New Personal Wellness Module to launch in CIT

Preparations are underway to launch a brand new module aimed at improving student's personal wellness and resilience at Cork Institute of Technology. The initiative which is being led by Professor Jim O'Mahony, Thomas Broderick and Joe Murphy will run as part of a structured PhD programme aimed at supporting postgraduate students through their studies.

The module is one of many varied educational initiatives devised by the Teaching and Learning Unit which is led by Marese Bermingham, and is in response to many studies highlighted by Nature (and others) which clearly shows the need for academic institutes to provide structured support for post graduate students.

The CIT programme of study will run for a full semester (14 weeks) and is very much applied and practical facing. Through a series of lectures, podcasts, practical sessions and guided exercises, students will learn how and why disease occurs, what positive psychology is and how to implement behavioural change. Other areas for study will include resilience training and understanding the dimensions of wellness.

The course material which was externally validated by 6 independent reviewers will be delivered using scientifically validated resources, and will reference internationally recognised experts and centres including Martin Seligman and the world famous Science of Wellbeing programme run at Yale.

Upon completion of the 10 credit module, students will have devised and implemented a personalised intervention programme which will target specific areas of concern such as diet, sleep, mental health, exercise, recreational pursuits, addictive behaviour and stress management.

In the future, it is hoped that the module will be adapted and made available to wider cohorts of students and staff at CIT.