Who we are
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. We give people what they need to make informed decisions about their own wellbeing. In a university, that means looking at the whole community, rather than only the individual. A university works as one ecosystem in which staff and student wellbeing are inextricably linked. Our programmes reach every part of it, students, staff, and the campus environments they share.
What makes us different
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. We give people what they need to make informed decisions about their own wellbeing. In a university, that means looking at the whole community, rather than only the individual.
A university works as one ecosystem in which staff and student wellbeing are inextricably linked. Our programmes reach every part of it, students, staff, and the campus environments they share.
How we help
Our training is timed to match real pressure points across the academic year. These include 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. This means support lands when it is needed, rather than as a single session at the start of the year.
A typical programme includes wellbeing webinars covering topics like Feed Your Mind, on how daily habits shape wellbeing, Handle Pressure, building the resources to cope when pressure turns into stress, and Sleep Well, understanding sleep’s role in mental health and how to improve it. Alongside this sits Champions Training, a digital campaign pack, and physical resources like the Mindapples Tree and applecards for events such as Freshers’ Fairs and University Mental Health Day.
Champions Training equips people at every level of the university, students, staff, and senior leaders and executive teams, to deliver Mindapples sessions, support their peers directly, and signpost confidently to formal support when it is needed. Training includes ongoing support from Mindapples, so the role stays safe and sustainable for the people delivering it, as well as those receiving support.
The need
A whole-university approach to mental health builds staff and students’ capability to manage their own wellbeing. That capability is directly linked to stronger resilience and coping under pressure, which we build through training and resources that reach people at the moments when they need them, across the academic year.
Students experiencing mental illness are more likely to leave before finishing their course, to underperform academically and are less likely to secure higher-level employment or go on to postgraduate study. And most students and staff who experience poor mental health never access formal support at all, which is exactly why proactive, universal approaches matter.
University staff report higher levels of stress and burnout and lower wellbeing than in most other sectors, and the Charter is clear that they should have access to the same proactive support as students. Yet universities are far more likely to have this in place for students (87%) than for staff (63%). That is where Mindapples works, proactive, practical training that reaches people early, alongside the formal support already in place, for staff as well as students.
Track record
We have worked with over 100 UK universities since 2011, and deliver the same trusted content to major employers including Goldman Sachs, Tesco, Royal London and HS2, so students preparing to enter the workplace are learning skills that carry directly into it. 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. In our own evaluation with seven UK universities and colleges, 90% of students found our sessions useful or very useful for their wellbeing.
100+
UK universities worked with since 2011
90%
of students found our sessions useful or very useful for their wellbeing
6 months
of sustained improvement in wellbeing and stress management, found by the University of York
What partners say
What our partners and students say about our work.
“It equips them to look after themselves before, during and after conversations about mental health.”
Nicola Powell, Training and Wellbeing Officer, Open SU (Open University), on Champions Training
“Here at NTU we’ve incorporated Mindapples into every aspect of the Health Promotion we do.”
Leah Wareham, Student Health and Wellbeing Project Officer, Nottingham Trent University
“The person giving the course did a great job of engaging us all and making us all feel heard, involved and respected. Honestly the best webinar I have attended!”
Kayleigh, Open University
“It was thorough in exploring mental health and wellbeing, and really did provide some useful techniques.”
Sandhra, University of Nottingham
Get in touch
Get in touch to arrange a short call or ask us to send our full Wellbeing Competency Framework.
