I am proud to announce the launch of our Student Loneliness Report. In recent years, student loneliness has attracted increasing attention within the Higher Education sector. This report offers a more detailed understanding of this issue within Cambridge, drawing on data from the CUSU Student Loneliness Survey. 

Key findings of the report include:

• 75% of Cambridge students surveyed feel lonely on a daily or weekly basis.
• Student loneliness in Cambridge disproportionately affects certain disadvantaged groups, including BME students, disabled students, working-class students and care-experienced students.
• Undergraduate students are less likely to find friends from within their faculty or department, particularly those studying arts/humanities/social sciences Triposes with large cohorts.
• Postgraduate students are less likely to find friends from within their college, particularly at PhD level.
• 18% of students surveyed do not participate in any extra-curricular activities while at university.
• 62% of respondents feel that the intensity of the academic workload in Cambridge is a barrier to making friends and having a healthy social life.

It is clear from this report that student loneliness is a major problem within Cambridge which is not sufficiently addressed at present. Over the coming months, I will be helping develop a Student Loneliness Strategy for the University focused on tackling this issue. This strategy will consider how feelings of loneliness and isolation among students can be identified, how the University can provide more opportunities for students to socialise and meet new people, and how the wider issues which contribute to student loneliness, such as workload, can be addressed.

If you have any questions about the report, would like to discuss these issues further or take your own student loneliness initiative forward, please don’t hesitate to contact at president@cusu.cam.ac.uk

Edward Parker Humphreys
CUSU President 2019/20