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NIMHANS INSPIRE Faculty Development Programme, a six-day intensive national initiative aimed at strengthening the academic, leadership, and research capabilities of early-career psychiatry faculty across India.
Dr Pratima Murthy, director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), inaugurated the first edition of the programme held between March 5 and 10 2026 at its campus.
The initiative was organized by the Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, with support from the Dr Ramachandra N Moorthy, foundation for Mental Health and Neurological Sciences, and was spearheaded by Dr Suhas Satish and Dr V L Narasimha, Assistant Professors, Department of Psychiatry, under the leadership of Dr. Jagadisha Thirthalli, Head of the Department of Psychiatry. The Indian Teachers of Psychiatry Initiative is also supporting the programme.
The INSPIRE Faculty Development Programme has attracted interest from institutions across the country. Following a competitive national selection process conducted by an expert panel, 16 early-career psychiatry faculty members were selected from a large pool of applicants representing medical colleges and academic institutions nationwide. The program provided structured mentorship and exposure across several core domains central to the development of academic psychiatrists. These included medical education and pedagogy, clinical practice, psychotherapy, research and academic scholarship, leadership and administration, supervision and mentorship, professionalism and ethics, and the development of specialized clinical services and mental health systems.
Dr Pratima Murthy noted that the initiative emerged after nearly two years of discussions with senior psychiatry faculty across India, along with a national needs-assessment survey conducted to better understand the professional requirements of early-career faculty. Several iterations of the program structure were undertaken to ensure that the final format would be both comprehensive and practical.
Further, Dr Murthy highlighted an important challenge within academic psychiatry in India. While the number of psychiatry departments and faculty members has steadily increased across the country, opportunities for structured training in areas such as leadership development, academia, administration, service development, collaborative research, and grant writing remain limited. The INSPIRE programme seeks to bridge this gap by equipping young faculty members with the knowledge, skills, and professional networks required to grow into future leaders in psychiatry.
Participants have been encouraged to actively engage in the discussions and translate their learning into tangible initiatives within their own institutions. As part of the programme outcomes, each participant will develop a brief proposal outlining how ideas and strategies discussed during the programme can be implemented in their respective workplaces.
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