Building Resilience and Collaboration in a Competitive Academic Environment

Building Resilience and Collaboration in a Competitive Academic Environment

The Challenge

Woman in front of a white board pointing at math equations on top of a beige background with doodle images of a brain, three people, and a book.At one of the world’s top science, engineering, and technology universities, leaders saw the need to build emotional intelligence (EI) across their entire community. They wanted people to excel in resilience and collaboration in their competitive academic environment while staying mentally and emotionally healthy. They aimed to create a culture where everyone—no matter their role—felt valued and heard. To achieve these outcomes, they set clear goals:

  • Promote belonging and psychological safety in all departments.
  • Build resilience and adaptability in a fast-changing environment.
  • Give staff, faculty, and students tools to manage stress and stay focused.
 
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The Approach

1 icon (1)Pilot Programs for Senior Leaders

The university began by introducing key leaders to the flagship Search Inside Yourself (SIY) program. In these 2-day pilot sessions, participants experienced the benefits of mindfulness and emotional intelligence firsthand. This helped gain leadership support for expanding the program.

2 iconRelevant On-Campus Training 

Once the programs grew in demand, the team drew from SIY Global’s broad facilitator network to select facilitators who were deeply familiar with their campus culture for ongoing programs like Adaptive Resilience, Effective Teaming and more. By engaging people from different roles, the sessions established a shared understanding of empathy, self-awareness, and communication.

3 iconBuilding Internal Expertise

To keep the momentum going, the university sent staff members to the SIY Teacher Training to become certified SIY instructors. This created a lasting impact, with these internal experts continuing to deliver the training in a way that was meaningful for the community.

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The Impact

122 departmentsSince introducing the Search Inside Yourself programs, the university has seen big changes:

  • More support for individual well-being and psychological safety.
  • Greater feelings of inclusion, trust, and belonging within teams.
  • Staff and students better manage emotions, leading to calmer and more effective responses.

Results at a Glance

Between April 2022 and January 2024, participants from 122 departments across the university reported:

89%can now recognize when their attention drifts and bring it back.
88%remain calm during stressful moments.
88%report bouncing back quicker from setbacks.
78% feel more confident navigating difficult conversations.
79% contribute more effectively to their teams.


This success has helped create a culture of empathy and resilience, positioning the university to thrive in an ever-changing world.

What Participants Are Saying

 

What Participants Are Saying

"Through SIY, this institution is recognizing the importance of compassion, empathy, and awareness in our work."

 

"SIY is a gift to employees.
I really appreciate working for an organization that devotes work time to the program."

"Everyone should take this program."

"SIY helped me re-center myself and re-establish motivation and connection
to the institution."

"I gained strategies, tools, and micro-practices that I could implement immediately."

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Learn more about SIY Global’s full program suite by visiting our programs page.

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