Guwahati: Amid growing concern over student suicides in higher education institutions, 28 institutions of the country came together at IIT Guwahati for a workshop aimed at strengthening campus action on student mental health and wellbeing.The institutions resolved to translate a shared understanding of mental health and wellbeing policies into practical action on their campuses.The two-day ‘Regional Capacity Building Workshop on Positive Mental Health, Resilience and Wellbeing’, which concluded on Monday, brought together more than 100 participants from 28 institutions across the northeast and Delhi. Participants included faculty members, institutional leaders, hostel wardens, student welfare officers, counsellors and student representatives.IIT Guwahati director Prof Devendra Jalihal stressed the need to move beyond reactive responses after tragedies and examine the deeper causes of the mental health crisis among young people. “There is a need to collectively find a way forward,” he said.A key objective of the workshop was to enable participants to return to their campuses with actionable insights to help develop and strengthen institutional systems for student wellbeing.Devendra Kumar, director, department of higher education, ministry of education, highlighted the rise in tertiary education enrolment since 2011, saying it reflected growing aspirations and competition among young people. He urged participating institutions to support one another and share their learnings.Jitendra Nagpal, director in charge, Institute of Mental Health and Life Skills Promotion, New Delhi, and director, Expression India, highlighted India’s demographic diversity and said the workshop aimed to help participants grow together and return as agents of change in their institutions.“The workshop highlighted that building a supportive campus environment requires coordinated efforts across different levels of an institution,” an IIT Guwahati spokesperson said. Discussions also focused on strengthening institutional policies and support systems while remaining responsive to students’ needs, the spokesperson added.More than 20 mental health professionals, doctors, counsellors, academicians and institutional experts contributed to discussions on positive mental health, student wellbeing, resilience, coping, social connectedness and supportive campus ecosystems.The programme is part of a five-workshop regional capacity-building series by the Department of Higher Education. IIT Madras and IIT Indore hosted the first two workshops, while the remaining sessions are scheduled at IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Jammu.
