18th November saw the first ever HLS Faculty Post Graduate Researchers (PGR) Wellbeing Day hosted at various locations across the university campus.
The event was the latest initiative from the PGR Wellbeing Ambassador Scheme which aims to ensure the wellbeing of PGRs within the faculty. The PGR Wellbeing Ambassador scheme was introduced in October 2018 as a small pilot in what was formerly the Institute of Integrative Biology and has continued to grow each year.
The day proved widely popular with attendees from across the institutes and academic years as well as international students making up a third of attendees.
Dr Jenna Kenyani, EDIW Advisor and PGR Wellbeing Ambassador Scheme Lead, reflected,
“It was incredibly exciting to pilot our first PGR specific Wellbeing Day for the Faculty. It was lovely to see so many students attending over the day and lots of new faces. The Ambassador scheme has gone from strength to strength since it started in 2018. And a huge congratulations needs to go to all our ambassadors over the years who have worked hard and dedicated their time to help their peers.”
The day featured a variety of in-person and online activities, starting with a Wellbeing breakfast and followed by pottery classes, discussion groups, sports tournaments and wellbeing drop-in sessions.
Feedback from the day was extremely positive such as from Wellbeing Ambassador Hannah Coleman,
"Running events such as the wellbeing day are great because it shows that the University is supporting this change of mindset. The wellbeing day was amazing for those that perhaps haven't met many other students yet to feel included. Especially in the activities where people could attend alone and meet others in the same position. It fills me with so much joy knowing that I can help students feel better and know that they are not alone. As, we are all in this together.”
The positive feedback is particularly significant as the organisers hope that the event won’t be a one-off and will come back bigger and better next year,
“Feedback from students on the day was overwhelmingly positive and I was thrilled to hear that initiatives such as this one were not only well received, but massively appreciated by all that attended. This year was a pilot, for what will hopefully become a much larger and more wide-reaching event in the future… What the Wellbeing Day pilot, and the ambassador scheme as a whole, has proved is that Wellbeing is rapidly becoming a firm and essential part of the research environment and that the value of our research students”, said Aisla Houghton-Foster, PGR Wellbeing Officer and PGR Wellbeing Ambassador Deputy Scheme Lead.
You can find more information about the PGR Wellbeing Ambassador Scheme here or email J.kenyani@liverpool.ac.uk.