Xiaohongshu
- Hosted by Mental Health Society
Join the UCL Mental Health Society for our first guest lecture of the year! Please note that this will be online and thus you need to get a free ticket to get the room link!
Understanding and Supporting the Transition to Higher Education: Systematic Evidence, Adaptability, and International Student Experiences
The transition to university represents a critical period of adjustment, often characterised by academic, social, and emotional challenges that shape students’ experiences and outcomes. This presentation integrates three interrelated strands of research and practice to advance understanding of, and support for, students during this pivotal phase. First, it synthesises findings from systematic reviews examining how success is operationalised in higher education research and identifying personal risk and protective factors associated with psychosocial and related outcomes. Second, it explores student adaptability — defined as the capacity to regulate thoughts, behaviours, and emotions in response to novel, uncertain, or changing demands — as a key personal resource underpinning successful adjustment to university life. Third, it focuses on the transition experiences of Chinese international students, drawing on recent empirical research into their distinctive challenges alongside preliminary insights from a bespoke English–Mandarin Orientation Event designed to support entry into a UK university. Collectively, these strands provide novel insights into the predominantly personal factors that shape a successful transition to higher education, with clear implications for both future research and institutional practice.
Dr Andrew J. Holliman, BSc (Hons), MA, MSc, PhD, is Associate Professor and Academic Head of Learning and Teaching at the UCL Institute of Education in the Department of Psychology and Human Development. A Chartered Psychologist and Chartered Scientist, he is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, with extensive experience in academic leadership, teaching, and research. He has held senior roles including Programme Leader for the BSc Psychology with Education, contributes widely to undergraduate and postgraduate education, supervises doctoral researchers across PhD and DEdPsy programmes, and serves as an External Examiner for institutions such as King’s College London and the University of Birmingham, as well as an Expert Panel Member for Psychology and Education programme reviews at several universities. Nationally recognised for his leadership in psychology education, he is Chair of both the BPS Psychology of Education Section and the BPS London and Home Counties Branch, having also served on committees across the Society, and was a finalist for the 2024/25 BPS Higher Education Psychology Teacher of the Year award. His research spans the psychology of education, higher education pedagogy, and children’s literacy development, with recent work focusing on educational transitions and the personal risk and protective factors influencing student outcomes; he also sits on multiple editorial boards and has edited several internationally recognised volumes in education, including the prestigious Vernon Wall Lecture Series.
Please do not hesitate to contact me (Danilo, President of Mental Health Society) if you have any questions at all or if there is any way that the event can be more accessible and enjoyable to you!