Report on Two Credit Short Term Course on Psychology of Happiness

The Two Credit Short Term Course on the Psychology of Happiness was conducted by the Department of Psychology from 23^rd January 2024 to 2^nd March 2024. The course attracted enrollment from various departments, totaling 35 students. The Head of the Department of Psychology and the course coordinator, Dr. Nilesh Thakre with the faculties inaugurated the course on 23^rd January 2024. The students were introduced to the faculties who would be taking the course and were informed about the topics that would be covered in the upcoming classes. 

The lectures for the course were conducted by Dr. Nilesh Thakre, Ms. Nafisa Kachwala, Ms. Anvita Bhargava, Dr. Naresh Tambe, Ms. Divya Pillai, and Ms Archishmati Sowane. The topics covered during the course were – Understanding Happiness, Cultural Perspective on Happiness, the Science of Happiness, Personal Happiness, Discovering Inner Strengths, Everyday Happiness Activities, Happiness in our World, and the Future of Being Happy. All the lectures were conducted with a theoretical basis and activities to provide students with a practical skill set to incorporate happiness into their lives. Some activities that they did in class were making kindness cards, mindfulness activities, breathing techniques, understanding and managing emotions, developing self-compassion, identifying their inner strengths, and art-based activities were held for various topics. 

The course concluded with a valedictory session on 2nd March 2024, the session started with students and teachers sharing their experiences throughout the course. Dr Thakre gave a presentation on the journey of the course. A Pre-Post measure of Happiness was done on the students and the faculties using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Michael Argyle and Peter Hills, 2002) to see the effectiveness of the course. The results indicated a higher level of happiness for the students and teachers after the course. Students shared their experiences and learnings through the course, mentioning that the activities done in class were applicable in their daily lives and found the classes to be a free space to express themselves, unwind and were insightful for their well-being. The students who met the attendance criteria and participated in group and individual activities conducted during the classes were awarded the completion certificate at the end of the course.