Unitea – Sip, Chat, Connect
Thank you for your interest in Unitea and for booking tea times with our Unitea Hosts this year. One-to-One and Collective Tea Times will start up again on September 5, 2023.
A conversation can make all the difference in the life of a student -- Unitea sparks these conversations to happen. We are committed to building community one tea at a time and believe strong campuses foster communities where voices are heard, well-being is promoted, and social interactions can flourish. Take a break, pour the tea and see where the conversation takes you.
What is Unitea?
Connection starts with a conversation, and what better way to connect than over a cup of tea or coffee?
The human need for social connection is universal and essential for your personal wellbeing and sense of belonging. Unitea creates space to build those connections with Peer Hosts and Alumni Hosts – volunteers with diverse interests and experiences who love a good conversation. By connecting with others, you can make the U of A feel more like home.
One-to-One Tea Times
Enjoy tea or coffee while having meaningful conversations with a peer or alumni host about something you’re looking forward to, passionate about, worried about, or anything else under the sun.
Collective Tea Times
Sign up to join group tea times facilitated by Unitea volunteers with other U of A students. Connect with new friends, tackle interesting topics and get support for life’s challenges in a group setting.
SpecialTeas
Are you interested in bringing together students and discussing topics meaningful to them in a collective tea time? Any student group, student faculty association, graduate program, faculty, or other student-related groups can request to have our co-hosts come to you!
To book a graduate, faculty, or special student group collective tea time please email unitea@ualberta.ca
How It Works
Visit our booking page so that you can sign up and meet in-person or virtually, either one-to-one or in a group for a conversation.
After booking a tea time, you receive a confirmation email outlining the date, time, and in-person/Google Meet/Zoom details.
You will get a reminder notification 24 hours before your tea time.
Friendly Unitea host(s) will greet you at your in-person or virtual tea time where you can talk about whatever is on your mind. If in-person, you will receive one free tea or coffee from the Daily Grind in SUB. Unitea hosts are also knowledgeable about services available on campus and in the community and can direct you to the right place.
Please note: We want to support sustainable efforts, so we have Unitea travel mugs. First-time participants of one-to-one and collective tea times will receive a free travel mug from the Unitea host(s). We encourage you to bring your travel mug every time you have a one-to-one or collective tea time.
Please note our volunteers are trained to listen to a wide variety of topics and do so in a confidential manner. However, if you express thoughts of immediate harm to self or others, they will bring in Unitea supervisors to provide the support you may need.
For one-to-one and collective tea times conducted through virtual platforms like Google Meet or Zoom, please be aware that no video or audio tools are ever completely secure. There is a security risk that personal information discussed during a tea time may be intercepted or disclosed to third parties using video or audio communications tools. To help us keep your information safe and secure, you can:
Use a private computer/device (i.e., not an employer's or third party's computer/device), secure accounts and a secure internet connection. For example, using a personal and encrypted email account (e.g. UofA CCID account) is more secure than an unencrypted email account, and your access to the Internet on your home network will generally be more secure than an open guest Wi-Fi connection.
Unitea requests adequate notice for cancellations to make tea times available to other students.
If you are unable to attend a tea time, please cancel at least 24 hours before your tea time. There are two ways to cancel:
- Click the “Reply, Change, Cancel” button in the booking confirmation email sent by 10to8.
- Email unitea@ualberta.ca, including your name, date, and time of your tea time.
Students who participate in the Unitea program understand and agree to the following:
- Unitea is not a professional counselling service nor is it intended to replace such services.
- Students will receive notification through text or email confirming their scheduled tea time and reminding them of the tea time 24 hours prior.
- If there is a need to cancel the scheduled tea time, students agree to provide 24 hours advance notice.
- Students will engage in respectful conversation with the Unitea host.
- Any personal information collected in the signup and scheduling process will only be used for Unitea programming purposes. No information will be given to third parties.
- Students agree to be contacted in the future for program evaluation purposes.
Recordings of virtual one-to-one or collective tea times by either student(s) or Unitea Host(s) are prohibited. - Screenshots of virtual one-to-one or collective tea times by either student(s) or the Unitea Host(s) is prohibited.
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