Practices 2.2 – Strengthening Student Resilience
Student Well-Being & Mental Health
EN
Samantha Werthen & Sofie Giets, LUCA School of Arts
Going beyond the counseling room! High-impact, creative actions on campus
Discover how we transformed student mental health through high-impact, creative preventive actions. Mirroring the creative spirit of our students, we stepped beyond our comfort zones to develop these unconventional preventive actions. These pop-up campus events reach students in their daily environment on very recognizable topics
Dr Lorraine Tansey, Programme Manager, Student Volunteer Ireland, Riona Hughes & Mary O’Toole, Societies Finance Officers, University of Galway & Laura Woods, Societies Officer, Munster Technological University
E-Module Training for Skills and Resilience of Student Volunteers
Thousands of students volunteer on campus through student activities. This presentation will introduce the purpose, structure, and impact of our e-Module Suite, funded through the Irish Higher Education Authority, to equip students with essential transferable skills, such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. We also aim to strengthen their resilience and capacity to navigate challenges in volunteering‑based roles. The session will highlight the pedagogical design of the modules, including interactive elements, reflective tasks, and real-world volunteer scenarios that encourage learners to connect theory with practice.
The presentation will also demonstrate how the module suite supports higher education institutions in fostering meaningful engagement, enabling students to prepare for volunteering experiences with greater confidence and self-awareness. It will showcase the alignment of the training with wider national goals in higher education, including student success, civic engagement, and the development of graduate attributes.
In addition, the presentation will discuss implementation strategies, examples of student feedback, and opportunities for collaboration across universities, volunteer organisations, and student support teams. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how the e‑module can be integrated into existing programmes, how it enhances the student volunteer journey, and why resilience and skill-building are central to sustaining impactful student-led community engagement.
Lore De Keersmaecker, Psycho-educational trainer & workshop leader at Odisee College
Informing students about mental health in preventive, accessible ways
In this workshop, I will provide an overview of the learning paths, webinars, online/live sessions, and handouts that we have already developed to proactively address the mental well-being of our students. I will show you our website, as well as an animated video about fear of failure, for example. I will also discuss how we try to tailor this as effectively as possible to our student target group, which is becoming increasingly diverse (internationals, lifelong education, academic and professional bachelors, masters, multicultural…). I will also briefly explain how we join forces with external organizations such as the City of Ghent, for example during the annual “Boost your mood” week. Afterwards, I will zoom in on the challenges we still face and I would like to take some time to brainstorm together on how we can optimize this offer and reach students even better.