Acknowledging the mental health challenges faced by everyone during the covid years and recognising the need for post pandemic support, BITS Pilani Dubai has launched a unique ‘Mental Wellness Program’ for Students, Faculty and Staff at their campus. The therapy-based program will provide one-on-one counseling and quality clinical intervention to those facing depression, social anxiety, relationship issues or any other mental health concerns. This extensive wellness intervention program is designed for students to improve their life-skills especially in terms of self-management, stress management, emotional intelligence and time management.
The academic disruption caused by the pandemic has severely affected the student community at large. Hence as an extension to the wellness program the leading engineering university, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus has also announced for the first time a weeklong orientation program for the new post Covid batch of undergraduate students to help them ease into University life and work.
The global reputation of BITS Pilani draws bright, accomplished international students from around the world. Currently over 45%of the students are international students who have enrolled from outside the U.A.E. As such this orientation is designed for new students to understand the academic system, transition into University life, build healthy relationships with peers and faculty, know more about the UAE culture and adapt to the new environment with ease. For the new batch this year, the University has admitted students from UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, India, Singapore, and for the first time from Indonesia, Thailand and Zambia. The institute also saw a sharp increase in female students this year with 35% of current students enrolled being females.
BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus (BPDC) has collaborated with major brands during the Orientation Week such as CCC Shoes and Handbags, Sharaf DG, Desco Copy and Print Center, Noon.com, Quanta Ice Creams, Fishermans Hub, Royal Hyderabad Restaurant etc.
Commenting on the new initiatives introduced by BPDC, Director Srinivasan Madapusi, said,“As we transition to a post-Covid existence with vaccines, good hygiene, etc. becoming part of our lives, it is imperative that we focus on healing on the psychological front as well. The young adults have been through traumatic experiences and challenges over the past 2 years that included bereavement, social isolation, new education modes, and so on. Our proactive initiatives in offering counseling services, mental wellbeing workshops, etc. to students and staff alike through an expert professional is to help everybody come to terms with the past, the new world, and build resilience to deal with future challenges. It is part of the holistic growth of the individual that we advocate and promote in our educational system.”
Giving more insights, on the well chalked out Mental Health and Wellness program, Ms. Eunice Fernandes Prakash, Counselor at BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, said, “BPDC plans to bring about a constructive change in the mindset of students regarding wellness. Apart from teaching how to deal with social stigma related to mental health, the program also encourages and empowers the students to combat stress and learn techniques like mindfulness. We have organised various group discussions varied topics such as ‘challenging unhelpful thinking styles’, ‘perfectionism’, ‘procrastination’, ‘relaxation techniques’, ‘dealing with exam stress’ etc. to help students to come forward and talk about their concerns and seek professional support to help themselves. We have taken a collaborative and holistic approach to create a nurturing and fostering environment for the students”.
The institute has also planned large scale events such ‘mental health day’ and ‘happiness day’ to involve and engage students and staff on campus to create awareness and bonding in a fun atmosphere.
