Workshop: Promoting Mental Health and Wellness in Undergraduate Engineers

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education was facing a “mental health crisis.” The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced countless additional stressors, and faculty concern over student well-being has increased. In this workshop, we will share the current state of research on mental health in undergraduate engineering students, including ongoing research to understand the impact of COVID-19 on student well-being. Learning objectives for the session include: gaining knowledge in the current state of research on mental health in engineering, including how stigma varies for different conditions and populations; developing ways to identify students in distress; and understanding research-based practices for supporting student mental health. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and share ideas related to 1) How do we build a supportive learning community? 2) How do we identify students in distress? 3) How do we encourage student help-seeking? 4) How do we integrate mental health and wellness into our courses? At the end of the workshop, participants will be invited to join a Slack channel to continue conversations, seek guidance and initiate collaborations related to undergraduate mental health in engineering.