In 2023, the University of Los Andes was awarded an Institutional Development Fund (IDF) to carry out the project "Design of policies and action plans for the care of students’ mental health and prevention of suicidal behavior in undergraduate students at University of Los Andes". The project has a two-year duration and a budget of $238 million, granted through the Ministry of Education. 

Some of the project’s general objectives will be to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, academic stress and suicide risk; to reduce alcohol abuse; and to carry out interventions that promote competency development for optimal academic achievement. 

One of the important project milestones involves application of the platform “INETAS e-utility for coping” (www.inetas.com), which includes an online questionnaire on factors of coping with academic stress, for freshman undergraduates. This milestone will be reached in collaboration with the project on “Effect of the degree of (internal and external) regulation on competency for psychological well-being, emotional health and flourishing, in educational and psychological contexts”, University of Navarra (Spain). 

Researchers from the Innovation in Psychology and Education Laboratory (School of Psychology) and professionals from the Academic Support Office will coordinate a universal, voluntary application of the assessment of the target group at the beginning of the academic year and at the end of the first and second semesters of 2024. The goal associated with this milestone is to prepare a report of findings, as well as scientific publications pertaining to the instrument’s validation.