According to the World Economic Forum one of the three biggest threats facing the world in 2019 is LONELINESS - where it comes to lifespan, loneliness is just as toxic as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!

For universities this is a difficult one to monitor through conventional means. How do you support a student feeling isolated who does not seek help? A stronger focus on prevention is necessary and this can be achieved by creating the right environment to help students connect from the start of their journey.

Communication is the exchange of information, but there's no soul in that.. and then there's “connection”. A connection takes place the moment you feel someone cares about you.. an emotional connection, the exchange of humanity. We all have emotions, that's our currency.

In this session, Eduardo Cordova, founder of Excuses to Meet, will provide a live-demo showing how the Excuses to Meet platform helps first year students build meaningful rapport with one another even before they arrive on campus for their first day of class.