Community connections unlock learning at Mannix College’s StudyFest

More than 175 years ago, in The Idea of a University (1852), St John Henry Newman—soon to be made a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV—described the ideal university as a community of scholars, where minds engage with each other, disciplines intersect and learning is shared.

A university, he writes, is a place where students, ‘keen, open‑hearted, sympathetic, and observant,’ come together, mixing freely, so that ‘they are sure to learn one from another ... the conversation of all is a series of lectures to each, and they gain for themselves new ideas and views, fresh matter of thought, and distinct principles for judging and acting, day by day.’

Newman’s vision bears some striking resemblances to StudyFest, Mannix College’s new, award-winning academic support program.

When the Catholic residential college for Monash University students launched StudyFest in 2024, the goal was simple but ambitious: to reimagine academic support in a way that would both lift results and strengthen the college’s sense of community. A year later, the program is not only restoring the college’s traditionally high academic performance, after a brief period where it dipped, but also earning national recognition, winning the Asia-Pacific Student Accommodation Association’s (APSAA) Excellence in Student Experience Award.

If we silo away learners into science, arts, commerce, and just teach them ‘content’, we’re not actually preparing young people for the sorts of challenges they’re going to face in the world.

For India Wright, Director of Academics and Employability at Mannix College and the architect of StudyFest, the transformation was born from a recognition that the college’s traditional tutorial program was no longer meeting the needs of students.

The college’s old tutorial program harked back to Oxford and Cambridge models ‘where you’d have a tutor who’s got a lot of knowledge and they’d run a session,’ she explains. ‘I spent a year watching, seeing what the gaps were. And then I came across a theory that comes out of community colleges in the [United] States … thinking about learning in terms of a community lens.

‘We live together, so we’re a living, learning community.  But it was all about interdisciplinary learning and the fact that if we silo away learners into science, arts, commerce, and just teach them “content”, we’re not actually preparing young people for the sorts of challenges they’re going to face in the world.’

StudyFest was designed as a weekly evening event in the college’s Dining Hall and Academic Centre, combining a 30-minute skills-based workshop with focused, communal study sessions. Academic support is provided by a team of paid academic guides—postgraduate students or professionals—and volunteer academic mentors, who are high-achieving residents. The model allows students to access help across multiple disciplines in a social, low-pressure environment.

Most of the time people will show up because their friends are going, because there’s food. It’s physically hard to miss that something’s happening.

The program is deliberately opt-in, with India and her team choosing to focus on engagement through culture rather than compulsion. ‘Most of the time people will show up because their friends are going, because there’s food. It’s physically hard to miss that something’s happening,’ she says. ‘When you walk past the dining hall and see 50 to a hundred people, you want to join.’

Some participants will be almost apologetic when they explain why they’re there. ‘They’ll be like, “Oh, I didn’t come for study; I just came to chat with my friends.” And I’m like, “Don’t apologise for that. That’s perfect. That’s how this is designed.”’

Making study fun

The shift from the old tutorial system to StudyFest represented a cultural change as much as an academic one, focusing on social connection and fun as more effective ways to build greater engagement.

The new format has succeeded in doing just that. In 2024, 72 per cent of residents attended at least one StudyFest session—up from 40 per cent engagement under the previous tutorial system. Students who attended eight or more sessions were five times more likely to achieve a High Distinction average.

The program’s structure also reflects Mannix College’s Catholic values, particularly its focus on the dignity of the human person and the importance of community life.

‘The workshops that we run are intentionally not just study focused,’ India explains, pointing out that its holistic approach is also designed to nurture students’ broader sense of wellbeing, encouraging them to consider, ‘How are you learning as an individual, not just to be excellent at your studies, but to be excellent at looking after yourself and navigating the world?’

Our academic mentors … have just grown so much as people, and the amount of support they give to their peers is incredible.

For Wright, ‘community’ is not just a by-product but the engine of StudyFest’s success. The program encourages residents to support one another and develop leadership skills through peer mentoring.

‘Our current residents who are academic mentors … have just grown so much as people, and the amount of support they give to their peers is incredible,’ she says. One recent highlight was a panel discussion organised and led by a mentor who ‘previously might not have gotten up and spoken in front of heaps of people but had the right environment and the encouragement’ to really shine, India says.

Responding to a changing university landscape

StudyFest also responds to a changing university environment, where the shift to online learning has left some students feeling isolated and disconnected from their peers—a trend that was only exacerbated by COVID. ‘A lot of our residents find it hard to meet people in their courses,’ India observes. With courses often now having a blended mode of delivery, with practical elements delivered face-to-face but lectures and workshops increasingly delivered online, she says ‘it’s hard to make friends with people studying the same things as you.’

The word vibes gets thrown around a lot—‘Good vibes’, ‘Love the vibes’.

The communal study model revives some of the informal, collaborative learning that was once more common on university campuses. Tables are often grouped by discipline—such as engineering or commerce—so that students can work alongside peers experiencing similar challenges. This ‘not only keeps you on track if you’ve forgotten about an assignment, but there’s a lot of empathy,’ India says. ‘If you’ve had a bad lab, you can complain with each other about it.’ Having opportunities to identify with each other and share not just important information but the highs and lows of campus life ‘helps with going through university’, she believes.

Wright says that feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive. Comments from weekly sign-in surveys often highlight both the supportive atmosphere and the small touches that make attendance enjoyable. Reading out some of the comments, she notes how often the food is mentioned, and ‘the word vibes gets thrown around a lot—“Good vibes”, “Love the vibes.” One [comment] was: “I appreciate the mentors for being honest and transparent with their past and ongoing challenges. It feels very relatable and inspiring at the same time.“ ‘ There are typically a lot of smiley faces in the feedback, she says, ‘and there’s always someone who loves the brownies!’

Excellence recognised—and shared

The measurable outcomes of StudyFest—higher engagement, stronger grades and improved satisfaction—contributed to Mannix College’s 2025 APSAA Award for Excellence in Student Experience. For Wright, the recognition is gratifying, but the true success lies in seeing students grow in confidence and capability.

‘One of our residents was really struggling, and they went to StudyFest every week, almost for a semester, and went from not doing so well in their units to getting High Distinctions, which is such an impressive development,’ she says. ‘That’s kind of where I see excellence: more in that improvement.’

As a learning model, it encourages people to talk across subjects, which will only help them in the future when they’re in the workplace and navigating the rest of their life.

The program’s impact has sparked interest from other residential colleges across Australia and New Zealand, with Wright sharing the model at a recent conference and in conversations with colleagues. She hopes that StudyFest will not only continue to evolve at Mannix—eventually running with minimal oversight from her—but may also serve as a model for other student communities facing similar challenges.

‘My hope is that … maybe StudyFest will become a model that could be more broadly used,’ she says. ‘As a learning model, I think it encourages people to talk across subjects, which will only help them in the future when they’re in the workplace and navigating the rest of their life.’

For Mannix College, StudyFest has become more than an academic support initiative. It is a living expression of the college’s mission to foster a welcoming community of students growing not only in knowledge but also in connection, confidence and wisdom.