(Montreal) The Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, announced Tuesday morning the creation of a new research observatory on the mental health of students.
Quebec is investing $2.8 million over five years to support the research project, which will be co-directed by researchers from the University of Sherbrooke and the Cégep de Jonquière.
The Observatory’s work on student well-being and mental health in higher education will be led by Julie Lane, associate professor at the Faculty of Education at the Université de Sherbrooke, and Benjamin Gallais, researcher at the Center d’Étude CONDITIONS OF LIVING AND NEEDS OF THE POPULATION (ECOBES) at Cégep de Jonquière.
This project aims to “document the state of mental health of the current student population of Quebec”, can we read in the press release accompanying the announcement.
The objectives of the observatory are surveillance and monitoring, research and development of knowledge, appropriate training and mobilization of knowledge.
In addition, the observatory will have the mandate to conduct a national survey on student mental health in order to assess its evolution over time.
This initiative is part of the Action Plan on Student Mental Health in Higher Education (PASME) 2021-2026.