RGU ECHO work in progress.

Hossain, Mamdud; McGowan, Jess

Abstract

The mental health (MH) and wellbeing (MW) of higher education students is a subject that has increased in visibility in recent years. The evidence available for students as a population indicates: higher risk of poor mental wellbeing; the challenging nature of engineering courses; the majority of the engineering student population being a higher risk group (male, aged 18-25); and the minority population reporting poorer mental health. Considering this evidence, it is important that action is taken to support students who are not seeking help when they need it. The majority (85%) of engineering students in the UK are young adult males (HESA, 2022). Deziel (2013), Vats and Sharma (2017), and Danowitz and Beddoes (2018) have all published worrying data, showing high rates of mental illness and poor mental wellbeing. It has also been noted that female engineering students report even poorer mental health and wellbeing than their male counterparts (Deziel, 2013, Negi et al., 2019, Jensen and Cross, 2021). A correlation between high levels of anxiety and low academic performance has also been reported among engineering students (Vitasari et al., 2011). While the pump priming project was aimed at engineering students, institutional data has indicated a similar problem in terms of delayed help-seeking in the computing student population. Given that the disciplines are very similar in approach to problem-solving, and have a similar student demographic, it is proposed to develop a pilot for both populations. It is hoped that ultimately the project will support good mental wellbeing among a part of the student community who are at higher risk yet less likely to seek help.

Citation

HOSSAIN, M. and MCGOWAN, J. 2022. RGU ECHO work in progress. Presented at the 2022 RGU annual learning and teaching conference (RGU LTC 2022): enhancing for impact, 21 October 2022, Aberdeen, UK.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: 2022 RGU annual learning and teaching conference (RGU LTC 2022): enhancing for impact
• Start Date: Oct 21, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 6, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 6, 2023
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Engineering students; Computing students; Mental health; Health and wellbeing
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1904591
• Related Public URLs: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1839941 (Full Proceedings)