University Mental Health Day is the biggest day of the year for student mental health, bringing together the higher education community to make student mental health a sector priority.
For 2019, University Mental Health day will focus on the power of sharing stories to shape the future of student mental health.
The UPP Foundation is committed to transforming lives within higher education. The Foundation is proud to share its support for University Mental Health Day and the difference it can make to student mental health at Universities. The UPP Foundation is delighted to be funding Student Minds and Birkbeck, University of London to develop two ongoing projects that are making a difference to improve mental health at Universities.
Last year the Foundation committed £100,000 to Student Minds to develop the University Mental Health Charter. Over the last few months, alongside the Office for Students, Universities UK, National Union of Students and AMOSSHE, the UPP Foundation has been supporting the establishment of the Charter as members of the Charter’s advisory group.
During March and April, Student Minds will be hosting six consultation events across the UK. These events offer university leaders, students and staff from all areas of the university the opportunity to shape the structure and content of the Charter. The consultation is asking the question “If universities had the ideal approach to mental health, what would it look like and how would we know?”.
In March, the Foundation will also host a roundtable event to share the initial findings of the Outreach Student Counselling Project, funded by a 40k grant from the Foundation. The project aims to improve the wellbeing of hard to reach students who are experiencing emotional difficulties which are impacting upon their studies, confidence and experience at Birkbeck.
Richard Brabner, Director of the UPP Foundation, said:
“We are proud of our partnerships and projects that we feel will make a tangible difference to improving mental health outcomes at universities across the country. We are confident that collaborating with Birkbeck, and with other Universities through the University Mental Health Charter, the UPP Foundation can better understand the needs of vulnerable groups and help to address them directly.”
