Mindapples helps people understand how their minds work and build the practical skills and knowledge to look after them. Our approach is built on peer-reviewed research in psychology and neuroscience, and rather than prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions, we give people what they need to make informed decisions about their own wellbeing. In a university, that means looking at the whole community, not just the individual, because a university works as one ecosystem in which staff and student wellbeing are inextricably linked.
How we help
Our training is timed to match real pressure points across the academic year, including the transition into university life, exam-period stress and sleep disruption for students, marking-period pressure for staff, the common dip in motivation many students experience in their second year, and the transition out of university into work, so that support lands when it’s needed, not just as a single session at the start of the year.
A typical programme includes wellbeing webinars on topics such as Feed Your Mind, Handle Pressure and Sleep Well, alongside Champions Training, engagement tools and a digital campaign pack for events like Freshers’ Fairs and University Mental Health Day. Champions Training equips people at every level of the university, from students and staff to senior leaders and executive teams, to deliver Mindapples sessions, support their peers directly, and signpost confidently to formal support when it’s needed, with ongoing support from us so that the role stays safe and sustainable for the people delivering it.
All of this is delivered through the Mindapples Wellbeing Competency Framework, developed with university partners, which gives the university a shared language for wellbeing and a way to track how confidence and skill build over time, helping you deliver on the wellbeing and resilience elements of the University Mental Health Charter.
Track record
We have worked with over 100 UK universities since 2011, and independent evaluations by the University of York found statistically significant improvements in students’ wellbeing and ability to manage stress, sustained for up to six months. As Nicola Powell, Training and Wellbeing Officer at Open SU (Open University), says of Champions Training: “It equips them to look after themselves before, during and after conversations about mental health.”
Get in touch
You can download our Mindapples for Universities overview for the evidence and results behind our work, and browse our masterclass menu for the full list of topics we offer. If you would like to talk through what might suit your university, we would love to hear from you at universities@mindapples.org, and we are always happy to arrange a short call.