Call for Participants: Tell Us About Your Experiences With Mental Health

In partnership with Health & Wellness, the Innovation Hub is interested in hearing about how you are taking care of your mental health. We are looking to hear perspectives and understand student needs to better inform health supports and programming at U…

Project Insights: 2021-22 Mental Health Care Delivery on Campus 2021-22

Written by Marcus Lomboy (Senior Research Assistant), Tiffany Lee , Christopher Simpson, Isabel Bowman & Maliha Sarwar (Design Research Assistant)

Icon of a house with an blue heart in the middle and ring

Mental health is a complex issue. And designing a service that effectively meets the needs of a diverse student body is an equally wicked problem. In an effort to better understand the experiences of students accessing campus mental health supports, the Innovation Hub partnered with Health & Wellness (H&W) at the University of Toronto (U of T). The partnership began over the summer of 2021 over a series of group co-creation sessions. Continuing into the 2021-2022 fall and winter terms, we continued the co-design process by reaching out to students who accessed same-day appointments. 

Cyberbullying and Mental Health: CAMH is looking for participants!

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health | CAMH
CAMH Logo- 2021

At the Innovation Hub, we see and experience how incredibly important student mental health is in our communities. In this community repost, we would like to highlight an important study by one of our community partners, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and how you or a peer could participate in an important study this summer!


Mental Health Research Opportunity – Detection and Intervention of Cyberbullying on Social Media

Are you a social media user? Do you have thoughts and concerns about cyberbullying? Are you looking to get involved?

We are doing a study to better understand the needs and preferences of youth (ages 16-21) around cyberbullying on social media platforms. Our team is looking to engage with youth who are interested in collaborating with researchers to generate insights that will aid in the development of a digital tool to help prevent cyberbullying.

Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative – The Student Advisory Committee

By Emma McCann – Engagement Lead & Kristin Cleverley – Chair, Student & Youth Mental Health Research Initiative

A headshot of Dr. Cleverley smiling to the camera wearing a dark blue blazer.
Dr. Kristin Cleverley

A headshot of Emma McCann smiling to the camera, wearing an olive green shirt.
Emma McCann

The Innovation Hub has been involved in a scope of conversations on mental health, wellness, and initiatives to support students. Most recently, our work with the Presidential & Provostial Taskforce on Student Mental Health shone a light on many needs in the community and has been a launch pad to important partnerships and initiatives to further support students at the University. We deeply understand how it’s so important to continue to highlight what is happening now in the community on student mental health and opportunities to be a part of these important conversations.

If you are a student and are passionate about improving campus mental health through collaborative research, we encourage reading this week’s special blog post on the Mental Health for Students & Youth Research Initiative!

*** Please note that the deadline to apply to this wonderful opportunity has been extended to January 11th, 2021! ***

A Conversation On Building a Community of Care on Campus

Kaitlyn Corlett smiling at the camera
Kaitlyn Corlett, Senior Project Assistant

Many of us have shifted into a new reality of learning, working, and connecting with our loved ones. As we return to campus in our relative capacities, we reflect on how this may look for everyone – especially within the scope of mental health. At a time of social distancing, it is incredibly important for every individual to have support and access to the resources they need. That’s why at the Innovation Hub, we’ve been thinking deeply of how our insights from previous (and ongoing work) with students can be shared to our campus community. Our objective is to help support students by designing spaces grounded in a culture of care at the University of Toronto.  

We connected with Joshua Grondin, a Master of Education student in Higher Education at OISE and past Vice-President of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU). Joshua is also a part of Students for Barrier-free Access, a levy-funded student group that advocates for disabled and mad-identified students on campus. Through these capacities, Joshua has a great deal of empathy for the many realities at the University. Especially when it comes to mental health, wellness and understanding where culture of care principles come into play between individuals and the University.  

Towards a Culture of Caring: The Final Report of the Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health

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Photograph by Elizabeth Khvatova for the Innovation Hub

Charis Lam, Writer

After our work last semester with the Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health, we are thrilled to see their recently released Final Report and the accompanying Administrative Response. As readers may remember, our Mental Health team led eleven feedback sessions for the Task Force. Our six initial events invited students to discuss their mental health experiences and informed the draft themes. A further five events collected feedback on those themes.