In the wake of a spate of student death cases on the campus, allegedly by suicide, the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur will be launching an AI-powered emotional health monitoring tool for students as part of its new mental health and student welfare programme, titled SETU – Support, Empathy, Transformation, and Upliftment.
Besides the AI-powered tool that enables anonymous self check-ins and early alert systems, SETU will also include professional care by psychologists, psychiatrists, and counsellors, an official of the institute said.
It will also focus on peer empowerment, and community bonding to address the well-being of students.
“The initiative, SETU, will be rolled out as a pilot project at IIT-Kharagpur and will serve as a national model for other IITs,” the official said, adding the AI-powered tool is being developed by in-house experts and a consultancy tech firm.
“SETU has five strategic pillars – professional mental health care with licensed therapists; technology-enabled emotional monitoring tool for early detection; peer-led empowerment through mentorship, outreach, and awareness drives; promotion of diverse expressions of self; and ‘Campus Mothers’, a non-gendered concept where selected faculty, staff and family volunteers will serve as emotionally safe, informal touchpoints to the students, offering the warmth of parental care without crossing psychological boundaries,” the official said.
According to the institute, SETU introduces a “powerful extension of Student Engagement Projects under the National Education Policy 2020—where students work on real-world societal challenges, with academic credit and national impact”.
Before the launch of the programme, all volunteers will undergo sensitization and orientation by mental health professionals to ensure ethical, respectful interactions.
Meanwhile , IIT-Khargapur Director Prof Suman Chakraborty, visited Lal Bahadur Shastri Hall of Residence (LBS Hall) on the campus to meet the newly admitted first-year undergraduate students and their parents.
Since January, four students have died on the campus, allegedly by suicide. On January 12, third-year electrical engineering student Shaon Malik was found hanging in his hostel room. On April 20, a final-year student of Ocean Engineering, Aniket Walker, was found dead in similar conditions.
On May 4, third-year B-Tech student Mohammad Asif Qamar was found dead in his hostel room.
On Monday night (July 21), a second-year electrical engineering student died while trying to swallow a tablet.