Panel Discussion on Mental Health as a Social and Structural Crisis in Higher Educational Institutions by Kautilya Society NLUO: Join at 6PM on Sep 6!
About National Law University Odisha
National Law University Odisha, Cuttack was established by Act 4 of 2008 by the Odisha State Legislature keeping in mind an enunciated vision of advancement of learning, teaching, research, diffusion of knowledge in the field of law and catering to the needs of society by developing the professional skills of those intending to take up the professions of Advocacy, Judicial Services, Legal services, and so on.
About Kautilya Society NLUO
Kautilya Societies are student initiatives in universities across the country set up by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (“Vidhi”) with the aim to widen access to legislative drafting and analysis, and to empower young minds to explore public policy as a career path. The Kautilya Society, NLUO Chapter has been set up at National Law University Odisha, in association with Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
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The Kautilya Society initiative envisions providing opportunities to their students for successful careers in public policy and other related fields such as development, advocacy, consultancy, campaigning, financial analysis, economics and research. The vision of the society is to provide awareness and opportunities for students to nurture their interest in public service and policy as career options with a view to becoming good citizens of India.
Event Details
The Kautilya Society NLUO, in collaboration with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (‘Vidhi’), is pleased to invite you to a Panel Discussion titled “Beyond Individual Distress: Re-evaluating Mental Health as a Social and Structural Crisis in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)” on 6th September 2026 via Google Meet
For decades, institutional responses to student distress in higher education have defaulted to a biomedical or clinical framework, treating mental health challenges primarily as individual psychological vulnerabilities. However, the alarming rise in student distress across Higher Educational Institutions indicates that individual-centric models are insufficient. Taking inspiration from the Report submitted by Vidhi in collaboration with Kautilya Society fellows to the National Task Force on Mental Health of Student and Prevention of Suicides in HEIs, this discussion aims to shift the focus from viewing student mental health as an isolated medical issue to diagnosing it as a structural, social, and institutional crisis.
About the Panellists
- Dr. Debadutta Mohapatra: Dr. Debadutta Mohapatra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry, psychopharmacology, consultation-liaison psychiatry, and rehabilitation psychiatry.
- Shireen Yachu: Shireen Yachu is a Senior Resident Fellow, Health at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Her work focuses on end-of-life care, advance care planning, suicide prevention & mental health, and gender rights.
- Pratyay Panigrahi: Pratyay is a Research Fellow in the Founders’ Office at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Delhi. He holds an LLM from the London School of Economics and a BA LLB (Hons) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
- Somya S. Mohapatra: Somya S. Mohapatra is a Mental Health Expert with 15 years of experience in Psychotherapy, Counselling and Training in the field of Mental Health – Awareness, Prevention and Treatment.
Event Schedule and Eligibility
- Date: 6th September 2026 (Sunday)
- Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Platform: Google Meet
- Joining Link: Google Meet Link
- Eligibility: Open to all students, faculty, and external participants.
Contact Information
For any queries you can mail the Society at [email protected]
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Further, you can contact the persons below:
- Convenor: Aryan Chowdhury (+91 8318262740)
- Co-Convenor: Nidhi Rai (+91 9560392741)
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