Woonbedrijf is currently building 735 new student residences on campus. In this, they aim to play a role in the shared responsibility for student wellbeing by offering not only a room, but fostering a community within and around the buildings.

Such preventative measures for student wellbeing are a very relevant theme, as research institutes such as the Trimbos and RIVM call attention to student wellbeing being under more and more pressure [1][2].

But what exactly is the link between your wellbeing as a student and the community within your home? And what should such a community look like?

As my M21 project, together with social design studio cocosmos, the first piece of this puzzle was tackled by executing a large scale empathic research. The aim was understanding what factors affect student wellbeing, and how your home and a community can positively impact this.

This was done through cultural probe interviews and on campus conversations around a research tool, talking to over 170 students. After the extensive data analysis, I created a visual to communicate the insights, and to frame a basis for my FMP direction.

[1] Meer veerkracht en weerbaarheid bij studenten: Maatregelen voor verbeteren studentenwelzijn - Nieuwsbericht - Rijksoverheid.nl. (2023, July 4). [Nieuwsbericht]. rijksoverheid.nl; Ministerie van Algemene Zaken. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2023/07/4/meer-veerkracht-en-weerbaarheid-bij-studenten-maatregelen-voor-verbeteren-studentenwelzijn

[2] Nuijen, J., Verweij, A., Dopmeijer, J., van Wamel, A., Schouten, F., Buijs, M., van der Horst, M., & van den Brink, C. (2023). Monitor Mentale gezondheid en Middelengebruik Studenten hoger onderwijs 2023.