Internationally and in the UK universities are facing a crisis of student wellbeing. In this context, it is important to research the impact of the teaching and learning environment and experiences, including the relationships between students and staff, on student wellbeing. While separate pieces of research on students’ wellbeing have addressed student and teacher perspectives on the role of learning experiences, we identified an opportunity to address the perspectives of both students and staff, including non-academics, in the same study. This study advances work on student wellbeing, recognising an interdependency between staff and student wellbeing. It adds to current research in identifying student-centred learning and assessment, intercultural awareness, international integration, and emotional intelligence as enablers of positive student wellbeing. The findings of this research also demonstrate the crucial role of the teacher-student relationship in impacting students’ (and staff) wellbeing and suggest solutions and areas for development that reflect the complexity of the Higher Education environment in which they are located.

Student mental health and wellbeing are critical topics in higher education. In response to broader societal shifts in thinking around mental health and wellbeing, there are calls for universities to take a more proactive and holistic approach, working in partnership with students to embed mental wellbeing throughout learning, tuition and curricula. This paper presents two participatory projects from different United Kingdom higher education institutions, both of which took holistic, proactive and inclusive approaches toward supporting student mental wellbeing in higher education, using online and technology-based approaches. The first project is the digital “Wellbeing Pedagogies Library” at the University of Warwick, a digital repository co-designed with students to foster the sharing of pedagogical practices that support student wellbeing, and to offer a practical support to students and staff who want to create and/or sustain wellbeing-inducing teaching and learning environments. The second project is the “Mental Wellbeing in Distance Learning” project at the Open University, which piloted five digital subprojects, led by different practitioners in partnership with students, aiming to address barriers to wellbeing in different aspects of distance learning. This paper presents the participatory methods and approaches from each project, explores stakeholders’ perceptions of the value that participatory approaches added to the projects, and comparatively evaluates the projects’ outcomes in order to draw conclusions that can inform future participatory research. In doing so, it explores different types of participatory approaches that can be taken in different contexts, and how terms such as “holistic,” “proactive,” and “inclusive” may be interpreted and applied in practice. Drawing on the findings, it posits that participatory approaches and partnerships with students should be considered a priority when designing digital resources, interventions and solutions to support student mental wellbeing.

The supervisory relationship is widely understood as central to the experience, success and wellbeing of PhD students. However, complex issues and struggles are frequently reported as associated with it. Although an extensive literature recommends useful, practical changes to improve supervisory relationships, current approaches generally focus on ameliorating difficulties within existing supervisory paradigms, rather than challenging or offering fresh perspectives on them. The co-creative approach has been successful in higher education, mostly at undergraduate level and in small-scale settings, providing opportunities for collaborative exploration of issues and development of solutions. Building on this, we explore the use of co-creation within the post-graduate research setting, bringing together stakeholders to unpack and address common issues experienced within the supervisory relationship. In order to assess the value of co-creation in tackling supervisory issues, we conducted a three-staged study involving PhD students and supervisors. Through qualitative and quantitative data (interviews and surveys), we identified specific issues linked to the supervisory experience. We subsequently hosted small- and large-scale co-creative workshops to encourage PhD students and supervisors to collaborate for addressing these identified issues. As a result, this paper argues that co-creation is an effective tool for enhancing the supervisory relationship and for co-solving problems associated with it. In addition, we present qualitative evidence supporting our novel use of the methodology and of the process of co-creation itself in addressing key identified issues within the supervisory relationship including isolation, a desire for community and improving communication skills.