Lightning Talks:
Interconnected Wellbeing
Michael Priestley & Amy Knight - CALM: Collaborative and Active Learning for Mental Health
Current research consistently identifies increasing and unequal levels of loneliness across the UK university student population, leading to poorer mental health, academic performance, attendance, and retention. In response, policy and practice guidance has advocated for collaborative pedagogies, defined as learning activities that promote working together in small groups. However, there remains limited evidence on how prospective undergraduate students perceive such approaches, particularly international students and in the context of higher rates of social anxiety following the Covid-19 pandemic. Misalignment between students’ and staff’s pedagogical expectations can generate considerable emotional and cognitive labour, undermining learning and wellbeing.
This contribution presents findings from a rapid systematic scoping review, a cross-sectional survey (approximately 250 respondents), and eight focus groups (approximately 40 participants) exploring prospective undergraduate students’ perspectives on accessible, acceptable, and effective collaborative pedagogical approaches in contemporary UK higher education. Taken together, the findings will help inform the development of inclusive, evidence-based teaching practices that enhance learning, social connection, and wellbeing.
Sophie Churchill - Engaging students in a whole university approach - reflections from the UMHC process
This talk would explore my role as one of KCL's student leads for the UMHC submission and how I engaged students in this process including what I did to capture their views, how I ensured multiple voices were heard, how I worked with both the university and the SU, and how we recruited the student panel for focus groups and the onsite visit, ensuring that this was genuine and inclusive engagement.
It will also explore how I was supported by the university and SU to be engaged in this process as a student lead but also more widely in my work in student mental health prior to, and alongside, the Charter, and the importance of engaging students in the whole university approach to student mental health and wellbeing at all levels.
Additional reference to theme 1as a student with lived experience of complex mental health difficulties and concurrent experience as both a student and staff member.
Ellie Horton
The transition from secondary school to university is a significant period during which students are at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties or exacerbating pre-existing conditions. The U-WELL project aims to explore students’ experiences of this transition through a longitudinal study identifying associated risk and protective factors and examining potential differences between students from Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Phase-1 established a pre-transition baseline of mental health and wellbeing among final-year secondary school students. Following ethical approval, 234 students (53.6% female) from NI and ROI schools completed an online survey (November 2024 - April 2025), incorporating validated measures of mental health and wellbeing.. Baseline findings indicated that 62.4% of students reported moderate-to-high levels of loneliness, while 18.8% reported moderate-to-high levels of anxiety symptoms, 18.3% reported moderate-to-high levels of depressive symptoms, and 13.5% reported moderate-to-high levels of stress. Planned follow-up with this cohort in late-2025 and mid-2026 will involve online surveys and qualitative interviews to further explore the transition and inform evidence-based strategies to promote student wellbeing during this pivotal life-stage. Baseline and follow-up findings will be presented, focusing on students’ mental health profiles and regional differences relating to differing educational systems.
Isabel Lang
My PhD research explores how university culture can better support university student wellbeing. Using a case study from a Welsh university, I conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with students and staff to understand their lived experiences, perceptions of university culture, and ideas for improvement. I also used Online Group Concept Mapping methodology to gather insights from 16 participants, resulting in a visual conceptual map that captured collective views on how culture and wellbeing intersect. Student wellbeing concerns are rising, yet many find institutional support systems overburdened and hard to navigate. There’s limited evidence on how university culture affects wellbeing, especially research that includes both student and staff voices. This study aims to fill that gap and inform more effective, inclusive wellbeing support. This work centers student voice and lived experience, aligning closely with the theme Beyond Buzzwords by advocating for deeper cultural change over surface-level solutions. As I near PhD submission, I’m also keen to ‘Bridge the Gap’ - sharing findings and collaborating. Student voice is powerful. Collaboration must be embedded throughout the research process.
Dom Smithies - Understanding the connection between high-risk income-generating behaviours and mental health.
Student Minds have been exploring the connection between financial hardship, high-risk income-generating behaviours and mental health. While the link between financial hardship and mental health is increasingly clear, Student Minds were keen to better understand the impact that ‘higher risk’ behaviours - such as gambling, sex work and investing in cryptocurrency - has on students’ mental health.
We’ve seen, largely in attribution to the financial hardship many students are facing, an increasing number of students’ engaging in these higher risk behaviours. We’ve also heard that there’s a tremendous amount of shame and stigma associated with these behaviours which presents barriers to seeking and accessing support.
In this session we’ll be sharing our findings and facilitating discussion around how our sector can better support students that engage with these behaviours.
Niamh Nicholson - Interconnected Wellbeing: Embedding Boundaries and Sustainable Practices for HE Staff
Our presentation explores how supporting staff wellbeing is essential to improving student mental health and building a sustainable culture within education. We will share how our approach embeds staff wellbeing, self-care, and healthy boundaries into every stage of our training programme, ensuring that those who support students also feel supported themselves.
Our model allows for flexibility in completing the training around their own schedules/capacity as well as delivering student workshops. This structure not only reduces pressure on resourcing, allows for descaling and upscaling of delivery to suit the needs of the institution, but also models positive wellbeing behaviours to students.
We will then outline practical actions for institutions to embed these practices. We can be flexible with the session and have the option to build out these actions into a workshop or discussion session.
Finally, we will present feedback and testimonials from staff who have completed our training, highlighting measurable impacts on confidence, workload balance, and perceived connection with students. Our aim is to show that by investing in staff wellbeing and boundary-setting, we create more compassionate, resilient learning environments where both staff and students can thrive.