IIT Mandi Partners with QPR India to Foster a Supportive Campus Environment

Mandi, 10th September, 2025: Aligned with its long-term vision of fostering a comprehensive ecosystem for the emotional well-being and mental health of students, faculty, and staff, IIT Mandi is proactively advancing measures to ensure a mentally resilient and supportive campus. As part of this endeavour, the institute’s Guidance and Counselling Cell (GCC) organised a one-day Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training Programme in collaboration with QPR Institute India, the Indian arm of the globally recognised QPR Institute (USA), at its campus. 

The training equipped participants with life-saving skills through the QPR methodology—Question, Persuade, and Refer—an evidence-based intervention designed to help individuals identify the warning signs of a suicidal crisis, intervene effectively, and connect the person at risk to professional care. The QPR methodology draws an analogy to CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) in physical health emergencies. Just as CPR trains laypersons to respond to cardiac arrest, QPR empowers individuals across diverse settings to act swiftly when faced with a potential suicidal crisis (Quinnett, 2000).

The programme witnessed active participation from a broad cross-section of the campus community, including Wardens, Assistant Wardens, Staff from the Dean’s Office, staff from the Academic Section, and Faculty Members, from various schools of the institute. These stakeholders are directly engaged with students on a daily basis and play a pivotal role in shaping their academic and personal well-being. The training was conducted with the clear intention of creating a strong bridge between students and the support system, fostering a compassionate environment, and promoting a holistic approach to mental health and well-being.

Join PSU Connect on WhatsApp now for quick updates! Whatsapp Channel

By empowering key members of the Academic and Administrative community, IIT Mandi reinforces its commitment to creating a supportive and suicide-safe ecosystem where early intervention is encouraged, and professional care is made easily accessible.

The QPR program has been scientifically vetted by NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) and recommended by the Government of India in its Facilitator’s Manual for Suicide Prevention Workshops. The program provided a special platform for participants to openly discuss their thoughts on this topic. Participants received a certificate from QPR Institute, a suicide prevention manual and wallet card, a compiled list of India-specific suicide prevention resources.

Prof Laxmidhar Behera, IIT Mandi Director, said, “Student well-being is our highest priority at IIT Mandi.  We believe that academic excellence must go hand in hand with emotional resilience and mental health support. With different initiatives like counseling services and wellness courses, we are building a multilayered framework for mental health.  Through mental health programs like QPR training, we are making sure that our students have access to holistic care and life-saving skills.  

The event was the graced by Nelson Vinod Moses, Founder and CEO at QPR Institute India, as the guest speaker, he said, “Every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide somewhere in the world, and in India alone over 100,000 lives are lost to suicide each year. The most vulnerable population is students, especially those who are career driven and preparing for competitive exams.

To help such students, the QPR training teaches ordinary people skills, which are extraordinary in that they prepare people to recognize warning signs, ask the right questions, and refer a person to safety. There are over six million Gatekeepers trained in the world and over 50,000 in India, we are building a strong safety net of informed citizens that can help prevent someone from dying!"

Nelson is a TEDx speaker and a suicide prevention expert. As an award-winning mental health journalist, his writing has been published in national and international publications.