You may have noticed the Better U branding around the university. You may have even visited the website and had a look around, hence arriving here. Let me tell you the story (relatively brief I promise) of how Better U came about and where it is headed. Last updated 5/12/25.
Better U is intended to be more than just a website. It is a reflection of Flinders University’s commitment to supporting student wellbeing in a coordinated and strategic way. It showcases (through regular news and articles) Flinders’ growing range of wellbeing-focused programs, initiatives, and events in one place, making it easier for students to engage with what’s on offer [if you are curious about how we understand the term ‘wellbeing’, this post might help]
But Better U didn’t emerge out of nowhere. It is the result of a long series of developments, stretching back years that have shared the goal of better embedding wellbeing into the fabric of university life.
A Growing Focus on Wellbeing 🔍
Around the time that I joined the team here in Flinders (2017), universities across Australia were being encouraged to take a more structured approach to supporting student wellbeing. To be clear, many universities (including Flinders) were already supporting student wellbeing through things like counselling services and wellbeing programs. But here was a push to amplify and refine those efforts.
One of the groups responsible for putting more of a spotlight on student wellbeing was Orygen. Orygen is probably the leading youth mental health organisation in Australia, at the centre of the development and dissemination of knowledge relating to youth mental health care. In 2020, Orygen released the Australian University Mental Health Framework which highlighted the need for institutions to move beyond isolated services and towards whole-of-university approaches.
Flinders was fortunate to have been part of the consultation process that gave rise to that report and even had a couple of our initiatives featured as case studies – Oasis, a dedicated student wellbeing space, and the Be Well Plan, a program designed to build mental resilience—as strong examples of embedding wellbeing into university life.
Building on this foundation, key university leaders, including Professor Mike Kyrios, Dr Lydia Woodyatt, and Jodie Zada, developed Flinders’ first Whole-of-University Wellbeing Strategy (2021-2025). This strategy set a clear direction for the university, outlining how wellbeing would be supported across multiple levels, from individual student needs to broader institutional policies.
From Strategy to Action: The Wellbeing Working Group (WWG) 🎬
To ensure the strategy translated into real, impactful change, the Wellbeing Working Group (WWG) was formed. Unlike traditional wellbeing committees focused solely on student services, the WWG was designed to take a whole-university approach, meaning it strategises for both students and staff.
Chaired by Professor Peter Monteath, the WWG brings together representatives from different parts of the university, including academic staff, student services, and student representatives. Meeting every few months, the group:
- Identifies key wellbeing priorities.
- Plans upcoming initiatives.
- Oversees the implementation of the wellbeing strategy.
- Shares insights from different areas of the university to ensure a coordinated approach.
One of the first major projects commissioned by the WWG (and led by Be Well Co) was the Student Wellbeing Survey, which gathered insights into student experiences. The findings reinforced dual opportunities to improve student wellbeing. The first being reducing stressors. The second, fostering a more engaging, connected, and supportive university. This is in line with modern views of wellbeing which recognise distress and wellbeing as related but distinct experiences.
Wellbeing Mapping: Understanding What’s Already Happening 🗺️
Following the survey, the WWG developed the Whole-of-University Wellbeing Implementation Plan (a fancy name for a spreadsheet), which essentially outlined the major pieces of work to be done by those of us in wellbeing services. One of the key action items was a Wellbeing Initiative Mapping Survey, led by Jess Nicole, which documented the full range of wellbeing programs, workshops, and services already available at Flinders.
This mapping process revealed a wealth of existing wellbeing initiatives, but also a significant challenge. Many students and staff weren’t aware of what was available, and there was no single place to find everything. Without better coordination and promotion, many of these initiatives weren’t reaching their full potential and awareness of them was limited.
The Birth of Better U 🖥️
Recognising the need for a central wellbeing hub, the WWG initiated the development of Better U, a platform designed to showcase, connect, and encourage engagement with student-focused wellbeing initiatives at Flinders.
The goal was simple: make it easier for students to find support, attend wellbeing events, and take advantage of the many programs available to them.
Launched in early 2025 and maintained by me (Gareth), Better U serves as:
- A showcase of wellbeing-focused initiatives, helping students discover programs, services, and events.
- A gateway to primary wellbeing supports like Health, Counselling and Disability Services and Oasis
- A platform for engagement, allowing students and staff to contribute articles and share their own wellbeing initiatives.
- A way to encourage participation, making it easier for students to get involved in wellbeing workshops, events, and volunteer opportunities.
Essentially, we provided a ‘home’ for student wellbeing at Flinders and have been working on it ever since.
Wellbeing for Staff: Thriving@Flinders 📧
While BetterU focuses on student wellbeing, the WWG recognised the importance of taking a similar approach for staff. Sallyann Shearer and the team at People and Culture at Flinders, soon after the launch of BetterU, launched the equivalent for staff – Thriving@Flinders.
Thriving@Flinders is a comprehensive catalogue of the wellbeing services, supports, resources, events and activities available to staff. And it is supported by a regular newsletter sent out to all staff to keep them notified of current events and opportunities.
Together, Better U and Thriving@Flinders represent a comprehensive, whole-of-university approach to wellbeing, ensuring that all members of the Flinders community (students and staff alike) have the tools, opportunities, and support they need to thrive.
What’s Next for Better U? 🔮
Better U launched in Orientation 2025 with a simple but important goal – to be the definitive showcase of wellbeing efforts at Flinders. We think we got off to a good start as during 2025 we published over 200 articles on wellbeing. These articles promoted workshops (like Mindfulness for Academic Success), shared wellbeing tips, highlighted the activities of our partners (e.g. Careers) and shared the stories of students and how they pursue their goals.
As we head into 2026, I have some pretty bold plans for BetterU (we’ll see how many of them I can action).
- create a system by which students can tell us what content is helpful and what isn’t
- increase the placement and volunteer options, so more students get the chance to feature their work on BetterU (in Semester 2, we hosted 8 students, from Social Work and Public Health, who created amazing content for the site)
- create a package for lecturers and topic coordinators to help them (if they wish) incorporate BetterU and its content into their topics
- do more outreach to raise awareness of BetterU and its purpose
- develop an underlying wellbeing model to guide and hone the type of content on the site
- build partnerships with evidence-based online wellbeing and mental health service providers to increase the range of programs accessible to students
- upgrade the site structure so it is easier for students to find the information they need, when they need it
- grow the diversity of voices on BetterU by building out the writing team
- and probably a bunch of other things I’ll think about in the coming months 😂
As we grow, we’ll be drawing on feedback from students and staff, as well as taking direction from the Wellbeing Working Group (WWG) to guide what comes next. For now, we hope that more of the Flinders community can use BetterU to discover just how much is happening at Flinders that is wellbeing focused.
And I’ll make sure to come back here regularly to ensure our story is told, as it happens🙂
