Wellness Program at IIT Ropar

WHEELS is excited to share the collaboration with IIT Ropar in building resilience amid academic stress and student burnout.

Resilience begins in the classroom:

The first session was led by Dr. Ishan Shivanand, an adjunct faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar’s Centre of Excellence for Holistic Wellbeing. The session focused on building resilience amid academic stress and student burnout.

Beginning with the first-year batches this September, in this role, Dr. Shivanand will contribute his expertise to advance research, teaching and consulting at the Institute—via evidence-based non-pharmaceutical meditative interventions based on Indian Knowledge Systems.

Special thanks to Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, Lt Gen Surinder Singh Mahal, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd.), Professor of Practice at the Centre of Excellence for Studies and Applied Research in Defence and Security, and Dr. Atharva Poundarik, Head of Department, Biomedical Engineering, who form a disruptive leadership that’s leveraging world-class health tech for student welfare.

Our deep appreciation to Dr. Bindukumar Kansupada, MD, MBA, and WHEELS Global Foundation for their groundbreaking work in making mental health tools accessible to all.

Reducing academic stress begins with good sleep:

The students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar completed their second session of the weekly RISE Mental Resilience Program (Resilience In Students Everyday) with Prof. Ishan Shivanand, Adjunct Faculty, Centre of Excellence of Holistic Wellbeing.

The first session had laid the foundations of awareness, breath, and thought regulation for stress management. In the second, Prof. Shivanand introduced Focused Relaxation Meditation — a practice designed to tackle one of today’s most pressing challenges among students: insomnia and poor sleep quality.

By learning how to consciously relax the body and mind, the techniques can help students reset sleep cycles, reduce nighttime anxiety, and improve overall rest for higher quality of life.