IILM Centre for Emotional Intelligence

The Center for Emotional Intelligence conducts research and supports people of all ages to develop emotional competencies.

Today we are living in a dynamic and complex environment . In this situation of increased complexity and change , there has been a re-examination of the factors contributing to personal and professional effectiveness. Increasingly, the older notion of intelligence and technical competence being the sole predictors of effectiveness is being contested. Some interesting new ideas in this regard are the concepts of Multiple Intelligence put forth by Howard Gardner and Emotional Intelligence popularized by Daniel Goleman. These broader forms of intelligence have been found to be useful in multitude of situations, including jobs. Emotional Intelligence relates to – sensitivity to and management of self-in relationships .Empirical evidence has suggested that Emotional Intelligence (EI) competencies are at the heart of effective personal and workplace relationships and performance. Given this interest in emotional intelligence and the wide spread recognition of its salience in enhancing success and well being, IILM center for Emotional Intelligence has been established to support and develop emotional competencies amongst all generations.

What we do

The Center for Emotional Intelligence conducts research and supports people of all ages to develop emotional competencies. Through personal coaching and training lead to improvements in emotional skills, personal effectiveness, and well-being in organizations, academia and schools. Finally the Center will use the power of emotions to create a healthier, productive, and sustainable society, today and for future generations.

  • We offer EI Assessment, workshops, coaching for the following:
  • Enhancing relationships at schools – Working with Counselors, Teachers & Parents
  • Fostering Healthy Workplace Engagement with EI – MNCs and PSUs
  • Creating a space for nurturing the youth – Working with College faculty
Our Team
Dr Megha Pushkarna Associate Professor and Phycologist IILM University
Dr Megha Pushkarna
Assistant Professor & Counseling Psychologist

Dr. Megha Pushkarna (PhD Psychology) is a Psychologist for the past 10 years specializes in Counseling issues related to mental well-being. She has been actively involved in cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety and depression in a clinical setup. Dr Pushkarna specializes in Psychometric testing and analysis for children, adolescents and adults. She practices emotional counselling using rational emotive therapy (RET) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for overcoming mental distress and worries. Dr Pushkarna assists clients to manage concerns in their personal as well as professional life that can increase their coping skills. This is done with the help of identifying personal strengths and self-training to mobilize the same. Read more…

Faculty IILM University Gurugram
Dr Ramya Dwivedi
Associate Professor - Psychology

Dr. Ramya Dwivedi has done her doctorate in Geriatric Psychology from the University of Lucknow. Her thrust areas comprise of geriatric health and care, cognition and neuropsychology. She has also done her post-doctoral research at a memory clinic under Department of Neurology, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Punjagutta, Hyderabad. She has taught various courses like Counseling Psychology, Personality, Social Psychology, Positive Psychology, Cognitive Psychology etc. She has also published research and review articles both in national and international journals and participated in conferences both at the national and international stand. Read more…

Ms Monika Sharma Associate Professor Psychology IILM University
Dr Monika Sharma
Associate Professor - Psychology

Monika has over 10 years of work experience in academics and corporate.She did her doctoral work from Indian Statistical Institute, kolkata in the area of team efficiency. Her core skills are in the area of psychometrics, research, and applied social psychology. She has published her work in national and international journals. Her research interests are in the area of psychological assessments, family and marriage, educational psychology and media etc. She has conducted workshops for school teachers and students on life skills.

Ms Megha Kochhar Assistant Professor Psychology IILM University
Ms Megha Kochhar
Assistant Professor - Psychology

Ms Megha Kochhar is a Psychologist with an experience of more than 10 years in the field of Psychology and is also a Life skills coach. She has her expertise in teaching industrial Psychology, HRM, Military Psychology, Positive Psychology, Training, career Testing & psychometric analysis. Emotional Intelligence is her keen research area and has also conducted sessions for training in the same. Self is an important dimension for the overall development of an individual and she is a trained Personality etiquette and grooming professional and has conducted numerous workshops on business communication, personality, stress management, excellence at work for students and working professionals. Being a behavioural expert on body language she also has more than 8 years of experience in Career profiling and guided counselling. Her passion for the subject motivates her to take up each assignment as a challenge to deliver excellence and bring about positive changes in people’s life.

Past Events

This workshop aims to equip faculty members with essential skills to identify and assist students dealing with grief, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts. We aim to foster a supportive environment that prioritizes student well-being and academic success. The workshop as discussed in the aim focused on providing awareness and skills for professors and administrative members of the university to assist a student going through mental health problems. The flow of the workshop was as following –

1. Emotional Expression Activity: The workshop began with an interactive activity that demonstrated how individuals express emotions differently, setting the stage for understanding the uniqueness of mental health experiences.

2. Educational Sessions: Participants engaged in informative sessions covering the recognition and appropriate response to mental health emergencies. Real-life case studies and interactive discussions enhanced the learning experience.

3. Self-Care Emphasis: The workshop concluded with a focus on self-care, highlighting the importance of maintaining one’s own well-being to effectively support others in distress.

ei_e1The Department of Psychology, Social of Social Science and Liber Arts organized a session on Suicide Prevention “You Matter”, in collaboration with Rajbala Foundation on 14 September 2023 at IILM University for the students of Psychology. The intent was to talk about the sensitive issue and enable the students, the upcoming psychologist to learn the skills needed to be able to manage such situations and concerns. The session was attended by BA and MA students of Psychology and Faculty members. The resource person for the session was Mr. Satish Kaushik, Founder Rajbala Foundation. He is a Happiness Coach and works in the field of mental health and well-being. The motive is to spread awareness and reach out to people in need to mental health support and break the myths associated with Mental Health.

ei_ee1This was a simple and great way to understand ourselves through colours, decode our emotions and reflect on our inner self to develop a strong relationship with self and others, enhance our concentration. The session was conducted by Dr. Megha Kochhar, Industrial Psychologist & Art Therapist. Students opened up to their suppressed feelings of self which made the workshop a success. Happy Leaning gave a sense of direction to our students.

ei_e11Many of the students find dissertations in the last year to be scary. You might even feel stuck and uncertain at this time but there is no need to worry now that the Department of Psychology at IILM University, Gurugram organized an interactive workshop on Research process and design.

Resource Person: Session was conducted by Assistant Professors – Ms. Charvi Tandon & Mr. Shivam.

ei_ee11Training on Emotional Intelligence highlighting Self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy and relationship management was conducted for all the non-teaching staff. The session was interactive and very well received by all.

ei_ee222Talk by Ms. Tanu Vatsa who is an ICF certified Life coach. Ms Vatsa delivered a talk on Mental Health and Well-being. She is a representative of Crrescita, an NGO that has shown interest in hiring psychology students for internships and work opportunities.

The Department of Psychology organized an activity-based workshop on “Gratitude: अपने और अपनों को समझें” on 14 July 2022. Gratitude is the key to happiness, faith, peace of mind, and successful relationships. The simple act of gratitude, if practiced daily, can produce numerous positive health and emotional benefits.

Prof. (Dr.) Preeti Kapur, the guiding light of the psychology department, explained the art of gratitude expression through an interactive 1-hour workshop using innovative exercises and helped the participants to acquire the skill of gratitude. It was an insightful and fun-filled workshop with a lot of meaningful exchange of expressions.

ei--1With a lot of excitement and enthusiasm, the Department of Psychology, IILM Gurugram, launched a “12-hour experiential course on Criminal Psychology’ in the month of August, under the guidance of Prof. (Dr.) Preeti Kapur, and will use it as an opportunity to welcome registrations from IILM students as well as students and professionals from other organizations.

Language matters when you talk about suicide. If we are thoughtful and use words and phrases mindfully we can reduce stigma around suicide.

Workshop Aimed at:

  • Raising awareness about the prevalence and impact of suicide.
  • Identify common risk factors and warning signs of suicide.
  • Promote open and empathetic communication about mental health and suicide.
  • Teach participants how to intervene and provide support to individuals at risk.
  • Provide information about available resources and how to access them.

“Is it possible to show cognitive empathy without having any fellow-feeling or sympathy with it?”

It is fair to say that most of us would understand this fellow-feeling to be a part of empathy. Daniel Goleman, an author of Emotional Intelligence, states that cognitive empathy, also known as perspective-taking is basically being able to put yourself into someone else’s place and see their perspective.

Dr Megha Pushkarna conducted a workshop in Zonal Training centre in Gurugram on 14th and 18th January 2020 on the area of Cognitive Empathy at the workplace. Group on day one comprised of middle management and day two senior management heading branches Pan India for LIC. She discussed Cognitive Empathy as a useful skill, particularly in negotiations for example, or for managers.

She explained how it enables the self to put oneself in someone’s shoes, but without necessarily engaging with someone else’s emotions. Managers may find empathy useful in understanding themselves first and later how their team members are feeling and reacting to their leadership. As people, we have individual differences and it makes us unique in or own way. However, these differences can also create conflicts and disturbs equilibrium at work.
Training for Cognitive Empathy was facilitated with an Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire to individual and group interaction about work, self-management, social skills, managing emotions and lastly managing others at work.
It was an insightful session for many, as they opened up about themselves to discuss blind spots of understanding self and others with whom they work closely and how we can this knowledge for a happy place to work in.

We all face day to day struggles and sometimes get overwhelmed with the demands of family, kids, work, bosses, relatives and society. Somewhere in this humdrum we forget who we are and how to just have fun, or smile and really feel happy. It’s important to be ambitious, focused at work and really try to attain perfection in whatever we do and exceed everyone’s expectations. If we don’t nurture ourselves or take care of our inner wellbeing, soon it will start to reflect on our outer self. We will be taken over by ailments, depression, anxiety, lack of good sleep and other lifestyle disorders and maybe in the end head for burnout or a nervous breakdown. The session was really appreciated by teachers and they felt optimistic and focused on the changes that they wanted to make to their lifestyles. Aspects of eating, the right food were informed and certain suggestions of energy-boosting foods were introduced.

We all need to find our happiness mantra and tune in to make ourselves happy; if we are happy we will make everyone around us happy….it’s the ripple effect.

Workshop on Happiness & Wellbeing –find your inner peace was conducted for 150 teachers of Shalom hills Gurugram by Dr Priyanka Anand Associate Professor IILM University Gurugram & Ms Urvashi Nandrajog certified coach. The workshop was initiated owing to a high degree of stress being reported by teachers at their workplace. Growing demands from peers, students, parents, officials and seniors make the workplace for a teacher extremely stressful. They wanted to know and learn about some ways to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, to be able to balance growing expectations and lead a happy life. Teaching is one of the noblest professions and the future of the young generation is in the hands of their teachers and mentors.

Dr Priyanka Anand being a behavioural scientist and having over 15 years of experience in training and HR, started the session with a self-awareness slow meditation. The Meditation infused with soft rhythm, pleasing incense and a quiet atmosphere helped them to connect with the energies around them. They learnt to activate the heart chakra and tap into connecting their own energies with the Universe. The participants with deeply engrossed in the mudra and really felt peaceful. They were guided into activities to identify the causes of stress in their personal and professional lives and were able to arrive at practical suggestions to overcome them and create value for self and others around them. The importance of planning your day and consciously finding stress busters to maintain your own happiness was shared with them. They were encouraged to sing, dance, listen to music, take short 5 minute naps, meditate for a few minutes, have some calming herbal infusions of tea to just stay tuned in.

We all face day to day struggles and sometimes get overwhelmed with the demands of family, kids, work, bosses, relatives and society. Somewhere in this humdrum we forget who we are and how to just have fun, or smile and really feel happy. It’s important to be ambitious, focused at work and really try to attain perfection in whatever we do and exceed everyone’s expectations. If we don’t nurture ourselves or take care of our inner wellbeing, soon it will start to reflect on our outer self. We will be taken over by ailments, depression, anxiety, lack of good sleep and other lifestyle disorders and maybe in the end head for burnout or a nervous breakdown. The session was really appreciated by teachers and they felt optimistic and focused on the changes that they wanted to make to their lifestyles. Aspects of eating, the right food were informed and certain suggestions of energy-boosting foods were introduced.

We all need to find our happiness mantra and tune in to make ourselves happy; if we are happy we will make everyone around us happy….it’s the ripple effect.

This workshop on Building resilience and empathy was organized for students by the Department of Psychology, IILM University, Gurgaon. The Guest speaker was Dr Achira Chatterjee.
Dr Achira is trained in Applied Behaviour Analysis, Interpersonal Therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Achira conducts workshops, customized training and has developed enabling policies across corporate organizations, educational institutions and for NGO’s. Her present commitment also includes being a Consultant and NGO representative for the Internal Complaints Committee on Sexual Harassment for corporate organizations and educational institutions. She is interested in travelling and exploring new learning opportunities.

The workshop started with some Ice-breaking activities. The speaker explained the meaning of resilience and the importance of it in our lives. Role-plays were conducted to let students understand the behaviours that are healthy and adaptive. A resilience-building plan worksheet was also given to a student to actively engage in different activities. The speaker also spoke about the meaning of empathy and explained it more rigorously by asking students to draw empathy maps. Students participated in all the activities with a lot of enthusiasm. They discussed problems such as how to deal with peer pressure and smoking, dealing with emotional abuse and dealing with group conflicts in the class. The students thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.
She closed the session while reiterating on important life skills that would be needed to be successful and overcome life’s challenges i.e., Empathy and Resilience. This workshop will help individuals preserve their individual self-worth by helping them examine and resolve personal barriers that inhibit growth. It will help students navigate through life, love and work with a sense of belonging and optimism. Unfortunately, experiencing adversity and hardship is unavoidable, but coping in an empathetic and resilient manner is doable.

Dr. Megha Pushkarna conducted training workshop for middle and senior class teachers for GD GOENKA School on Emotional Intelligence, where core concepts of EI were discussed in group session.

  1. Self-Awareness– What Drives You, What Are You Feeling And Why Are You Feeling That Way
  2. Self-Management– Is Not Suppression But Management Of Emotions, Do What Is Right “At The Moment”
  3. Motivation– Using Feelings To Help Achieve Your Goals
  4. Social Awareness– Appropriate Concern For Others
    1. Relationship Management Skills-Negotiation, Teamwork

It was a fun interactive session where the trainer engaged teachers into self-reflection, role plays to understand how the student-teacher dynamics work in class and how as facilitators they can enhance emotional well-being first for themselves and then for their students. It was also mentioned that how being aware and self-regulated can enhance their teaching skills, multitask work-life balance and transform oneself from feeling burnout to feeling resourceful at work.

While we all are living in a very dynamic and complex environment. In this situation of increased complexity and change, there has been a re-examination of the factors contributing to personal and professional effectiveness. Increasingly, the older notion of intelligence and technical competence being the sole predictors of effectiveness is being contested. Some interesting new ideas in this regard are the concepts of Multiple Intelligence put forth by Howard Gardner and Emotional Intelligence popularized by Daniel Goleman. These broader forms of intelligence have been found to be useful in multitude of situations, including jobs. Emotional Intelligence relates to- sensitivity to and management of self-in relationships. Empirical evidence has suggested that Emotional Intelligence (EI) competencies are at the heart of effective personal and workplace relationships and performance.

Design thinking, as explained by Tim Brown, is a human-centred approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.

Design Thinking Specialist, Marketer, Speaker, Facilitator and Managing Partner of TOSS the COIN (a Mar-Tech Consulting Firm)- Ms. Reshma Budhia who has been recognized as the “Exceptional Women of Excellence, 2018 by Women’s Economic Forum”  has been in the domain of marketing from the past 16 years.. Reshma’s mantra in life is “There is always a Plan Z- if you believe you shall achieve”.

Empirical evidences and data highlight the importance of equipping students emotionally to succeed in life. World Economic forum has named Emotional Intelligence (EI) as one of the top 10 job skills in 2020. Given the increasing importance of Emotional Intelligence, IILM University Gurugram organized a Panel Discussion on the “Critical Role of Emotional Intelligence in School Education.” This session deliberated by Dr. Aruna Broot (Psychologist), Dr. Anjana Sen (Physician, Author and consultant for EI, Founding Members of the Forum for Emotional Intelligence Learning), Mr. Nishchint Chawla (Director, HeritageXperiential Learning School Gurugram), Dr M. Shanawaz (HOD Psychology Department, Jamia Milia Islamia), Ms. Rashmi Malik (Principal, Salwan Public School, Gurugram) and session moderator, Dr. Shuchi Agarwal (Professor, IILM) discussed the importance of enhancing social emotional competencies of students to enable them to prepare for upcoming opportunities in the economy characterized by prevalence of Industry 4.0. The discussion concluded that EI is the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence, and the single biggest predictor of performance. The experts predicted that with the advent of Artificial intelligence a lot of jobs are going to disappear in the future, but emotional intelligence will gain importance and become a differentiator.

The event was well attended by senior educators, school principals, teachers, corporates and students from across Delhi-NCR. The Panel discussion was followed by a workshop on “Emotional Intelligence: A Key Enabler to Classroom Effectiveness” to explore the practical strategies to develop emotional language in the classroom and the development of emotional vocabulary as an educator. It was conducted by Dr. Aruna Broota, who is a well-known Psychologist and well received by the participants. A parallel workshop for students, “Unlocking EQ” was conducted by IILM senior faculty, Dr. Sona Vikas and Dr. Gargi Sandilya. The students not only got practical insights on how they could conduct themselves better but also, explored their own emotional quotient through a psychometric test.

This event was part of the series of workshops that IILM University regularly conducts, to deliberate on contemporary trends and spreading awareness amongst students, educators and corporates. This workshop was conducted by IILM’s Centre of Emotional Intelligence, which has been set up to support people of all ages in developing emotional intelligence skills to thrive in this dynamic world through training and personal coaching develop emotional competencies in organizations, academia and schools.

This was a 3.5 hour workshop for school teachers wherein the participants discovered the importance of emotional intelligence in daily life through activities. Further, through audio visuals, discussions and role plays they uncovered ways to improve their self-awareness, vocabulary of emotions, self-regulation, empathy and managing relationships – all aspects of Emotional Intelligence. The workshop ended with a discussion on how EI can be woven into classroom teaching methods and the difference it can make therein.

This was a 3.5 hour workshop for faculty wherein the participants discovered the importance of emotional intelligence in daily life through activities. Further, through audio visuals, discussions and role plays they uncovered ways to improve their self-awareness, vocabulary of emotions, self-regulation, empathy and managing relationships – all aspects of Emotional Intelligence. The workshop ended with a discussion on how EI can be woven into classroom teaching methods and the difference it can make therein.

This was a 1.5 hour interactive session with students of class 11, wherein the participants learnt to differentiate emotional intelligence from traditional intelligence quotient. They were exposed to a richer vocabulary of emotions, with some tips to recognize and name the emotions they are feeling. Through activities they learnt how to increase their self-awareness. Simple tools for self-management along with an overview of developing empathy and managing relationships were also covered briefly.

Interview Schedule