JUMP - Enhancing University students’ well-being and positive learning experiences

This presentation will introduce the Joint-University Mental-Wellness Project (JUMP), a 3-year project launched by five universities in Hong Kong. The project aims to promote university students' well-being, enhance their resilience and nurture them to be socially responsible citizens. The team has developed and implemented a positive transformational learning pedagogy, with positive education as the core content and transformational learning as the essential pedagogy. The six-step transformational learning pedagogy includes "learn", "live", "reflect", "conceptualize", "apply" and "embed". The project employs a strength-based and process-focused approach to maximise students' potential by transforming their attitudes, values and beliefs. Through a variety of creative activities, around 7,000 university students, staff, and members of the wider community participated in the project. The activities include interactive workshops, experiential learning camps, mental wellness festivals, community projects, staff training, a study tour, and an international conference. The longitudinal survey showed an increase in meaning in life and coping flexibilities, and decreased anxiety and stress of the student participants. Impact of the project includes: increase in well-being literacy, enhanced mental wellness and resilience, promotion of peer learning and building of a learning community, development of leadership and inter-disciplinary collaboration, increase in well-being awareness of the students and the community. Applicability of the learning pedagogy to other disciplines is also elaborated.