3rd National Wellbeing Conclave 2026 at IIT Ropar: Why Mental Health and Student Resilience Take Centre Stage

3rd National Wellbeing Conclave 2026, 6-7 December, IIT Ropar: On Mental Health and Campus Resilience

Punjab: India’s higher education institutions are being encouraged to consider mental health, emotional resilience and wellbeing of students beyond the parameters of academic performance. To advance this discourse, the 3rd National Wellbeing Conclave 2026 will be held at IIT Ropar on 6th and 7th December, 2026. With the theme ‘From Awareness to Action’, the conclave aims to build mental health and wellbeing frameworks within higher education institutions (HEIs).

The event is anticipated to provide a national level platform for ongoing discussions to inspire educational institutions to transform their awareness and commitment to mental health into practice at the campus level. The announcement underlines that within higher education, mental health and wellbeing of the community is important and will be of great value to an educational institution if incorporated systemically and not treated as an occasional or ad hoc endeavor.

3rd National Wellbeing Conclave 2026: Primary Details

The announcement confirms the dates, venue and main theme. Specifics regarding the program, speakers, registration, and participation details have not been finalized, as evidenced in the available information.

From Mental Health Awareness to Institutional Action

The theme for the 2026 conclave poses an important question to universities and colleges. How do we move from creating awareness around mental health to providing consistent institutional support? Students of higher education face numerous transitions including, a demanding academic schedule, career transitions, changing social relations and dealing with the expectations of various roles in their personal and professional life. Wellbeing, therefore, should be part of the broader educational environment.

Although offering workshops and seminars are one way of providing mental health and wellbeing support, strengthening existing institutional systems to support mental health and wellbeing e.g. academic and pastoral supervision, early intervention and support, teaching, research and peer mentoring networks and other frameworks to strengthen an enabling campus environment is crucial. The earlier National Wellbeing Conclaves provided a space for institutions to address the same. The current National Wellbeing Conclave at IIT Ropar will continue this conversation.

Background of the National Wellbeing Conclaves

Since these conclaves focus on increasing institutional commitment to the concept of wellbeing, the foundational work done by the previous two editions has contributed to these efforts

First edition: IIT Hyderabad, 2024

The first ever National Wellbeing Conclave was held at IIT Hyderabad on the 9th and 10th of November, 2024. This event brought together over 350 participants from 100 Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions. The plenary and parallel discussions focused on various aspects of student and faculty wellbeing, including development of appropriate systems of counselling, and improving supportive campus environment and collaboration across institutional stakeholders.

Second edition: IIT Bombay, 2025

The second edition was held at IIT Bombay on the 22nd and 23rd of November, 2025. Approximately 80 higher education institutions, 115 faculty members and 139 students attended the event, as per the Ministry of Education. The Compendium of Emerging Best Practices of Wellbeing, version 2.0, was released during the event.

With the hosting of the third edition by IIT Ropar, the series of conclaves aims to bring together educators and students to discuss mental health and resilience.

Why the Role of IIT Ropar is Important

As reported by the Council of IITs, IIT Ropar has institutional initiatives focused on student wellbeing. Snehita Wellbeing Cell, an initiative of the institute provides confidential counselling, and peer buddy and digital support and workshops on emotional resilience. Similar efforts exist in the institute in collaboration with other institutions, which provide context to current practices.

What Can Higher Education Institutions Expect from the Conclave?

The focus of the announced theme, From Awareness to Action, is on transforming the national discourse on wellbeing into actionable practices at the institutional level. For higher education institutions, the focus area includes (but is not limited to) the following:

• Campus Mental Health Support: Making appropriate professional help and support available to students.
• Student Resilience: Nurturing the emotional skills of students to effectively manage their academic and personal challenges.
• Faculty Involvement: Helping teachers identify and address student challenges and needs.
• Peer Support: Fostering positive relationships and developing a culture of support amongst students.
• Institutional Responsibility: Integrating the policies and practices that concern student mental health and wellbeing across the institution.

These are some areas of institutional wellbeing, and not the confirmed themes for the December conclave. The exact session themes and topics will need to be determined based on the program released by the organizing committee.

A National Conversation That Needs Practical Outcomes

Mental health is emerging as an important element of the discourse on the quality of higher education in India. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 outlines a number of provisions to promote holistic development of students.

The Ministry of Education’s earlier wellbeing conclaves focused on the need for counselling and professional development of faculty, as well as positive collaboration and institutional partnerships to share and reinforce effective practices. The December 2026 conclave at IIT Ropar will continue this discourse.

FAQs

1. When will the 3rd National Wellbeing Conclave 2026 take place?

The 3rd National Wellbeing Conclave 2026 will be held on 6-7 December 2026.

2. Where will the 3rd National Wellbeing Conclave be held?

The Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar (IIT Ropar) will host the Conclave.

3. What is the theme for the National Wellbeing Conclave 2026?

The theme is "From Awareness to Action". It aims to fortify mental health and wellbeing of university communities.

4. What does the National Wellbeing Conclave aim to achieve?

The Conclave aims to strengthen mental health and wellbeing of students and faculty of universities.

5. Where have the earlier National Wellbeing Conclaves been held?

The first National Wellbeing Conclave was held at IIT Hyderabad on 9-10 November 2024 and the second one was at IIT Bombay on 22-23 November 2025.

6. What impact do the National Wellbeing Conclaves have on universities and colleges?

These Conclaves help universities and colleges share their experiences about mental health and counselling services, the involvement of faculty in building the resilience of the students and various institutional initiatives to foster a safe and caring university community.

7. Has the registration process been started for the 2026 conclave?

The announcement made so far states the dates, the venue and the theme. The registration process, the detailed programme and guidelines for participation will be released by the concerned authorities of IIT Ropar and the Ministry of Education.

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