Most students start their first year at Uni with a plan for how they are going to study and balance other commitments. But few students have a plan for how they are going to take care of their physical and mental health – which are also important factors in learning and achieving your best results at Uni.
Sharper Minds is a package of resources for first year UQ students designed to help you recognise and monitor common health symptoms and to link you to a range of short online courses and other supports for first year domestic and international students.
These resources are FOR YOU, they are FREE, and they have been co-designed by Students, Researchers, and Health Professionals at the University of Queensland. Sharper Minds is being trialled for the first time in 2021, so we are collecting information from students to ensure that it is working well for you.
Awareness
There will be posters and conversations around campus about the importance of being mentally and physically healthy, and strategies for doing this to keep a Sharper Mind.
Select ONLY ONE of these options this semester. If you want to select a different option, you are welcome to do that next semester if you are still enrolled in first year courses.
There are 3 options:
Option 1 Surveys only
[Click here, takes you to UQ Authenticate login] There is one survey now, and you will be sent a link to a second survey at the end of semester. Both surveys have been reviewed by students and take about 15 minutes to complete. This data will help us to understand what is causing stress to first year students and ways that you are coping with it. (N.B. If you are enrolled in NEUR1020 or PSYC1030 and would like to receive Psychology course credit for completing the surveys, please log in through SONA first Research Sign-Up System (sona-systems.com) and find the Sharper Minds project)
Option 2 Surveys + App tracking.
Click here to complete online Surveys now and at the end of semester (each survey takes about 15 minutes) and to use the Sharper Minds web App to monitor how you are going each week of semester in six domains: study, healthy eating, sleep, physical activity, social connection, and mood. Each App entry takes about a minute, and you will be able to see a graph of how you are going across the semester. (N.B. If you are enrolled in NEUR1020 or PSYC1030 and would like to receive Psychology course credit for completing the surveys, please log in through SONA first Research Sign-Up System (sona-systems.com) and find the Sharper Minds project)
Option 3 Online Courses.
Sharper Minds offers several short courses (e.g., 4 weeks x 1 hour) with strategies to help you in one of the six health domains. The courses will be delivered online in small groups of around 8 students, with groups starting on various dates across the year. All groups will be in real time with trained facilitators so that students can ask questions and make friends in your group. There are limited places in the courses, so we ask that you select only ONE, and get in early. To evaluate the effectiveness of the courses, you will also be asked to complete 2 online Surveys – one now and one at the end of semester, each survey takes about 15 minutes. Please page on to find out more about the courses and to register your interest.
(N.B. If you are enrolled in NEUR1020 or PSYC1030 and would like to receive Psychology course credit for completing the surveys, please log in through SONA first Research Sign-Up System (sona-systems.com) and find the Sharper Minds project)
Click on any tile below for tips and information about short courses and supports for UQ first year students.
