Department of Psychology, Gargi College, University of Delhi
Nodal Officer: Sabeen H. Rizvi
Research Coordinator: Ms Tanishqa
The Mind Lab represents a pioneering research initiative established in 2025 through a strategic partnership with the Rekhi Foundation for Happiness. This specialized research centre advances empirical understanding and methodological excellence in positive psychology and well-being sciences. The laboratory's foundational mission centres on developing scientific inquiry capabilities among emerging researchers while creating evidence-based interventions that address contemporary mental health challenges within diverse community contexts. This integrative framework enables systematic investigation of well-being constructs across multiple analytical levels, ranging from neurobiological mechanisms to community-wide implementation strategies.

Basic Objectives:

1. Primary Research Objectives

1. Advancing Empirical Knowledge in Positive Psychology: To expand the scientific understanding of well-being through rigorous empirical research that examines positive psychology constructs across multiple levels of analysis- from neurobiological mechanisms to individual differences to community-wide phenomena.
2. Achieving Methodological Excellence: To establish and maintain the highest standards of research methodology in well-being sciences, developing innovative approaches to measuring, analyzing, and understanding positive psychological phenomena with scientific precision.
II. Capacity Building Objectives
3. Developing Scientific Inquiry Capabilities: To cultivate research competencies among emerging scholars, equipping the next generation of researchers with the theoretical knowledge, methodological skills, and scholarly sensibilities necessary to advance the field of positive psychology.
4. Training Evidence-Based Practitioners: To prepare researchers and practitioners who can effectively translate scientific findings into practical applications, fostering expertise in both research design and real-world implementation strategies.
III. Application and Impact Objectives
5. Creating Evidence-Based Interventions: To design, test, and validate interventions that address contemporary mental health challenges, ensuring that solutions are grounded in robust empirical evidence rather than assumption or anecdote.
6. Addressing Community Mental Health Needs: To develop contextually appropriate well-being interventions that respond to the specific challenges faced by diverse communities, ensuring research relevance and practical utility across varied cultural and social contexts.
IV. Integration and Translation Objectives

7. Bridging Theory and Practice: To systematically connect theoretical advances in positive psychology with practical implementation, ensuring that scientific discoveries translate into meaningful improvements in community well-being.
8. Fostering Positive Community Development:To enable communities to thrive through evidence-based approaches that enhance collective well-being, social cohesion, and resilience, moving beyond individual-focused interventions to community-level transformation.
V. Institutional Excellence Objectives
9. Establishing Standards for Scholarly Excellence: To set benchmarks for quality and rigour in positive psychology research, contributing to the professionalisation and advancement of the field through exemplary research practices and training programs.
10. Creating Sustainable Educational Programs: To develop and maintain comprehensive academic programs (such as the Summer School) that provide structured, expert-led training opportunities for researchers across institutions, fostering a collaborative research community in the region.
The Rekhi Mind Lab inaugurated its premier Summer School on Fostering Positive Communities from July 7th to July 29th, 2025. This comprehensive academic program features a rigorous curriculum delivered by leading experts in well-being research, with participants representing universities throughout the Delhi region. Distinguished faculty from prestigious institutions guide the curriculum, cultivating participants' scholarly sensibilities to foster positive community development. The program establishes a foundation for evidence-based approaches to community well-being while training the next generation of researchers in this critical field. The laboratory's dual focus on methodological advancement and practical application positions it as a significant contributor to the evolving landscape of positive psychology research. Through its educational initiatives and research programs, the Mind Lab bridges the gap between theoretical understanding and real-world implementation of well-being interventions, establishing new standards for scholarly excellence in this domain.