To a certain extent, the last three admission rounds have reflected the concerns of young people about the future. Greater uncertainty and tougher competition on the labour market certainly plays a part, as does a general concern over how COVID-19 will affect their everyday lives.

Study counsellors employed centrally at the University work at the Student Affairs and Academic Registry Division. While under normal circumstances, last week they would have been busy welcoming students and prospective students to the Segerstedt Building for drop-in counselling, this year has been somewhat different. Rather than meeting students in person, all counselling sessions were held digitally.

“This arrangement worked splendidly! During the last three semesters, we have offered digital drop-in on the final day for applications and this has worked very well on each occasion. On the final day for applications for spring semester 2021, we counselled 80 people in four hours. This was a substantial increase on spring semester 2020, when we met with 50 people during the day. We are planning to continue offering weekly drop-in sessions during the spring,” says study and careers counsellor Charlotte Nordgren.

A different type of conversation

Charlotte Nordgren explains that there have been significant differences in the conversations with students during the pandemic in terms of the most common topics of discussion. In the case of prospective students, these have been more likely to be people who have been laid off, given notice or made redundant and who are taking the opportunity, or see no other recourse than to enter higher education. The topics raised at counselling sessions relate to career change or professional development.

Charlotte Nordgren and her colleagues quickly became aware of increased demand for appointments with counsellors, both as a consequence of the pandemic and probably due to the greater access to meetings thanks to the new digital format. Study and careers counsellor Madelene Rönnberg agrees:

“We can see that it is generally more challenging for students to find jobs and work placements during the pandemic. Considerably more students are also getting in touch seeking support in the job search process itself. The pressure on individual counselling has increased sharply.”

Lessons for the future

Since March 2020, the work of transitioning to an increasingly digital everyday life has caught everyone on the back foot. For study and career counsellors, this has meant all counselling meetings being conducted online or by telephone. Charlotte Nordgren feels that it is more difficult to read body language on a screen. Digital counselling demands a different approach to creating the kind of trust and relationship that leads to a healthy conversation. Despite a heavy workload, however, that transition to digital formats has brought with it many useful and important lessons.

“Conducting all of our work digitally over the past year has of course entailed new ways of working. We have developed our e-counselling skills and learned to work with a number of digital tools. By now, everyone is well aware that meeting someone via a screen is a different matter altogether and we have developed new working methods. We will be giving considerable thought to how we can take on board everything we have learned and all of the positive aspects of digital counselling. This has been exciting and developmental in many ways.”

Madelene Rönnberg also says that the division’s career event, Career Tuesdays, and other webinars have gained increased accessibility. Whereas before the pandemic there were only physical events in the form of seminars and workshops, the transition to digital events has resulted in many more digital visitors than previously.

“The interactive element of webinars demands a completely different approach and this work is still ongoing. Sitting still on a chair in front of a screen and holding webinars is a challenge in itself. I’m sure many people at Uppsala University would agree,” she says.

“I think we’re all looking forward to being able to meet students and prospective students on campus again. The question is, how best to maintain this digital accessibility while at the same time offering face-to-face meetings,” says Charlotte Nordgren.