Presentation
This session discusses a multi-university and multi-service collaboration to illuminate the innovative work of Reduce Digital Distraction (ReDD).
Smartphones, computers, and other digital devices are essential for university students and staff, but many struggle to use devices without digital distraction disrupting work, focus, sleep, or social connection.
The ReDD workshop, developed at the University of Oxford, is a coaching intervention empowering participants to control their device use by articulating their challenges and goals and applying relevant digital focus tools to achieve those goals. The ReDD team approached higher education providers to see if similar positive results could be achieved at other institutions, and if the workshop could be effectively delivered by non-expert facilitators.
The Student Counselling Service, in collaboration with Digital Skills at the University of Edinburgh were one of five winning higher education providers to host pilot workshops in 2023/24. In the pilot, Edinburgh offered the highest number of events to the largest number of students, utilising the most in-house facilitation. This robust engagement encouraged the Student Counselling Service to take the lead in expanding the collaboration. Three other university services came on board, which increased the university-wide pool of certified trainers to deliver an ambitious rolling programme of ReDD events from March to August 2025.