IIT Ropar launches centre on yogic sciences, holistic wellness; announces scholarships

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar has inaugurated Dr Ishan Avdhoot Shivanand Center for Yogic Sciences and Holistic Development – a new facility intended to support structured wellbeing, mindfulness and physical fitness of students and faculty on campus.

The institute has also announced the Dr Ishan Shivanand scholarship which will fully fund 10 meritorious students from underprivileged backgrounds.

The initiative has been developed in response to the growing need for organised mental and physical wellbeing support within academic institutions.

IIT Ropar wellness centre

The centre will include a multipurpose hall with specialised flooring, enabling programmes such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness sessions, aerobics, gymnastics and guided wellness activities.

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The facility will function as a dedicated space for resilience-building, stress management programmes, faculty wellbeing activities, peer-support initiatives and collaborative research on holistic health interventions, IIT Ropar said in an official statement.

The centre will also work in coordination with existing counselling services and academic support systems to create an integrated wellbeing framework.

IIT Ropar director Rajeev Ahuja said, “This centre will serve as a sanctuary where our community can find balance, build resilience, and cultivate the inner strength necessary for both personal and professional excellence."

Planned activities include daily meditation and yoga sessions, stress management workshops during academic peak periods, faculty wellness programmes, awareness initiatives and community participation events encouraging collective wellbeing.

The ceremony was led by Rajeev Ahuja, director, IIT Ropar, in the presence of Dr Ishan Shivanand, Dr Atharva Poundarik and Dr Bindukumar Kansupada.

IIT Ropur scholarships

IIT Ropar also announced the launch of the Dr Ishan Shivanand scholarship for Gifted Youth, a programme offering 10 fully funded scholarships. The scholarships will be distributed equally, with five awarded to undergraduate students and five to postgraduate students.

Rajeev Ahuja said the programme reflects an effort to ensure that financial barriers do not limit opportunity, noting that “talent is universal, but opportunity is not.”

He added that by removing fee burdens and providing comprehensive institutional support including access to the new wellbeing centre the institute aims to enable selected students to “focus entirely on their academic and personal growth.”

Ahuja also said the wellness centre and scholarship programme together represent “a holistic approach to education,” and emphasised that academic excellence and student wellbeing are “mutually reinforcing rather than competing priorities.”

Reflecting on the long-term vision of the initiative, Ahuja said it aligns with the need to prepare students for complex global challenges by strengthening both intellectual capability and psychological resilience.

He added that the centre is expected to contribute to a culture in which innovation emerges from “individuals who are balanced, centred and operating at their highest potential.