In a 1st among IITs, Kharagpur gets student well-being dean | India News

KOLKATA: Arun Chakraborty, professor at Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences at IIT-Kharagpur, Friday grew to become the institute’s first dean of student well-being.TOI had earlier reported that IIT-Kharagpur director Suman Chakraborty introduced the appointment in the course of the induction programme for the brand new BTech batch on July 26. The publish was created to make sure college students’ psychological well being points usually are not left unaddressed, particularly after 4 student suicides on campus in seven months – the most recent being fourth-year mechanical engineering student Ritam Mondal, who was discovered hanging in his hostel room on July 18.“This is possibly the first time in any IIT that a person of a dean’s status has been assigned solely to look after students’ overall well-being,” mentioned the director. “Our institute has a huge number of students, and it is necessary to have a designated dean of student well-being to give special emphasis to welfare activities.”Chakraborty advised TOI that whereas the function was difficult, it was important. “We do not want any tragic incidents. Every student can approach us at any time. Even the smallest issues will be addressed. I’ve told students I am available 24×7 – they should not panic; we are here like parents,” he added.IIT-Kharagpur has 21 hostels housing 16,000 college students. While there may be a dean of student affairs, the director identified that “student affairs” and “student well-being” are distinct. The new dean will concentrate on figuring out and addressing private points, whereas dean of student affairs will deal with administrative issues like lodging and self-discipline.Measures already in place on the faculty embody the AI-driven psychological wellness platform SETU, a restructured counselling centre, “campus mothers,” student job forces, and stress administration workshops.