The Mental Elf

Nurture-U Episode 1: The Evidence — What 14,000 Students Taught Us

The Mental Elf

Show Notes

What does the largest longitudinal study of UK student mental health tell us about who struggles, what protects them, and where universities should focus?

Nurture-U surveyed 14,000 students across five universities over three academic years. The findings are clear and some are surprising. Half of students experience high levels of loneliness. Marginalised groups are most at risk. And the protective factors that make the biggest difference aren't expensive or mysterious.

Featuring Professor Ed Watkins (Nurture-U PI, University of Exeter), Dr Jacks Bennett (Bristol Medical School), Otilia Puiu (UCL) and Audrey Fok (University of Exeter).

Find out more at https://www.nurtureuniversity.co.uk

Sign up for the Nurture-U webinar on June 15th: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-universities-can-do-about-student-mental-health-nurture-u-webinar-tickets-1990175904705?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from The Mental Elf

Jul 17, 2026

Professor Eileen Joyce and Professor Trevor Robbins, two of her closest colleagues and former PhD students, join André Tomlin to remember Professor Susan (Sue) Iversen (1940–2025), the scientist who fused psychopharmacology and neuropsychology and helped found the field of neuropsychopharmacology.

Jul 9, 2026

Depression is not one thing, and treating it as if it were may be why so many people don't get better. In this episode, Prof Brenda Penninx offers a sharper way to think about it.

Jul 6, 2026

Catherine Harmer, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Oxford and outgoing president of the British Association of Psychopharmacology (BAP), and Naomi Fineberg, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Hertfordshire and incoming BAP president, discuss how BAP brings together non-clinical scientists, experimental medicine researchers, clinicians, and industry to translate discoveries into patient care.

Jun 26, 2026

Oxford psychologist Dr Lucy Foulkes discusses myths and research around adolescent mental health ahead of her public lecture at the British Association of Psychopharmacology Conference (Sunday, 19 July).

Jun 9, 2026

Five years of research. 14,000 students surveyed. Interventions tested. A whole-university framework developed. Now: what needs to change?

See all episodes →