Advance HE Teaching & Learning Conference 2018: Optimising challenges for positive educational change: Active components of outdoor adventure programming for building resilient learners in higher education

Declining resilience is recognised as a key reason for the growing mental health problems and drop-out of university inductees. This can be exacerbated by universities failing to facilitate a positive first year experience. Under the premise of optimising student integration into HE Outdoor Adventure (OA) residential programming has improved students’ resilience. Beyond seeking to establish resilience effects through OA this session addresses how any such effects may have resulted based upon optimal exposure to distinct programme experience. This understanding could help new students self-sustain their engagement in HE at a crucial period of their academic development.