...

Don't get suicidal over confusion about what you are. It's the WHO you are inside that matters. The body, its gender and its outward appearance, have all become such a big factor in how we express ourselves, but you can sidestep so much of the misery this can cause....

A photography firm apologised after parents were offered a choice of whether they wanted class photos with or without pupils with complex needs. The underlying issue has to be that separate photos were allowed to be taken in the first place. It was a golden...

Learning means growth, and growth means life. In nature, things are very clear-cut. If something isn't growing, then decline and dying are soon to follow. Just as a full moon only lasts for one night. Whether it is through carelessness, laziness, stubbornness or...

It's hard for students to have a good day if educators are having a bad one. Improving staff wellbeing and mental health is an important issue in and of itself. Yet, recent research indicates that university staff have higher levels of stress and burnout than the...

2023: World breaches 1.5C warming threshold for full year. It's self-destruction with no brakes. It can no longer be argued otherwise. Very, very soon now, and definitely sooner than most of us want to believe, we will get to the point where our planet will no longer...

What does a snake eating its own tail signify? Some say it symbolises infinity. We say it symbolises the infinite capacity within higher education institutions to limp on since the mid-20th century without fundamental changes. How would we feel stepping into a...

Often described as the round peg in the square hole. Or worse, the square peg that can't even get into the round hole. If this is how you feel, then it doesn't mean that there is something wrong or lacking in you. It's just that the environment, the context, or simply...

On International Day of EDUCATION – 24 January, we especially thank all the heroes in Higher Education who are part of, or support, teaching faculty. You are a vital pinch point for Quality Education (Sustainable Development Goal #4) in all its many expressions, both...

Higher education can be a hugely demanding work environment with many things to balance. So it's hard to remember when it feels you are up to your ears in hungry alligators that your priority should be to drain the swamp. But what is the alternative? Using all your...

Silos… leading to ISOL-ation. UK universities and business schools structured so that departments isolate and feel 'specialised', or are so absorbed in research pursuits that they have no time or interest in anyone else. Leading to professional imbalance and burnout....

What are your thoughts on simple things that would make what and how you teach more empowering, satisfying and relevant? If you can take just five minutes to send LifeRoute your thoughts, then it gives us the credibility to then push harder for the transformation...

What are your thoughts on simple things that would make what and how you learn more empowering and relevant? If you can take just five minutes to send LifeRoute your thoughts, then it gives us the credibility to then push harder for the transformation that's needed....

Diwali - The Festival of Lights celebrated on the Oct/Nov new moon, and especially by faiths in India. Yet should every day not be a Festival of Lights in Higher Education? A day where the lights of student souls are ignited, and where their hopes and dreams are...

In a world that seems to be getting more crazy and more extreme every day, what do you have that keeps you anchored and stable? Definitely nothing external to yourself can be relied upon. Or even anything physical like the body and its health. Or for that matter...

If we want to genuinely do good in this world, then we must first achieve a constant healthy state of mental and emotional wellbeing. It will be an uphill struggle otherwise. Sometimes a responsibility lands in our lap, as it did of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Or you...

A source of upliftment for those of us who have huge interest and deep concern for wellbeing within UK tertiary education is an article published by Wonkhe 24 April 2023 entitled Even in turbulent times the OIA can practise kindness in adjudicating complaints. Written...

A Spring 2023 Paris fashion catwalk is bang-on-trend! The United Nations General Assembly has now declared 30 MARCH as the International Day of Zero Waste. It highlights the importance of ZERO WASTE Initiatives. How about we start with the biggest source of waste most...