Sustainable development in Higher Education: Promoting mental wellbeing during and beyond Covid-19

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During the Covid-19 pandemic, Higher Education (HE) students and staff across the globe were faced with an unprecedented mental health crisis leading to a rapid rise in stress and anxiety levels, largely due to the social isolation enforced to tackle the public health crisis. The negative impact of the pandemic on mental health poses a long-term risk to public wellbeing, inevitably affecting HE institutions. In this chapter, current research findings on the effects of Covid-19 on HE student and staff mental wellbeing will be discussed to offer an understanding of the magnitude of the problem. Further, practices which could be implemented to foster mental wellbeing in HE will be considered. Promoting wellbeing in HE institutions aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 4 which emphasize endorsing Health and Wellbeing practices as well as Quality Education. As the pandemic is ongoing and still poses a threat to public health, this chapter aims to mobilize HE leaders and policy makers to pay special attention to the provision of mental health and wellbeing services in HE and to adopt policies which promote more sustainable pedagogical environments.