"Hey, are you OK?" project | Gdańsk University of Technology

More and more universities in Poland, Europe and all over the world offer their students and employees support in the field of wellbeing. The constant presence of a psychologist at the university, events such as a mental health week, workshops and lectures on caring for mental and physical health are important elements of the activities of many universities.

Therefore, Gdańsk University of Technology has launched the project "Hey, are you OK?".

– From October to the end of April, support and academic staff, as well as Polish and international students, will be able to participate in the events organized as part of the project. We wanted to diversify the offered forms of support as much as possible. That’s why we have planned workshops on mediation, cultural differences, seminars on coping with crisis situations, but also yoga and mindfulness classes. The aspect of integrating employees and students was also an important issue to us, which is why some of the events are addressed to all interested parties, regardless of their status at the university – says Marta Wojcieszenko from the International Relations Office, Project Coordinator.

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Information campaign

Part of the project is an information campaign, the aim of which is to convince international students that there is nothing wrong or shameful in the fact that sometimes in crisis situations we need professional, specialist help.

– More than 1,000 international students from almost 70 countries around the world study at Gdańsk University of Technology. Each of them comes to Poland with their own cultural background and related taboos. For many of them, a visit to a psychotherapist is associated with a sense of shame, the necessity to break the language and cultural barrier. Therefore, through the information campaign, we want to show students that there is nothing wrong with seeking professional psychological help. At the same time, for those students who need other forms of support, we have planned workshops on cultural differences, seminars on coping with crisis situations, as well as yoga and mindfulness classes - adds Anna Modrzejewska, Head of the International Relations Office.

As part of the campaign, characteristic posters and information leaflets will appear at the faculties and in student dormitories.

Conference inaugurating the project

On October 10, 12 and 14, we invite all interested employees and students to the conference inaugurating the project. The date of the event is not accidental - World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on October 10 on the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health.

Anna Modrzejewska: – Together with the HR Centre and the Academic Sports Centre, we invite you to an event during which we will not only talk about the project "Hey, are you OK?", but also have a discussion about how we want to care for the well-being of our employees and students. The special guest of the conference will be prof. Marcin Szulc from the University of Gdańsk, who will give a lecture on "Is there a recipe for a healthy and happy life? A few words on the psychological determinants of health”. There will also be a meeting with a dietitian and gymnastics classes in the Academic Sports Centre.

Detailed conference program and registration will be available soon.

Registration for events within the project

Registration for the first classes as part of the project "Hey, are you OK?" will start in mid-September. The next recruitment will be launched in the coming months, so we encourage you to regularly visit the official project website. On this dedicated website, you will also find links to interesting reports and articles on the subject of wellbeing.

The project "Creating an emotional health support system for the international students studying at Gdańsk University of Technology" (marketing name "Hey, are you OK?") is co-financed by the National Agency for Academic Exchange under the „Welcome to Poland” program.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact Gdańsk Tech International Relations Office at international@pg.edu.pl (in the title of the e-mail, please write "Project Hey, are you OK?").