Student mental health is an issue of paramount concern and it is recognised that transition may have a negative impact. However, little work has captured transition-related experiences of students and staff. This study examined perspectives on perceived challenges with transitions into, during and out of university, and perceptions of what support would be beneficial for transitions. Students (n = 67) and staff (n = 40) from universities across the United Kingdom participated in focus groups on transitions and student mental health. We used thematic analysis to identify themes. For students, themes focused on equipping them to cope, enabling support networks, developing an inclusive culture and lengthening transition periods. For staff, themes centred on fostering student preparedness, community and social support, challenges faced by support services, and a ‘whole university’ approach. There were many similarities in student and staff perspectives, and by comparing and integrating these perspectives, specific recommendations have been identified. These focus on working in partnership, skills development, peer mentoring, funding, staff training, and providing additional support for the transition out of university. This study has implications for practices in Higher Education, to ensure students are appropriately supported throughout university in a way which could ultimately benefit their mental health.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) now has two licensed treatments available. Pirfenidone was the first drug to be licensed and approved for use, followed by nintedanib. We set out our real world experience with these agents in terms of their adverse events profile outside the restrictions of a clinical trial. We have demonstrated in the real world setting, that side effects are common and predominantly gastrointestinal with both therapies. Our study shows that the side effects can be effectively managed in the majority of patients with an acceptable discontinuation rate similar to that seen in the clinical trials. These findings are compelling despite the fact that the patients in our study are older, have severer disease as depicted by baseline lung function and more co-morbidities. Our data provides ongoing evidence of the safety and tolerability of both pirfenidone and nintedanib in patients who would not have met the rigorous criteria to be included in a clinical trial. Both these agents are effective in the management of IPF and slow the progression of this debilitating life limiting condition.

Drawing on thematic analysis of six student co‐creation panels, conducted during the Student Minds University Mental Health Charter consultations, this paper elucidates students’ perspectives and proposals regarding the current issues and challenges around university student mental health and well‐being support services. In particular, panels identified existing challenges and opportunities to improve support service access, strategy, and delivery. The panels generated a series of recommendations aimed to establish a clear, coordinated, and strategic approach to delivering accessible and inclusive student mental health support services that are responsive to the diverse needs of the whole student population. Significantly, the student panels situated service reforms within a ‘whole university approach’ entailing holistic structural and cultural change to the university environment, in order to enrich student mental health and well‐being and reduce demand on services. The findings of this paper can both reaffirm and specify the principles of good practice propounded by the University Mental Health Charter from a student perspective.

University student wellbeing is increasingly seen as a concern, and as demands on university staff time for research, teaching, leadership and pastoral support also increase, this is mirrored in concerns about staff wellbeing. Dominant sectoral narratives frame student and staff wellbeing as oppositional, with initiatives to support student wellbeing positioned as creating additional practical and emotional demands on staff time and resources. Using a large qualitative dataset collected in the UK, including staff and students, this paper argues that that this does not have to be the case. Instead, there is a need to look beyond the provision of reactive services or isolated individual interventions, to proactively and cohesively embed cultural and structural change across the whole institution to support positive wellbeing outcomes for the whole university community. We report on the intrinsic interconnection between staff and student wellbeing; the importance of formal institutional policies in supporting or impeding staff and student wellbeing; access to training interventions to support staff and student wellbeing as a practical manifestation of these policies; and the impact of workplace culture and the centrality of compassion and community. The paper finds that it is important that institutions within higher education acknowledge and respond proactively to both staff and student wellbeing issues. To do so, institutions should seek to foster a sustainable and effective academic environment with a whole university approach.

This paper draws on staff and student consultations conducted during the development of Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter to identify five key tensions which can arise in assessment design and strategy when seeking to balance the wellbeing of students with pedagogical, practical and policy considerations. It highlights the need to acknowledge the pressures of assessment on staff wellbeing as well as students. The particular tensions explored include the need to balance challenge against the psychological threats this can entail; the varying impacts of traditional and novel forms of assessment; the differing demands of collaborative and individual work; the tensions between ideal strategies and those which are practically feasible; and the ways in which feedback is given (as a constructive learning tool) and received (often as a psychological threat). These tensions can provide a valuable point of reflection for educators who need to critically and proactively navigate these conflicts within their own assessment design and practices, as part of a wider whole university approach to promoting student wellbeing.

Although mental health in higher education is increasingly recognised as a public health issue, postgraduate research students are often overlooked. Recent studies indicate a high prevalence of men...