The Higher Education Authority held the third health and wellbeing conference ‘Global Perspectives, Ireland Leadership: Transforming Healthy Campus Policy’ on April 22^nd at The Law Society of Ireland. The conference brought together staff across globe in higher education sectors working on the social determinates of health, students commuting solutions and focusing on advancing national policy.

The HEA  additionally hosted two pre-conference workshops at the Law Society on 21 April. The first, delivered by Spunout, explored student wellbeing needs and potential online learning resources to support students in higher education. The second, led by the University of Limerick, introduced the Limerick Framework for Action and provide practical guidance on embedding health and wellbeing across campuses.

Keynote speakers included:

• Dr Vicki Squires; Associate Dean, Research, Graduate Support and International Initiatives and is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan
• Dr Jennifer Thannhauser; Academic Director, Mental Health & Well-being (Office of Institutional Commitments) and Evaluation & Research Lead (Community Mental Health & Well-being Strategy)
• Professor Philip Dodd; Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Principal Mental Health Policy Specialist in the Department of Health. Clinical Professor/Consultant Psychiatrist at Trinity College Dublin.

There were over 100 participants in this year’s events across the two-day event both in person and online. With attendance from public and private higher education institutions, as well as Department of Health and the Minster of for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The official agenda for the conference can be found here.

Keynote Speakers

This year’s keynote presentations included:

• ‘Moving from Local to Global: Building International Partnerships to Advance Healthy Campuses, a Canadian Perspective’

Presented by Dr Vicki Squires; Associate Dean, Research, Graduate Support and International Initiatives and is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan and Dr Jennifer Thannhauser; Academic Director, Mental Health & Well-being (Office of Institutional Commitments) and Evaluation & Research Lead (Community Mental Health & Well-being Strategy)

 

• ‘From Policy to Practice: Advancing Mental Health through Cross- Sectoral Action’

Presented by Professor Philip Dodd; Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Principal Mental Health Policy Specialist in the Department of Health. Clinical Professor/Consultant Psychiatrist at Trinity College Dublin.

 

Session Speakers

Throughout the day multiple session speakers presented with over arching topics of  building student belonging in HEIs, the future of the Limerick Framework for Action, and global models and approaches to health.

Speakers included:

 

• ‘Student belonging in higher education in Ireland: what helps, what hinders?’– Professor Barbara Dooley, University College Dublin

• ‘Residency and wellbeing: How does being a commuter student affect wellbeing, and how should higher education institutions respond?’– Professor Liz Thomas, University of York

• The Limerick Framework for Action – Looking Ahead – Professor Catherine Woods, University of Limerick

• ‘Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: The Trilemma of the Modern University’ -Dr Norah Campbell, Trinity College Dublin

• ‘One Health and its potential to support Healthy campus initiatives’ – Dr Gerald Barry, University College Dublin

Case Studies

There was a new record of 37 case study submissions on display at the conference, covering topics from promoting healthy lifestyle choices, having different approaches to mental health awareness and workshops, embedding wellbeing through student led initiatives, and outreach for health-related behaviours.

Lightning Talks- ‘Health and Wellbeing in Action’

The afternoon session included a range of lightning talks focused on mental health and wellbeing being put into action across Irish campuses.

Speakers included:

 

• ‘DkIT: Building a Healthy Campus Culture through Internal and External Connections’- Edel Healy, Dundalk Institute of Technology

• ‘Sun Smart Campus Initiative’ – Shirley O’Shea, HSE

• ‘Period Promise – Promoting open conversations about periods and raising menstrual health awareness’ – Aishling Murphy, ATU 

• ‘“Stepping into Wellbeing”: the student experience of a wellbeing-focused pedagogical approach in the classroom-an applied learning case study from culinary arts education.’ – Annette Sweeney, TU Dublin

• ‘Student Gambling, Substance Use & Mental Health; Using Data to Support Campaigns’ – Sarah Huges, AMLÉ 

• ‘UCD’s Live Engagement & Attendance Project (LEAP): Using Analytics and Proactive Interventions to Identify At-risk Students and Improve Wellbeing & Engagement’ – John Wyatt, University College Dublin

• ‘U-WELL: A collaborative approach to university student mental health and wellbeing research on the island of Ireland’ – Margaret McLafferty, Atlantic Technological University

• ‘The governance challenge in higher education – who governs for health promotion?’– Catherine Darker, Trinity College Dublin

Publications

The ‘Enhancing Student Engagement and Belonging through Collaborative Partnership Report’  was published the day of the conference. This report, prepared for the Higher Education Authority by a UCD research team, explores how Irish universities can strengthen student engagement and belonging through collaborative partnership. Drawing on interviews, surveys, and case studies, it finds that students’ sense of belonging is significantly constrained by socio-economic pressures such as the housing crisis, commuting, and financial hardship, which limit their ability to participate fully in campus life. Overall, the report emphasises that a coordinated, institution-wide approach—combining structural supports with student-led engagement—is essential to creating inclusive, connected, and supportive university communities.

 

Minister's Closing Address

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD gave the closing address of this year’s event. In his address, the Minister reaffirmed his commitment to this important agenda, which follows his announcement in 2025 of an additional €1 million for student mental health and wellbeing supports in 2026.

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