If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. We’ve been talking about feedback from students, with the thread of anxiety and stress running through it. Here’s a quote from a first-year Engineering student at UKZN: “Everything was new to me and it was hard for me. I did not have any friends so I used to hide … 07 September 2026 – Tie a SCARF round your emotions

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. This is the second in our little series on keeping your body healthy so that your mind can relax and learn and even enjoy your time at university. Last week I gave you the reason for this focus. It came out of feedback from students in StudyTrust’s mentor conversations … 31 August 2026 – Staying Sane (and Healthy) 2

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. During the first semester, we at StudyTrust had a lot of conversations with students. One theme came through loud and clear: mental health is a huge issue. When we asked students to write about their experience, they referred to “mental breakdowns,” “panic attacks,” “imposter syndrome,” and feeling “numb”. One … 24 August 2026 – Staying Sane (and Healthy)

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. Have you ever sat in a lecture, looked around the room, and thought, “These people are all so smart and capable. I’m not. I don’t fit. I don’t belong here”? If you have, you’re not alone. That feeling even has a name: imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is that nagging belief … 17 August 2026 – Feeling like an Imposter

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. Here’s a rude wake-up call on a Monday morning: there are only three months left before the final exams. But … breathe out, relax, it is very doable. Your course was designed to fit into this window of time. All it takes is for you to do your part. Here’s what a … 10 August 2026 – The Boring Essentials: Structure and Discipline

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. In your coursework, you are often confronted with big, intimidating blocks of information. Especially if you’re not a great reader, it may feel overwhelming and impossible. But just as we suggested in our discussions of how to use your study time, things become more manageable if you break it … 3 August 2026 – Understanding is like building a puzzle

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. Early in this second semester I want to give you something to stick up above your desk to think about every time things feel overwhelming. It’s a line from the wonderful poem Desiderata: “Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.” The first semester may have been hard. Having come from … 27 July 2026 – Setting Realistic Expectations

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. At the beginning of this new term I want to make a rather startling point: your phone, without which you feel so lost and cut off, can actually be a roadblock to your dream career. “What???!” you say. Well, let’s unpick it.  In the time of AI, your degree … 20 July 2026 – Your Phone can be a Career Roadblock

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. One of these days you will be returning to university after the winter break. It may feel daunting! Take a deep breath and acknowledge how far you’ve come. This isn’t just the start of a new academic term. It’s another milestone in your journey. For many of you, university is … 13 July 2026 – Back to School

If you’d rather listen to this newsletter, click here. You’re on holiday at the moment, blissfully free of all the tensions and stresses of campus life, but soon you will be going back and you may once again feel like the poor girl in our picture. Sorry for the reminder! There is an upside, though. You have time … 06 July 2026 – A Recipe for Coping with Stress