Sharper Minds
What is Sharper Minds?
Sharper Minds is an evidenced-based package of FREE resources designed with UQ students for UQ students that show you how to increase your health and self-care behaviours so that you can achieve your best at university.
These behaviours are in 6 domains:
- study
- mood
- physical activity
- healthy eating
- sleep
- social connection.
- Self-paced online module (a brief highlight of the self-care domain), lasting 15-20 minutes, available any time throughout the year.
- Evidenced-based detailed “live” group courses, facilitated by trained and supervised postgraduate students and offered once each semester.
Also includes additional information and modules to help explore the supports and services available at UQ for wellbeing, understand that wellbeing is linked to academic success, and tips to make university life accessible.
- Mental Health Basics an online self-paced module, accessible all year.
- University Simplified an online self-paced module, accessible all year.
- Downloadable Infographic on Student Mental Health Support at UQ.
Support for Students
Mental Health Basics
Mental Health Basics is an online module that helps you understand signs of distress, explore UQ’s mental health support and services, and learn how wellbeing impacts academic success. It’s a great resource for looking after yourself and your friends at UQ. Accessible all year round and free for all UQ students. Available on Blackboard for Undergraduate and Masters students and Workday for HDR students.
Get started
Mental Health Basics (hosted on Blackboard)
Mental Health Basics (hosted on Workday)*
*for HDR Students only
University Simplified
Whether you identify as neurodivergent, experience the world in other diverse ways, are exploring your own way of thinking, are simply curious to learn more, or are from diverse cultural backgrounds this online module includes top tips on making university life accessible and learning to access resources and support systems at UQ.
Available on Blackboard for Undergraduate and Masters students and Workday for HDR students.
Self-care domains
Study strategies: Tuned In
Tuned In teaches you how to use self-selected music listening and other strategies to help regulate common academic emotions like anxiety, promote focus, and manage stress, procrastination, perfectionism, rumination. There is an online module with highlights and a four-session group course. For more information, watch thevideo and read the Study strategies information sheet. UQ Student feedback.
Express your interest in Study strategies: Tuned In
Online modules Live group course
Social connection: Groups 4 Education
Groups 4 Education teaches you how to develop a sense of belonging and connection to others. Positive social connections help you to think, communicate, and learn. There is an online module with highlights and and a four-session group course. For more information, watch the video and read the Social Connection information sheet.
“I think Groups 4 Education definitely helped me feel a little bit more at home in like UQ specifically. I think having some sort of extracurricular engagement…it felt a lot more casual and yeah it definitely made me feel a little bit more comfortable with the routine of uni and the people there.”
UQ Student feedback
Express your interest in Social connection: Groups 4 Education
Online modules Live group course
Physical activity: Fit 4 Study
The Fit 4 Study shows you how to get started with physical activity and strategies for staying active when things get busy or tough. There is an online module with highlights and and a four-session group course. For more information, watch the video on the left/below and read the Physical Activity information sheet.
“Exposure to basic and introductory concept of exercise, which is helpful for new beginners to exercise.”
UQ Student feedback
Express your interest in Physical activity: Fit 4 Study
Online modules Live group course
Mood: Growing Resilience using Novel Techniques
GRUNT teaches you to build your strengths with mindfulness and other mood regulation strategies for better wellbeing as a university student. There is an online module with highlights and and a four-session group course. For more information, watch the video on the left/below and read the Mood information sheet.
“I liked how kind and easy to talk to the facilitators were. I also like how it gave me a different perspective and deeper understanding of what mindfulness is.”
UQ Student feedback
Express your interest in Mood: Growing Resilience using Novel Techniques
Online modules Live group course
Healthy Eating: Food for the Brain
Food for the Brain teaches you practical skills for shopping, cooking, and eating well on a budget while you are studying at University. There is an online module with highlights and and a three-session group course. For more information, watch the video on the left/below and read the Healthy Eating information sheet.
“Provided recipes that were tailored to the session participants- a wide range of food education was provided (quick tips, meal specific, financial tips etc)”
UQ Student feedback
Express your interest in Healthy Eating: Food for the Brain
Online modules Live group course
Sleep
The Better Sleep is aimed at improving your sleep health. It will build your knowledge of healthy sleep, help you to identify your sleep barriers, and provide you with behavioural strategies that may help you sleep better. There is an online module with highlights and and a four-session group course. For more information, watch the video on the left/below and read the Better Sleep information sheet.
“The Better Sleep package was really informative and helpful in providing useful tips and tricks to improve sleep quality. It was engaging through the use of the group activities, and the sleep diary portion was super enlightening.”
UQ Student feedback
Express your interest in Sleep
Online modules Live group course
Research Team Behind Sharper Minds
Dr. Radhika Tanksale
Clinical Psychologist and Project Manager for Sharper Minds Program
Genevieve Dingle
Clinical psychologist and Professor in the School of Psychology.
Professor Genevieve Dingle - UQ Researchers
Leanne Hides
Clinical psychologist, Lives Lived Well Chair in Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health and Professor in the School of Psychology.
Professor Leanne Hides - UQ Researchers
Blake McKimmie
Associate Dean, Academic (HABS) and Professor in the School of Psychology.
Professor Blake McKimmie - UQ Researchers
Sjaan Gomersall
Senior Research Fellow in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, and Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Dr Sjaan Gomersall - UQ Researchers
Emma Beckman
Exercise physiologist and Associate Professor in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences.
Dr Emma Beckman - UQ Researchers
Simon Smith
Clinical neuropsychologist and Professorial Research Fellow, Institute for Social Science Research UQ.
Professor Simon Smith - UQ Researchers
Kalina Ross
Clinical Psychologist and Research Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences Research, UQ
Dr Kalina Rossa - UQ Researchers
Fiona Maccallum
Clinical psychologist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology.
Dr Fiona Maccallum - UQ Researchers
Sarah Bentley
Social psychologist (CSIRO) and Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Psychology.
Dr Sarah Bentley - CSIRO
Olivia Wright
Dietician and Senior Lecturer in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences.
Dr Olivia Wright - UQ Researchers
Zoe Walter
Clinical psychologist and Lecturer in Health Psychology in the School of Psychology.
Dr Zoe Walter - UQ Researchers
Sakinah Alhadad
Science of teaching and learning, and Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University.
Sakinah Alhadad - Griffith University
Rong Han
Researcher and Ph.D. candidate in the School of Psychology.
Kevin Huang
Researcher and Ph.D. candidate in the Health and Wellbeing Centre for Research Innovation, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences.
Project reports and related publications
Mental health of university students
Dingle GA, Han R, Alhadad SS, et al. (2024). Data from four consecutive cohorts of students in Australia (2019–2022) show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic and international university students’ mental health. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 58(6), 528-536.
doi.org/10.1177/00048674241233111
Han R, Walter ZC, Maccallum F & Dingle GA. (2024). First-year domestic and international university students’ knowledge and use of mental health services and self-care practices in Australia. Australian Psychologist.
doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2024.2410195
Dingle GA, Han R, Huang K, Alhadad SSJ, Beckman E, Bentley SV, Edmed S, Gomersall SR, Hides L, Lorimer N, Maccallum F, McKimmie BM, Ng N, Rossa K, Smith SS, Walter ZC, Williams E, Wright ORL, & Tanksale R. (2025). Sharper minds: Feasibility and effectiveness of a mental health promotion package for university students targeting multiple health and self-care behaviours. Journal of Affective Disorders, 378, 271–280.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.011
Physical activity in university students
Huang K, Beckman E, Ng N, et al. (2024). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions on undergraduate students’ mental health: systematic review and meta-analysis, Health Promotion International, 39(3), daae054.
doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae054
Huang K, Beckman EM, Ng N, Dingle GA & Gomersall SR. (2024) Protocol for Fit4Study: a non-randomised controlled trial of a physical activity intervention for university students’ mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health and Prevention.
doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2024.200390
Sleep in university students
Rossa K, Edmed S, Lorimer N, & Smith S. (2024). Sharper Minds Better Sleep: Results from a pilot brief intervention for improving sleep health in young adults. Sleep DownUnder 2024, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 16-19 October 2024. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae070.091.
Music and wellbeing in university students
Vidas D, Nelson NL, & Dingle GA. (2023). Efficacy of the Tuned In music emotion regulation program in international university students. Psychology and Health.
doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2023.2197007
Vidas D, Nelson NL, & Dingle GA. (2022). Music Listening as a Coping Resource in Domestic and International University Students. Psychology of Music.
doi.org/10.1177/03057356211066964
Bos V, Han R, Wiebusch F, Broughton MC, & Dingle GA. (2024). UQ Voices: Building a community choir for international students following the global pandemic. Australian Voice, 25.
doi.org/10.56307/AGZM2288
Loneliness, social connections and wellbeing in university students
Dingle GA, Han R & Carlyle M. (2022). Loneliness, belonging, and mental health in Australian university students pre- and post-COVID-19. Behaviour Change.
doi.org/10.1017/bec.2022.6
Annual Reports
Dingle, G., Williams, E., Alhadad, S. S. J., Beckman, E., Bentley, S., Fooken, J., Gomersall, S. R., Hides, L., Ludlow, T., Maccallum, F., McKimmie, B. M., Rossa, K., Smith, S.S., Walter, Z. C., & Wright, O. (2023, February 14). Sharper Minds 2022 Report. The University of Queensland.
www.psyarxiv.com/vsxrw
Dingle, G. A., Hodges, J., Hides, L., McKimmie, B., Gomersall, S., Beckman, E., Birch, S., Smith, S., Zurynski, Y., Maccallum. F., Bentley, S., Wright, O., Walter, Z., & Alhadad, S. (2021). Sharper Minds 2021 Pilot Report.
Preprint available
Dingle, G. A., & Han, R. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on Australian university students’ mental health. School of Psychology, The University of QLD.
Click here for report from 2020 student survey
Dingle, G. A., Vidas, D., & Hong, D. (2020). Stress, wellbeing, and help seeking in first year university students. PsyArXiv Preprints | Stress, wellbeing, and help seeking in first year university students.
Click here for report from 2019 student survey
Contact us
For further information please contact:
Project email: sharperminds@uq.edu.au
Dr Radhika Tanksale, Project Manager
Professor Genevieve Dingle, Project Leader