Resilience Building Activities for Students
UK Resilience Programme
Example study tour
Resilience building activities help university students to develop the skills they need to thrive in educational, social and professional environments. The transition to university can be a challenging time for many students, which can affect their grades and even lead to them dropping out of university.
From the start of their university career, your students are expected to demonstrate a positive approach to their studies and understand their own strengths, along with key areas identified for their personal growth and development. Partaking in resilience building activities can help students to acclimate themselves, socialise with their peers and realise their academic potential.
In conjunction with AQR International, StudyLink has created a unique programme that allows your students to partake in enriching resilience building activities. This resilience building program is designed to help your university to improve retention rates of your first-year students gain the skills valued by employers such as:
- Team-working
- Self-confidence
- Decision-making
- Communication skills
The unique learning environment afforded by our resilience building activity centres allows your students to develop their teamwork and communication skills. Additionally, challenging themselves mentally and physically allows them to build on their self-confidence and resilience, leading to well-rounded and self-aware individuals.
Our resilience building activity course:
- Challenges participant in a new and unfamiliar environment
- Encourages positive thinking and how to recognise and manage risk
- Requires teamwork and builds strong relationships and trust
- Celebrates success and achievement
StudyLink understands that quantifiable evidence of impact on development is important. At the heart of our programme is the assessment of ‘mental toughness’ using the MTQ Plus psychometric questionnaire.
Working in partnership with AQR International to deliver the mental toughness assessment MTQ Plus. AQR International is a highly innovative test publisher working with psychologists to design tests and measures with specific attention paid to the education sector.
Group travel services provided by StudyLink
- MTQ Plus questionnaire to be completed online before arrival
- Return executive coach transportation
- Full-board accommodation from evening meal on day one to lunch on day five
- Selected adventurous activities designed to develop the four C’s of mental toughness; control, commitment, confidence and responses to challenge
- Personal & team goals and target setting sessions
- Experienced instructors on-site
- Services of a dedicated Account Executive
- Bespoke itinerary planning service
StudyLink Resilience Programme - Sample Itinerary
3-4 weeks before stay - MTQ Plus Questionnaire
Prior to starting the on-site programme, we would provide a link for the group leader to send to their students so that they can complete their MTQ Plus questionnaire.
Developed by AQR International, the questionnaire is designed to measure their individual resilience and ability to cope with change.
The results from these questionnaires will be provided to you, so your university can assess your students’ strengths and weaknesses. It can also assist you in identifying areas for personal development and can enable you to provide tailored individual support for your students.
Day 1 - Introduction & Goal-setting
Your group will be collected at the university campus early morning by coach. Coach transportation is ideal for supporting university bubbles; plus all our coach companies adhere to enhanced health & safety practices.
Arrival at our activity centre for approx 9:30am. Your group will be welcomed and briefed on the programme by on-site instructors, with a review of the MTQ Plus results.
After lunch, the group will take part in an overview of the aims, cultures and objectives of the programme, followed by team initiative exercises.
In the evening, your group will have a session covering personal & team goals and target setting for the days ahead.
Day 2 - Gaining Confidence
Breakfast served at the centre with hot or cold food options available.
In the morning, your group will be split into smaller groups for an outdoor adventure activity linked to theme of building confidence (e.g. climbing). Each activity is adapted and delivered to meet the objective of building mental toughness and resilience. Following the morning activity, there would be time scheduled for a university-led session in one of the on-site meeting rooms.
Lunch would be served early afternoon and would be followed by a further two resilience-building outdoor activities (e.g. Zip Wire & Giant Swing).
In the evening, we could arrange a Teamwork skills development session for the group.
Day 3 - Beyond the Comfort Zone
Breakfast served at the centre with hot or cold food options available.
In the morning, within the same smaller groups as yesterday your group will take part in two outdoor adventure activities aligned to theme of beyond the comfort zone (e.g. high ropes & trapeze). Each activity is adapted and delivered to meet the objective of building mental toughness and resilience.
Lunch would be served early afternoon and would then be followed by another activity linked to the theme of the day (e.g. canoeing). At the half-way point of the programme, the group would then have a mid-course review.
Dinner is served in the evening, followed by a personal team achievements & goal setting session.
Day 4 - Working Together
Breakfast served at the centre with hot or cold food options available.
Within their smaller groups your students will take part in two outdoor adventure activities designed to encourage them to improve their communication skills by Working Together (e.g. Jacob's Ladder & Orienteering). Our experienced instructors will adapt the activities to meet the mental toughness development needs of each individual group.
Lunch would be served early afternoon. The group will then take part in additional an additional team-building activity, such as our fun and immersive raft building challenge; sourcing, designing and building their raft, before putting it to the test on the water.
Dinner is served in the evening. Free time could be scheduled for the group or your university is welcome to lead a session in one of the on-site meeting rooms.
Day 5 - Outcomes & Actions
Breakfast served at the centre with hot or cold food options available.
In the morning, the group will test how far they've come by participating in a team challenge, before enjoying a lunch on-site.
After lunch, your university will have the opportunity to lead a future action plans session, before departing back to the university late afternoon.
Student-friendly accommodation with locations across the UK
- Bawdsey Manor, Suffolk
- Beam House, North Devon
- Boreatton Park, Shropshire
- Caythorpe Court, Lincolnshire
- Dalguise, Perthshire
- Liddington, Wiltshire
- Little Canada, Isle of Wight
- Marchants Hill, Surrey
- Osmington Bay, Dorset
- Windmill Hill, East Sussex
- Winmarleigh Hall, Lancashire
