This national conference’s aim was to bring together leadership and staff across the higher education sector working on the implementation of the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework and the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework.  The event saw a mix of expert talks and showcasing of HEI good practice in the area of campus health and wellbeing. Keynote speakers included Professor Mark Doris, Emeritus Professor in Health & Sustainability at the University of Central Lancashire and Professor Barbara Dooley, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Psychology at University College Dublin.

This was the second year of this annual event with the purpose of facilitating Third Level Institutes to share and collaborate on what actions they are taking within their own organisations. The HEA are responsible for the Healthy Campus initiative and DkIT signed up to the Higher Education Healthy Campus Charter Framework in February 2023.  The initiative stems from Healthy Ireland national framework 2013-2025 for action set out by the Department of Health to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland.  The Higher Education Healthy Campus Charter Framework is aligned to the Okanagan Charter (An International Charter for Health Promoting University and Colleges, which calls on post-secondary schools to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally). The framework states that: A healthy campus is one where the organisation infuses health into everyday operations, business practices and academic directives. By being a health promoting campus, HEI’s assist in creating campuses that have a culture of compassion, wellbeing, equity and social justice, improving the health of the people who live, work, learn and play on the campus and strengthen the ecological, social and economic sustainability of its community and the wider society.

At the event, DkIT was thrilled to showcase 2 important poster displays which included, “Are You well?” by Dr Sean Kilroy, Life and Health Sciences, and “Embedding wellbeing into the Curriculum” a wellbeing and resilience module by Paula Mullen, Business and Humanities.

DkIT are also delighted to report that they were knowledgeably represented at a panel discussion about ‘A Whole Institute Approach to Wellbeing' by Dr Emma Carroll, Head of Student counselling in DkIT. This panel discussion had representation from Public Health, Human Resources, Student Unions and Student Counselling Services.  Emma spoke about the importance of understanding of the role that day-to-day actions and interactions can have on student wellbeing, ranging from the point of entry to the point of graduation. She described actions taken to implement the 'Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework' within DKIT, including the onset of a 2-year collaboration with The Jed Foundation to support and resource this process.  

DkIT will soon, based on a survey completed of all staff and students, publish a Healthy Campus Action Plan, watch this space!