Creating Belonging: A Call to Take Up Space in Northern Ireland's Higher Education

Northern Ireland's higher education landscape is vastly changing. The demographic of today's learner – and educator – is shifting too. As NI actively recruits students from a global community, noticeable efforts to improve student experience have been introduced to foster a greater sense of community and inclusion. In this paper, I share my insight and experience as a Black, queer, international politico-historical scholar of intersectionality and identity, and former sabbatical officer and community advocate to critically examine the concepts of belonging and student experience. I engage a pragmatic intersectional approach to challenge the role of the traditional students' unions and offer practical recommendations to protect and refine the experience of ethnic minority learners in Northern Ireland.