Discover the teamwork happening behind the scenes as we partner with your teachers to make wellbeing a core part of your Flinders journey.
Helloooooo! (I’m not sure if I need to say hello for every post or whether that is assumed, but I went with it this time regardless).
Here at BetterU, our mission is to give you the knowledge, skills, and resources to look after your wellbeing. We do this through the articles you read here, our workshops and resources, and by connecting you to key services like Health, Counselling and Disability Services (HCDS) and Oasis.
While we love connecting directly with you, we wanted to give you a peek behind the curtain at one of the other important ways we work: by partnering with your topic coordinators, tutors, and lecturers.
Why Staff are a Wellbeing Super-Connector
University staff are some of our most important allies. Think about it. You interact with them every week in tutorials, lectures, and on Canvas. We know that much of our ability to reach and support the wider student community comes through these connections. This has gotten more important over the last couple of years as students tell us that there is limited time in their schedules for extra-curricular activities, so having a presence in topics is important.
Thus, the more we can empower staff with wellbeing tools and knowledge, the more that support flows through to you.
So, what does this partnership look like in practice?
🟢 Wellbeing in Your Topics: We consult with academics on how to embed wellbeing content directly into their topics. This could be anything from brief video lessons we record to sharing our self-care and study guides to creating custom curriculum that blends the topic you are studying with wellbeing science.
🟢 Guest Presentations: From time to time, you might see a member of our team pop into a lecture to talk about a specific wellbeing topic or promote wellbeing services.
🟢 A Simple Signpost: One of the easiest and most powerful things staff can do is simply direct you to BetterU. If a lecturer mentions our site, it’s their way of letting you know there’s a whole ecosystem of support available to you.
🟢 Presence at Events: BetterU and Oasis are closely linked. If you see a wellbeing stall at a university event, it might be staffed by one of our fantastic Wellbeing Ambassadors (students interested in supporting the wellbeing of their fellow students), ready to chat about the support available.
I’ve been lax in showcasing some of these partnerships on BetterU but I promise to rectify that soon. Upcoming posts will include stories of the different ways we are building wellbeing into curriculum.
Students Supporting Students
This year (2025), our team, for the first time, is also powered by students just like you. Through placements and volunteer roles, students from various disciplines are helping create the content you see on the site. (Our placements for 2025 are currently full, but we do have volunteer opportunities!). For example, I was very excited when Annette was the first student on placement to get their article about Oasis on the site.
Ultimately, our goal is to help create a university environment where wellbeing is integrated into every aspect of your student journey. By working closely with staff, we can extend our reach far beyond this website and ensure you have opportunities, whilst you are studying, to learn a bit about wellbeing science.
