Make higher education institutions places of joy

There is a need for greater joy in HE. The pursuit of joy – systemically and ongoing – will reap benefits which better deliver against the missions of HE institutions for education, research and engagement. But we need to make joy tangible to avoid it being a vacuous platitude. Collaborative and human-centred approaches are needed to ensure that joy is achieved authentically in ways which make a genuine positive difference to the lives of staff and students. Joy is unevenly distributed, and we need to understand how joy is a privilege which should be extended to everyone. This approach will support a positive impact for the wider communities served by HE institutions driving benefits beyond traditional measures of output. Given the challenges facing institutions, and the wider world, this has to be worth a try.