IIT Guwahati makes mental well-being counselling mandatory for all new students

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati welcomed the new 2023 bath of students. In its oreintation programme,  Prof Parameswar K Iyer, Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati extended his best wishes to the new students and inspired them to make the best out of their journey in the vibrant campus of IIT Guwahati. As a unique initiative this year, IIT Guwahati also organized a special session on the Mental wellbeing of the students during the orientation session. 

IIT Guwahati mental wellness session

In this session,  Prof. Anamika Barua highlighted the importance of student wellbeing and how the Institute will help them in managing their personal and academic life in a stress free and efficient manner. The session was attended by new students,  their parents, as well as their siblings.

The session helped students and their parents understand the dedicated system for mental health support that the Institute is providing through its Centre for Holistic Wellbeing. This includes:

●    Mandatory counseling to all the newly admitted BTech students. This provides mental support to the students, and familiarizes the students about the resources available to them. Moreover, it also helps to identify the students requiring support at the early stage.

●    Professional counseling is provided to the students in need. The Institute has four counselors and two psychiatrists.

●    ‘Know Your Neighbours’ campaign among the students provides adequate social support and a sense of community.

●    Extended counseling support is offered between 9 AM to 8 PM on all working days. This helps the students to meet counselors after the class hours, if need arises.

●    Ice-breaking Sessions is organized in the form of an interactive session with freshers at the hostel level. This is presided over by the Student Counselors at Centre for Holistic Wellbeing, IITG.  . 

●     In order to keep the students engaged in their free time, WB organizes different activities involving other boards (sports and cultural boards in particular). This involves motivational talks, screening of documentaries, etc.

IIT Guwahati Orientation

During his welcome address, Prof. Iyer,Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati said,”You are the best brains of our nation and I hope all your dreams and passions are fulfilled at IIT Guwahati. We have the best quality infrastructure and I encourage you to pursue your hobbies and grow beyond academics. Your teachers are also active researchers hence you will be taught and exposed to the best available information in the world. As you grow and excel,the institute will grow along with you.”

Further Prof. Iyer mentioned,“IIT Guwahati will provide you all the opportunities to learn and grow. Along with educational progress I would also advise you all to participate in extracurricular activities in this highly intellectual environment and pursue your passion.”

During his address, Prof. Bishnupada Mandal, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, and JEE (Adv) 2023 Organising Chairman, highlighted,“IIT Guwahati was the JEE (Adv) 2023 organising Institute this year and post Covid-19 outbreak this is the first year when the IIT sessions will be conducted as per the regular academic schedule that was followed before the pandemic.”

957 B.tech students admitted through JEE Advanced, 20.4% are girls

He further mentioned, “This year IIT Guwahati has admitted 957 B.Tech students through JEE Advanced 2023, out of which 20.4% (196) are girls. Along with this, the Institute has admitted 56 B.Des students through UCEED 2023.”

Prof. Mandal congratulated the students on their brilliant performance in one of the toughest and most prestigious competitive exams in the world and wished that the new students would turn out to be the best industrialist, technologist, administrator ,entrepreneur in due course of time.

During the orientation program Prof. Kanduru V. Krishna, Dean of Academic Affairs, and Prof. Rupam Barman, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs - Undergraduate, IIT Guwahati, made detailed presentations on the NEP2020 aligned academic programs being offered at the Institute and highlighted the opportunities and flexibility the students have to sculpt their curriculum as per their interests with academic, industry, research and entrepreneurship experiences.

Along with this, Prof. Anamika Barua, Dean of Students' Affairs, highlighted the importance of students’ holistic development and introduced them to different student clubs at the Institute, such as, Technical clubs, Cultural clubs, Sports facilities, and NSS Cell, among others.

Dr. Lalit Mohan Pandey, Head of Centre for Career Development, inspired the students with the placement and internship options they can get while pursuing academic excellence at IIT Guwahati. Dr. Pandey also presented the data on record breaking 1000+ placements recorded this year with the highest domestic package of Rs. 1.2 crore and highest international package of Rs. 2.4 crore.

Speaking about the Orientation session and being at the IIT Guwahati campus for the first time, Ms. Saniya Uran, BTech 1st Year, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering said “Coming to IIT Guwahati feels like a dream . We got to know about the campus from the orientation program and now look forward to exploring it.”

Sharing his thoughts on starting the exciting phase of life at IIT Guwahati, Mr. Aryan Jaiswal, BTech 1st Year, Department of Civil Engineering said, “I always wanted to join IIT Guwahati because of its beautiful campus and overall facilities. I look forward to starting this new journey as a student of IIT Guwahati.”As a unique initiative this year, IIT Guwahati also organised a special session on the mental wellbeing of the students during the orientation session.