Member Article

The University of Hertfordshire partners with Fika to safeguard student wellbeing and employability

The University of Hertfordshire has become the latest higher education institution to partner with students’ emotional fitness app Fika, in a bid to safeguard its students’ wellbeing, academic performance and employability.

The Fika app, which helps students build their confidence, resilience, motivation, focus and empathy through simple five-minute emotional workouts, launched earlier this year, and has a growing list of university partners UK-wide.

The app offers more than 200 context-specific emotional workouts designed by psychologists to help students navigate the challenges of university life, as well as boosting their attainment and employability.

Students using Fika have reported increased positivity (83%), reduced anxiety & stress (81%), improved ability to handle challenges (82%), increased motivation (81%) and increased confidence (79%).

The University of Hertfordshire will pilot Fika across its School of Life & Medical Sciences, making Fika available to the School’s 4,000-odd students.

The School will also actively contribute to Fika’s academic research programme, working with Fika’s Head of Research and other university partners to quantify the impact of regular emotional exercise on student wellbeing, attainment and employability.

In addition, Joanne Askew, a PhD student at Hertfordshire, will devote her thesis to understanding and measuring Fika’s effectiveness in transforming, improving and maintaining student wellbeing in the UK.

Said Dr Philip Porter, Associate Dean of Education at the University of Hertfordshire (School of Life & Medical Sciences): “Fika is a proactive tool to build students’ mental fitness, equipping them to cope with the inevitable challenges they will face, at university and beyond. As a University that values our students as partners, we’re delighted to join forces with Fika, proactively giving students the tools they need to thrive.

With more than 24,500 students and 2,900 staff, the University of Hertfordshire boasts the highest graduate employment rate in the East of England, with 96.5% of students in employment or further study six months after graduating. The University’s teaching expertise was awarded the top gold ranking in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2018.

The partnership with Fika is testament to the University’s ongoing proactive investment in student experience, employability and wellbeing.

Said Nick Bennett, CEO & Co-Founder of Fika: “The University of Hertfordshire has a great reputation in student experience and employability, and we hope this partnership will help strengthen that reputation. We’ve now seen the extent of student demand for Fika, with students across more than 50 UK universities using and championing our app. We invite all UK universities to contact us about making Fika available to their full student bodies, helping us safeguard the next generation’s wellbeing, relationships and careers.”

Fika adds the University of Hertfordshire to a list of higher education partners include Bath Spa University, the University of Exeter, the University of Hertfordshire, the University of Lincoln, London Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of South Wales.

The company is exploring links with secondary education and further education, and has plans to expand across these sectors within the next six months.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Joe Thompson .