Columbia Student Well-Being Survey Ambassador Sai Mali Ananth
Sai Mali Ananth is one of dozens of Columbia Student Well-Being Survey Ambassadors from across the University.
My field of study, Operations Research deals with using scientific, analytical methods to make better decisions. We like to study issues and problems by building sound models and solving them.
Being trained to understand the great power of data, I believe using them effectively by pooling together the right minds will significantly enhance the quality of life of the Columbia community and beyond.
In order to effect systemic changes to tackle these problems, a big, inclusive dataset is critical and 'The Columbia Student Well-Being Survey' is a commendable step in this direction.
As a graduate student, I recognize the complex (and common!) mental health issues faced by the wider population in any university community. Anxiety, depression, work-life balance, impostor syndrome etc. have led to a 'crisis' in the mental health of graduate students, according to various studies. With the involvement of WHO and the wide scope of this survey, a massive response from the Columbia community will help experts and give us tangible outputs from the data.
