NSU takes on exam anxiety with workshop designed to rebuild student resilience

North South University (NSU) hosted a workshop titled "Beyond Exam Anxiety" on its campus in Dhaka recently. The event was jointly organised by the university's Counselling and Wellbeing Center (CWC) and its Proctor office, and drew students grappling with one of the more persistent challenges of academic life: the particular dread that descends before high-stakes examinations.

The session was facilitated by Ms Irafana Samia, an educational and counselling psychologist and psychotherapist, with a CWC psychologist serving as co-facilitator. Together, they led participants through a structured exploration of what anxiety actually is, where it comes from, and, crucially, what can be done about it.

Students were encouraged to reflect on their own experiences with exam-related stress and to identify the personal strengths they already carry into those situations. Ms Samia explained the role the physiological system plays in producing and sustaining anxiety, drawing a clear line between the body's internal mechanisms and the mental experience that students recognise as pressure. The session incorporated research-based mindfulness practices alongside other evidence-based coping techniques, giving attendees tools they could reasonably begin using straight away.

Following the facilitated session, Professor Dr Abdul Khaleque, the university's proctor, addressed the students. He turned the conversation towards behaviour, flagging the maladaptive coping patterns and poor lifestyle habits that tend to make academic stress considerably worse rather than better. Professor Khaleque also spoke about the importance of academic integrity and personal honesty during periods of pressure, and cautioned students against acting on rumour, urging them instead to seek out reliable information and make considered decisions on their own terms.

The workshop reflects a wider institutional commitment at NSU to treat mental health not as a peripheral concern but as a genuine pillar of academic life. The Counselling and Wellbeing Center has indicated that this event is part of a continuing series, with further sessions planned to keep mental health support woven into the fabric of the university's academic calendar.

For a student population that faces mounting pressure from all directions, the message from NSU appears to be a straightforward one: the conversation about mental health is not going anywhere, and neither is the university's willingness to have it.