By James Watson
Partnerships Manager, Student Minds

After announcing a strategic partnership in 2025, urbanest and Student Minds have been working together closely over the past 12 months to strengthen support for students’ mental health, and to champion a more positive experience of university life.

The partnership reflects our shared belief that students should feel safe, supported and able to thrive in the places they live. urbanest’s long-standing commitment to thoughtful, responsible and sustainable development aligns closely with our values at Student Minds, and has shaped a strong foundation for our work together.

Over the past year we have focused on activity that raises awareness and provides practical support for students and the staff who interact with them. We created clear guidance to help urbanest community teams feel more confident when signposting students to the right support. Alongside this, we have shared Student Minds’ self-help resources with urbanest’s student residents, giving them straightforward advice they can turn to whenever they need it.

We have also worked together to highlight the partnership through urbanest and Student Minds’ channels, helping to draw attention to our shared commitment to wellbeing.

Prior to launching our partnership, we Student Minds and urbanest hosted a joint fundraising event at urbanest Westminster Bridge, raising over £4,500 as part of an urbanest initiative that saw a group climb the equivalent height of Mount Everest in stairs across their portfolio. The event brought urbanest staff and supporters together to celebrate the partnership and raise funds that directly support our work. urbanest’s contribution plays an important role in helping Student Minds to reach more students across the UK and continue developing resources that make a real difference.

As we move into the new year, we look forward to building on this progress with more shared content and plans for key moments, including Mental Health Awareness Week.

Together, urbanest and Student Minds are helping to create environments where students feel understood, supported and better able to manage the challenges of university life.