Prof. Sanjay Dwivedi 

Moving in tandem with the rapidly changing needs of technology-driven newsrooms in media is the feature that makes Indian Institute of Mass Communication the most preferred destination for media education in India

Ranked top media institute by ‘India Today’ and ‘The Week-Hansa’ consecutively in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 in their annual ranking of educational institutions, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is today a preferred choice for media education in India. The prime reason for it is the industry-focused curriculum, theoretical-based skill development, and international exposure through workshops and seminars. IIMC is known for producing leaders of journalism and media industry. Presently, it offers eight Post Graduate Diploma Courses in English Journalism, Hindi Journalism, Malayalam Journalism, Marathi Journalism, Odia Journalism, Urdu Journalism, Radio & Television Journalism, and Advertisement & Public Relations.

English Journalism is the flagship course of IIMC, which is offered in all its six campuses located in New Delhi, Jammu, Aizawl, Dhenkanal, Amravati and Kottayam. The popularity of IIMC’s PG diploma courses can be understood from the fact that the majority of the students studying in IIMC are picked up by the media organisations during campus placements itself. There may not be even a single leading media house in India that does not have a student from IIMC. Another significant fact about IIMC is that most professionals working in the lead roles in most of the leading media newsrooms as well as in the advertisement and public relations agencies in India and abroad, are IIMCians. Even the international media houses such as Reuters, BBC, etc., have IIMCians working for them. The extraordinary achievements of IIMC alumni strengthen the glory of the institution. After excelling in their respective areas, they are always at the forefront of social activities and extending help to aspiring

IIMC students.

IIMC is an autonomous society under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. This society is presently headed by Secretary, I&B Ministry, Shri Amit Khare as chairman. The Society also has leading media and communication professionals in the Executive Council. The IIMC makes a concerted effort to constantly innovate its programmes in order to meet the challenges thrown up by developments in the industry. The syllabi are reviewed every year to make suitable modifications to make the courses relevant to the needs of the industry.

Inaugurated on August 17, 1965, by the then Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, with a small staff, including two consultants from UNESCO, IIMC is also a training centre for Indian Information Service (IIS) officers. It also offers short term courses for the defence forces. A number of specialised short courses of one week to three months’ duration are run by the Institute to meet the training needs of communication professionals working in various media/publicity outfits of the central/state governments and public sector organisations. Since its inception, the IIMC has trained about 15,000 persons from India and abroad. Also, it runs a prestigious course in Development Journalism, which students from across the world join. It is also been an internationally recognised training institute for mid-level working journalists from Afro-Asian countries since 1969.

IIMC is committed to setting global standards in media education, research, extension, and training, using state-of-the-art technology to build a knowledge-driven information society, contributing to human development, empowerment, and participatory democracy, anchored in pluralism, universal values, and ethics. It aims to create a dynamic learning and teaching environment that nurtures new ideas, creativity, research, and scholarship and develops future leaders and innovators in media and mass communication. These objectives are achieved by involving industry leaders in teaching and providing out-of-classroom perspectives to the students on relevant issues. For it, the IIMC launched ‘Friday Dialogue’ in 2020, which has emerged as a prominent platform for students to interact with renowned national experts from different walks of life.

IIMC has completed 56 years of its foundation. Apart from excelling in media teaching, the IIMC has also produced high-quality content for the students and media scholars. ‘Communicator’ (English) and ‘Sanchar Madhyam’ (Hindi) are the two UGC-CARE listed research journals by IIMC, which are known for publishing high-quality research papers in the field of media. Communication research is another important dimension of IIMC activities. It aims to bridge the gaps between the theoretical and professional issues in the area of media and communication. More than 160 research and evaluation studies have so far been undertaken on various themes related to broadcasting and press policies, public health and behaviour and social change, multimedia campaigns, film censorship, etc. These initiatives are helpful in creating a knowledge-based society. IIMC also runs a community radio station known as ‘Apna Radio’ from September 9, 2005.

The IIMC campus in New Delhi is also known for its natural beauty and cleanliness. Apart from two hostels for boys and girls, there is a library, Pt. Yugal Kishore Shukla Library & Knowledge Resource Centre, which has been named after Pt. Yugal Kishore Shukla, the legendary editor of the first Hindi newspaper, ‘Udant Martand’. Surely, the credit for making IIMC number one institution goes to all the former chairpersons, director generals, directors, officers, faculty members, and also its alumni.

(The writer is Director General of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi)