5 ways to wellbeing: an institutional welcome week approach

The Abertay Student Welcome experience was redesigned and refocused for September 2023. The purpose of the week was changed to move from a single welcome of activities to one of multiple on campus engagement that engenders a sense of belonging at Abertay. At its heart the Abertay approach embraced the directives of the 5 ways to wellbeing (Aked et al, 2008). The five key influencers on wellbeing include social relationships, being active, learning, giving, and taking notice. The research suggested implementing these 5 ways to wellbeing in day to day lives positively impacted ongoing mental wellbeing. This became the core focus of the Abertay Welcome Experience.

The role of the welcome experience which included a school welcome talk, programme welcome talk, programme social activity and a wide range of additional activities aimed to set clear expectations among students of their role and that of the University in their success in the forthcoming academic year. This saw academic programmes and services providing engaging activities that developed a sense of purpose, capability, connectedness, and resourcefulness (Lizzio, 2006) that reflects the level of that students’ study. The Abertay Student Welcome 2023 focused on students being able to identify and envision clear goals for themselves in what they want to accomplish academically in the upcoming academic year. Secondly, students were enabled to identify a new social connection or to reconnect with a previous social circle to share experiences of study at the university. This was accomplished through programme social activities, the Students’ Association Freshtival programme, alumni, and industry.

The 5 ways to wellbeing encouraged students to connect with others and understand the value of building strong social relationships with others at Abertay and the wider local community. Included within this approach, students were encouraged to download the MyWellbeing app which provided advice on activities to implement the 5 ways to wellbeing in their everyday life.

We will reveal the impact of this new approach through feedback from students and partners such as the Abertay Students’ Association who were integral in working in partnership to implement this new vision.

Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, & Thompson, S. (2008). Five ways to well being. New Economics Foundation. https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/five-ways-to-wellbeing-1.pdf
Lizzio, A, (2006) Designing an orientation and transition strategy for commencing students: Applying the five senses model. https://nanopdf.com/download/designing-an-orientation-and-transition-strategy-for_pdf