IIT Guwahati Hosts 2-Day Mental Health Workshop With 100+ Participants From 28 Institutions To Strengthen Student Wellbeing

Guwahati, India witnessed a two-day workshop aimed at strengthening mental health and wellbeing support systems at educational institutions. The Capacity-Building Workshop on Positive Mental Health, Resilience & Well-being, organized by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati under the Teacher Connect Programme of the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme (MMTTP), convened over 100 participants from 28 higher education institutions across the North-East and Delhi regions.

The workshop sought to equip attendees with practical knowledge and actionable insights to establish effective mental health initiatives and supportive campus environments. It brought together faculty members, institutional leaders, hostel wardens, student welfare officers, counsellors, and student representatives to discuss strategies for enhancing institutional systems that prioritize student wellbeing.

Devendra Jalihal, the director of IIT-Guwahati, emphasized the urgent need to understand the root causes of the escalating mental health crisis among youth rather than merely reacting to incidents. He stressed the importance of collective efforts in finding solutions. Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Devendra Kumar, highlighted the rising enrollment in tertiary education institutions since 2011, attributing it to increased aspirations and competition among students.

Jitendra Nagpal, director and in-charge of the Institute of Mental Health and Life Skills Promotion, New Delhi, spoke about India's diverse demographic dividend and the workshop's goal of fostering growth among participants who would then become agents of change in their respective institutions. The workshop featured contributions from over 20 resource persons, including mental health professionals, doctors, counsellors, academicians, and experts, who shared experiences and best practices in mental health and wellbeing initiatives.

Through a series of interactive sessions, participants gained a comprehensive understanding of how to approach mental health and wellbeing at the institutional level, focusing on aspects such as social connectedness, resilience, and supportive campus ecosystems. The workshop is part of a five-part series organized by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, with previous editions held at IIT-Madras, IIT-Indore, and upcoming sessions at IIT-Bhubaneswar and IIT-Jammu.