AERC represented at “University Without Walls” wellbeing lecture

Dr Catherine McClellan, Enterprise Fellow at the Assessment & Evaluation Research Centre (AERC), was a panellist at University Without Walls: Wellbeing lessons from Ukrainian war zones.

Presented by Professor Yana Sychikova and Professor Igor Lyman in collaboration with Future Campus, this lecture shared critical insights into wellbeing, resilience, and higher education leadership drawn from sustaining a Ukrainian university during occupation, displacement, and ongoing conflict.

The session was introduced by reflections from Professor Marek Tesar, whose work on educational borderlands frames the university as a relational, ethical, and lived space.

As a panellist, Dr Catherine McClellan discussed a Ukraine-based project funded by the LEGO Foundation prior to joining UoM. The project supported teachers in using playful learning approaches and continued despite disruptions from COVID-19 and the Russian invasion. Evaluation indicated that students in participating classrooms showed gains in literacy and social-emotional skills, illustrating how evidence-informed, human-centred approaches can support learning and wellbeing in challenging contexts.