It will contribute to global research on human well-being and consciousness and promote interdisciplinary research combining science, humanities, medicine, and architecture.

Further, the Centre will also study scientific and societal impacts of meditation and spirituality and develop educational programmes and public engagement initiatives, IIT-M said on Wednesday. Prof V Kamakoti, director, IIT-M, said, “Meditation and a spiritually grounded way of life play an important role in ensuring the wholesome growth of a student. A centre dedicated to exploring the science of spirituality and its impact on society is therefore the need of the hour.”

Accordingly, the centre will introduce academic programmes around meditation and spirituality as elective courses, support PhD and post-doctoral students working in related areas and also conduct conferences and workshops around this theme. It is also proposed to establish a mind-body-soul laboratory for teaching, research and meditation practice.