NIMHANS Launches Online Course for Student Wellbeing Ambassadors

NIMHANS-Bengaluru is set to launch an online certificate course for Student Wellbeing Ambassadors in higher education institutions, commencing on October 10, coinciding with World Mental Health Day. This self-paced program, offered by the NIMHANS Digital Academy's Department of Clinical Psychology, aims to bolster campus mental health support and ensure timely referrals for students in need.

The course is open to nominated faculty members, wardens, deans, and student welfare officers with at least three years of remaining service. Participants will gain skills to recognize student distress, respond compassionately, combat mental health stigma, and guide students toward seeking appropriate help, thereby strengthening suicide-risk reduction efforts.

This three-month, 12-15 hour course will utilize videos, quizzes, assignments, and readings. NIMHANS emphasizes that it is not professional training but an initiative to empower faculty to support student wellbeing within existing systems. This endeavor is a key step in implementing Karnataka's student mental health policy for higher education.