IIT Indore Hosts Workshop to Strengthen Student Mental Health and Campus Wellbeing

A two-day capacity building workshop on positive mental health, resilience and wellbeing concluded at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore, with a call for collective action to foster resilient minds and connected campuses.

Speaking at the closing session, Dr. Suhas S. Joshi, Director of IIT Indore, emphasised that the insights gained during the workshop must be translated into sustained institutional practices. He stressed the need for a shared commitment to promote positive mental health and holistic student development across higher education institutions.

Titled “Samvardhan: From Academic Excellence to Sustainable Wellness,” the workshop was jointly organised by the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education and IIT Indore. It was held under the Teacher Connect Programme of the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme (MMTTP) for the central and west regions.

The programme brought together 94 participants from 21 higher education institutions across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Attendees included institutional leaders, faculty members, student affairs professionals, mental health experts, wardens, students and counsellors.

Sessions on the first day covered the psychosocial landscape of higher education, institutional wellbeing initiatives, social belonging, early intervention strategies, life-skills-based peer mentoring and prevention of lifestyle-related conditions. The second day focused on practical aspects such as identifying specific learning disabilities, preventing substance use, and improving hostel ecosystems and mentoring networks.

Experts from fields including psychiatry, nutrition, Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) and student support led the sessions. The workshop concluded with participating institutions developing wellbeing indicators, recommendations and action plans for their campuses.