Media

On 27 Mar 2025, the Research and Impact Initiative for Communication in Healthcare (HKU RIICH) organised the workshop “Thriving at University: Mental Health and Wellbeing Support” as part of two consecutive projects led by Professor Olga Zayts-Spence of the HKU Faculty of Arts and Director of HKU RIICH, under the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (UGC). As the first workshop for student and staff under the initiative “Thrive@Arts” pioneered by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the half-day event brought together a cross-sector and interdisciplinary panel: mindfulness and counselling practitioners; researchers in psychology, public health and linguistics; university wellbeing and counselling services at HKU Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS); and students from across five universities in Hong Kong.

The workshop provided an integrative experience of intellectual and practical knowledge exchange. Participants discussed the current state of student mental health at universities in Hong Kong, and the resources and services available on and off campus. The workshop included practical wellbeing exercises. The students learnt about volunteering opportunities to contribute to peer-to-peer mental health programmes in the city.

Professor Olga Zayts-Spence (Director of HKU RIICH) and Dr David Matthew Edmonds (Post-Doctoral Fellow of HKU RIICH) shared the findings of the CRF projects conducted by the team, as well as student-centred mental health resources developed from the projects. The project findings suggest concerning levels of symptoms of poor mental health (depression, anxiety and stress) among students and persisting issues of mental health stigma in society. Participants engaged in active group discussions and shared their thoughts on mental health and wellbeing, as well as mental health services at universities in Hong Kong.

Dr Pauline Luk (LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU) guided the participants through a session of mindfulness practice. Participants found the practice ‘relaxing’ and hoped to have ‘longer time for mindful practice’ in the future.  Ms Suki Lam (HKU CEDARS) provided a rich roadmap to the diverse mental health services and support available at HKU, ranging from professional counselling services to student-led support groups, such as the Peer Impact Network. Ms Melody Ip and Ms Dipsy Wong (Heartline Hong Kong; https://heartlinehk.com/) offered an engaging session on the mental health services beyond campus. Student participants were particularly drawn to the vision and practice of the peer-to-peer support model.

HKU RIICH extends its gratitude to all expert and student participants of the workshop, and to the School of English, the Faculty of Arts and the University of Hong Kong for their support in promoting mental health and strengthening the support network for students.

About HKU RIICH
HKU RIICH in the Faculty of Arts, the University of Hong Kong is an international interdisciplinary research hub that was launched in June 2019. We are a group of academic scholars working across the fields of language and communication, education, social sciences, and medicine. We conduct innovative evidence-based research on healthcare communication with the aim of transforming healthcare practices and healthcare education in Hong Kong and internationally. HKU RIICH is committed to impactful research and works closely with medical and healthcare institutions, health NGOs, and community groups in Hong Kong and internationally. We apply evidence-based findings from our research to develop educational resources for pre- and post-qualification medical and health professionals and to engage in community outreach programmes (https://www.hkuriich.org/).
The resources developed by the research team members can be found at Graduate Mindmap https://www.graduatemindmap.com/.

For media enquiries, please contact HKU RIICH by email ([email protected]).