Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 21 (ANI): Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) concluded the 2-day Regional Capacity Building Workshop on Positive Mental Health, Resilience and Wellbeing. Held on 20th and 21st September 2026, the workshop focused on translating a shared understanding of mental health and wellbeing policies into practical institutional action.
The event, organised under the Teacher Connect Programme of the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme (MMTTP) of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India and the event brought together more than 100 participants from 28 higher education institutions across the North East and the Delhi region.
The initiative brought together faculty members, institutional leaders, hostel wardens, student welfare and hostel management officers, counsellors, and student representatives.
A key objective of the workshop was to enable participants to return to their respective campuses with actionable insights that can support the development and strengthening of institutional systems for student wellbeing.
Speaking during the event, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Director, IIT Guwahati, highlighted the mental health crisis among youth and underscored the fact that there is a need to understand causes in depth and not just reactively after a tragedy.
He also remarked that there is a need to collectively find a way forward.
Devendra Kumar, Director, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, spoke about the increased enrolment of students in tertiary education institutions, especially after 2011. He said that this reflected increased aspirations and competition among youth in tertiary education. He also reiterated that participating institutes must deliberate on how to support each other and share their learnings.
Jitendra Nagpal, Director in charge, Institute of Mental Health and Life Skills Promotion, New Delhi, and Director, Expression India, spoke about the unparalleled diversity in India and its demographic dividend, and said that the workshop aims to have all 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 and discussed how institutional policies and support systems can be strengthened while remaining responsive to the needs of students.
Through sessions drawing on experiences and practices from institutions including IIT Guwahati and IIT Madras, participants had the opportunity to understand how mental health and wellbeing initiatives can be approached at the institutional level.
The workshop also provided a platform for participants to ask questions, clarify implementation-related concerns and explore how relevant practices could be adapted to their own campus contexts.
More than 20 resource persons, including mental health professionals, doctors, counsellors, academicians and institutional experts, contributed to the programme. Their expertise provided participants with perspectives on developing appropriate institutional approaches to positive mental health, student wellbeing, resilience and coping, social connectedness, and supportive campus ecosystems.
The programme is part of a series of five Regional Capacity Building Workshops being organised by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. Prior workshops in the series were organised at IIT Madras and IIT Indore, with IIT Guwahati hosting the third workshop. The remaining workshops are scheduled to be held at IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Jammu. (ANI)
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