HED - Media & Mass Communication Special

INDIA EDITION Connecta

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SHARDA UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT (SMFE)

raming Excellence in M S F

NOVEMBER 2019

edia tudies

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

Connecta

November 2019

Vol - 1 Issue - 11

Media & Mass Communication Special (India Edition) Editor in Chief

Dr. Manoj Varghese

Managing Editor Sarath Shyam

Consultant Editors

Dr. Johny Andrews Anjana K Shyam S

Jessica Jo Stanly Lui Emma James

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Art and Design Ajay K Das

Sales & Marketing

Jyoti Kumari Prathyoosh K Shaji

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Divya M Milan Bharati

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Higher Education Digest November March 2019 2019

MANAGING EDITOR’S NOTE

Media and Entertainment Education in Digital India

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do have a traditional Pay-Tv subscription, but I spend more time on my phone, where I get personalized content with tolerable advertisement breaks. In fact, Millennials and Generation Z are more dependent on digital platforms rather than traditional media portals like TV, Radio and Print for their news and entertainment options. Titled ‘India’s Digital Future: Mass of Niches’, KPMG India’s 11th edition of its Media and Entertainment (M&E) report says that the digital market is poised to become the second largest segment in India after TV, and also attract the maximum advertising spend

by FY’22.

Evolving technologies are presenting opportunities for companies in the media and entertainment industry to achieve greater operational efficiencies. However, the big question today is, are our media and mass communication institutions ready to prepare the future workforce who can survive in this digital revolution? Today, media

educators cannot teach about the contemporary media without taking account of the role of the internet, computer games and the convergence between ‘old’ and ‘new’ media. As there are new objects of study in the media and entertainment education field, it requires new conceptual frameworks and methods of analysis that go beyond those that have been developed in relation to older media.

Celebrating the success of new-age institutions in this sector, we have come up with a list of ‘10 Must-Watch Media & Mass Communication institutions in India’ in this issue. On the cover, we feature, Sharda University’s School of Media, Film and Entertainment, which goes beyond regional and cultural barriers with an educational model that is sustainable, replicable and scalable, and empowers students with a future that is driven by knowledge, practice, entrepreneurial skills, socially responsible principles and moral values.

Enjoy Reading.

Sarath Shyam

Higher Education Digest November 2019

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ADVISORY BOARD

Dr. Kuldeep Nagi, Ph.D, MBA, BSc. Program Director of Ph.D, Recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award & Dan Evans Award for Excellence and Writer columnist.

Dr. Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE. Dr.Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB.

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Higher Education UAE

Program Director, MS in Management Program, GSATM - AU

6 Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com Senior General Manager: Panasonic Middle East & Africa, Thought Leader, Speaker & Author of ‘Moment of Signal’ (Amazon’s International Bestseller)

Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi) Senior Director HR. Head HR group Samsung R&D Institute India,Transformative HR Leader, Change agent, Digitization facilitator, Engagement architect, Trainer and Diversity champion.

Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra, VSM (Vishishta Seva Medal), Ph.D, M. Phil, MA, M.Ed, PGBDA Ex-M D Army Welfare Education Society, ExCOO GEMS Education - India, Ex- Addl Dir Gen - Army Education, Mentor - Adventure-Pulse

Asst. Prof. Dr. Suramya Mathai, Ph.D,M.Ed,MA,BA. Teachers Training Expert, Writer, Author, Speaker & Social Worker

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

COVER STORY

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SHARDA UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT (SMFE)

raming Excellence in M S F

Higher Education Digest November 2019

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30 - 33 MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF COMMUNICATION

Where the Future is Always Bright

MENTOR’S MANTRA

INDUSTRY PERCPECTIVE

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Research, Leadership, and the Future of Indian Education

Never Use Tech Like a Textbook

Prof. Kamlesh Misra, Vice Chancellor, Rishihood University, India

Ninad Vengurlekar, CEO, Utter

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ACADEMIC VIEW

34 - 36

44 - 46

WHISTLING WOODS INTERNATIONAL

Why Do We Need a Holistic Approach Towards Skilling?

Where the Future is Always Bright

Shaheen Khan, Founder & CEO, CEDP Skill Institute

India Requires Entrepreneurship Education to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

38 - 43

Dr. Lalit Sharma, Faculty, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India

Higher Education Digest November 2019

MENTOR’S MANTRA

Research, Leadership, and the Future of Indian Education Prof. Kamlesh Misra, Vice Chancellor, Rishihood University, India

Prof. Misra graduated with a Postgraduate Degree in Economics from Allahabad University, India. After completing his Ph.D. from Northeastern University, Boston, he taught there as a lecturer until 1990. He did his advanced training in Financial Management of Local and Regional Governments from Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA under USAID funding.

He served as an Economist at the Center for Social & Urban Research, Pittsburgh University from 1990 to 1994 when he returned to India to Join as an HDFC Associate Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi. As a member of the NIPFP team, he was the technical advisor to the First Punjab State Finance Commission.

Prof. Misra is known for creating some of the most successful business models in the education sector without compromising the ethical dimensions of teaching as a profession. He is a team builder and has created institutions that are talked about due to their work culture and the free environment for academic pursuits.

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Collaborating with Universities across the globe is always good as it leads to the sharing of knowledge and the pooling of scarce resources

et’s start by accepting that research and teaching are the two sides of the same coin called academics. Both are equally important for the training of the mind. The purpose of the research is to create and or discover new knowledge, which then gets transferred to students through a process that we call teaching. If there is no research taking place in institutions of higher learning, it would mean that we are only disseminating the existing knowledge which leads to stagnation.

The sad part of the Indian University System has been that much of good research has now been restricted to centers of excellence like the IIC, BARC, IIT, IIM, TISS, TIFR and a few others. The culture of research in our universities was lost about 30 years back.

Today, the poor quality of faculty, poor quality of Ph.D. programs and lack of research funding by the Industry has almost destroyed the culture of research. The quality of faculty publication and the research work of doctoral students has been reduced to a Master’s level report. We will have to work very hard to come out of this mess that we have created over the past three decades.

Now, there is a severe shortage of good faculty members in all Universities in India including the IIT and the centers of excellence.

This is evident from the fact that many of these institutions have over 40 percent vacancies that have not been filled. There is also an issue of quality of faculty due to the introduction of the reservation where candidates with lower merit have to be given preference in recruitments. This may not be a politically right statement, but the fact is that reservation for faculty in higher education has had a devastating impact on both the quality of research and teaching.

Thus, one of the biggest challenges that we face in higher education institutions is the lack of incentives for research. A faculty who is recruited as an assistant professor is guaranteed to retire as a professor even without producing any research through the automatic promotion scheme.

There is also an issue of availability of funds for research at institutions of higher learning. The gestation period for any research outcome is too long and funding is required to carry through the research work over a long period of time. Finally, we need to revamp the whole Ph.D. program in India, and it should be made very demanding. Doctoral students have to go through a very rigorous process to earn a degree which is not the case right now.

Our Doctoral programs are truly a walkover for students with cut and paste work promoted by the research guide as well.

Importance of Global Collaborations Collaborating with Universities across the globe is always good as it leads to the sharing of knowledge and the pooling of scarce resources. However, collaborations work only if they are between equals. In a situation where we are poor in the quality of research, there is less likelihood of foreign universities collaborating with

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Prof. Kamlesh Misra

More about the Author Prof. Misra served as the Director of the Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, New Delhi from 1996 to March 2000 and was the founding Director of Institute for International Management & Technology from 2000 to 2008. He was Director of G D Goenka World Institute, Gurgaon until September 2010 and went on to become the founding Vice Chancellor of Auro University, Surat as well as the Vice Chancellor of Ansal University, Gurgaon.

Dr. Misra is a well-known and reputed strategist and innovative leader in conceiving, organizing and managing educational and research organizations. He combines in him qualities of vision, building, organizing, motivating and leading teams to perform at their peak level. He is well regarded as a thoughtful leader and speaker on the formulation and implementation of corporate strategies, knowledge and innovation management. He has rich experience of creating and transforming institutions. He has special interest in turnaround and Greenfield projects in the field of higher education.

Strategic Management, Public Finance, Urban finance, financial management, Management of Government Finances, and Economic Restructuring are the areas of his special interest. Dr. Misra is author of six books and has written over fifty papers in refereed journals.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

us in the field of research. The collaborations that we are currently having are in the field of faculty exchange, student exchange, and to a large extent as a feeder to Indian students for overseas education. Most of the collaborations in the private sector are geared towards marketing rather than for research and innovation. Some public institutions have collaboration in the area of research and innovations and are working well.

It would be very important for Indian universities to return to the research mode so that they can forge good collaborations leading to high-quality research and innovation. It will help us move forward at a faster pace, it will enhance our faculty engagement with faculty across the globe and help us understand the world of academics better.

Turning Intellectual Capital into Marketable Products It is important to understand the meaning of intellectual capital in relation to universities to appreciate what universities can and cannot do in this area. Besides teaching students, universities have traditionally had the responsibility of creating new knowledge through cutting edge research. Universities that have focused on high-end research have the potential to find solutions to social and human problems that can be translated into patents. These patents can then be used by industry to create commercial projects for the marketplace.

Universities in the United States have taken the lead in this area as they are highly driven by the research agenda.

Universities such as Carnegie Mellon are known for research in Robotics and the same have been patented and commercialized. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has played a pioneering role in Nuclear and Defense research which has commercialized. A classic example is the WorldWideWeb, which was an outcome of University research and had today been commercialized and has transformed the way we live today.

All this has been possible due to the high level of research funding for universities in the United States by the government and the industry. Such research support has not been coming in India either from the government or the industry. Most of the high-end research in India is happening in the centers of excellence such as the IITs, BARC, TISS, IIC, ISRO, DRDO. They are thus, able to generate an extensive amount of new knowledge that gets commercialized.

At present many universities have started getting their new knowledge patented but we have not had any major research output that has been patented or commercialized from the Private Universities and the situation is the same

for most of the public universities. Without extensive funding to university research centers, the situation is not likely to improve. There have been success stories like Pantnagar University and CFTRI Mysore who have commercialized a large number of their research.

Research and Education in the Era of Industry 4.0 Are our students ready for the industry when they graduate is a question that has been debated for a long time now? Well, one way to understand this is to try and understand how the universities in the west have managed to keep pace with the Industry. It’s a fact that it is the University system in the west that actually drives what happens in the Industry. Industry funds Research at the Universities, faculty, and students work on such research projects. The results of the research are then commercialized by the industry. Thus, there is a perfect sync between Universities and the industry. In India, however, this relationship is missing, and we are not able to train our students to what is happening in the industry.

Unless the industry is willing to come forward and start funding university research, this link will remain weak and we may not be able to reach the expectation of the Industry.

The second aspect that is crucial in our training of students is to move away from the concept of teaching and adopt learning as a model of knowledge acquisition.

We have to engage the industry to ensure project-based learning by our students. We have to make our students work on real-life projects which are based on industry requirements. How can we have a student who graduates with a degree in computer science and not be able to write code? Where will he fit in the industry? It is time for universities to move to applied and action learning and we will be able to solve the existing problem.

Leadership Conundrum in India Universities If we reflect back on the history of Indian Universities, we can look very proudly to the kind of leadership we had in place. What went wrong and what lessons we can draw from history is something that we all need to ponder. It also raises questions on what type of leadership can we put in place to ensure that slowly we are in a position to begin to salvage the decline of our universities. The political invasion in public universities is so high that we still need to see a higher degree of damage before an order can be restored. I am beginning to see a day when most public Universities in India will have IAS officers who will be Vice-Chancellors and Registrars and the universities are likely to become parking places for a lot of incompetent Administrators in the government.

The leadership of the university is critical to its academic culture. It is thus, necessary that the right person

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Private University administrators should be ready to take the challenge of extensive training of their faculty resources not only in the areas of academic delivery but in the areas of personal development as well

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is identified for the job. Besides being an academic he needs to be able to carry a large team of people from diverse backgrounds together towards a single objective and to create an academic culture of quality teaching and research. It is important to invest in good faculty as this has a long-term benefit. Above all look at ways of determining the eligibility of students not just based on their marks/grades but their overall aptitude for the degree program. In recruiting faculty look for ways to identifying those that have strong credentials in research and publications. This will be a rare product in the market as the research culture among the faculty on the decline.

There is a need to create a culture of trust among the faculty, staff, and administrators. Such a level of faith will create a University that is highly studentcentered, progressive and experimental in its approach.

Private University administrators should be ready to take the challenge of extensive training of their faculty resources not only in the areas of academic delivery but in the areas of personal development as well. The fear that if we invest too much on faculty and they leave is unfounded. If every private university thinks on the same line, we would all have created a set of good faculties irrespective of which university they are going to work. I feel this is a service to the academic fraternity.

Some of these steps will go a long way toward creating good universities.

Final Words to the Educators and Students We don’t live in an isolated world anymore and it is important for those in the field of higher education to understand this fact. There are new alignments that are being formed worldwide and it is being backed by a wave for Nationalism across the world. India is also forging ahead with dramatic changes and there is an acceptance that such changes are necessary for the country to move forward to become an international economic power.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Universities can and should play an important role in inculcating a sense of National feeling, pride and a sense of belongingness among the students and teachers.

At Rishihood University, we will have programs where students will be fully involved in local communities to understand the problems and find solutions for the same.

We will need to bring back the concept of National Service which was very strong in educational institutions some thirty years back. Universities need to create awareness through various programs including short courses and activities to help the student community about their culture, history and national identity.

To the students, my advice is that they should take education as a serious activity but at the same time, they need to be aware of the environment in which they work and live. They need to understand not only about their own country but the world in general.

I would also like to advise that students should choose their careers wisely as in the next ten years more than half of the jobs today will not exist. Creativity and skills will be the focus during the remaining of this century.

There are going to be no short-cuts to success and you will have to acquire cutting edge knowledge, develop the ability to translate that knowledge into marketable skills, work on the attitude required for your success, and above all, learn the art of working hard. Yes, there have been instances where people have succeeded in life without education but as a teacher, I can tell you that never try this trick on yourself. Education is the only tool known to humans that has made life better for the vast majority of people in this world. Rishihood University has developed special programs besides your degree to ensure you have a truly transformational experience and become Nationbuilders. Always keep your focus and let me tell you that this is going to be a rough ride for you in this age where there will be many distractions on your way. But always remember that once you cross this stage, it’s a beautiful life out there waiting for you with open arms.

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

COVER STORY

SHARDA UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT (SMFE)

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Framing

Excellence in

Media Studies

By Sarath Shyam

Higher Education Digest November 2019

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

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s per the latest data available, India’s higher education institutions hosted a total of 47,427 international students from 164 countries in the academic year 2018 – 19. One of the prominent Indian institutions that attract students from all over the world is Sharda University. Every year, the university welcomes students from more than 80 countries to its Greater Noida campus. A campus that is perpetually in motion, Sharda University has emerged as a community that values cultural diversity, and respect for religion, age, gender, and socioeconomic status. With state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge infrastructure, Sharda University is truly a global institution now. No doubt, the university has managed to make 180+ Foreign University Tie-ups under Semester Exchange/Free Tuition Fee Programmes to provide global exposure and limitless opportunities to its students.

All the programs offered by the university undergo constant review by accrediting bodies and are enhanced by the valuable insights from industrial partnerships and memberships with local and global organizations. “Sharda University is determined to build the school as a hub of teaching, research, and innovation in the field of media, film and entertainment. Thus, making it a truly world-class center for producing industry-ready professionals at par with the best universities of the

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

All courses at the Department of Mass Communication aim to meet the needs of communication professionals working in various media outfits of the industry.

Prof. (Dr.) Ritu S.Sood, Dean SCADMS, Department of Mass Communication Prof. (Dr.) Ritu S. Sood, Dean, School of Media, Film & Entertainment is an award-winning media professional with over three decades of experience in Journalism, Film Making, Radio and Television production.

Prof. Sood is an alumna of AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. She commenced her professional career with NHK- Radio and Television Network of Japan.

She has worked and filmed at the grass-root level in the several states of India with national NGOs and international organisations committed to the eradication of Child Servitude and Gender Insensitivity with special attention to the protection of children and marginalised segments of society.

She researched the efficacy and the efficiency of the human rights campaign of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s ‘Global March against Child Labour’ through the continents of Asia, America, Africa and Europe. The march eventually culminated at the ILO headquarters in Geneva.She has also done consultancy for DFID ( (Dept. for International Development) Govt.of U.K, Her film ‘Desh ki Shaan hai Beti’ was released to the nation by then President of India, Dr APJ Kalam.

Prof. Sood has also produced and directed TV serials, documentaries, for both National and International networks. She has won many laurels for contribution in not only film making but as an Author also. She has authored more than nine books. She has been honoured with the prestigious Durgaprasad Shikhar Hindi Samman by Author’s Guild of India, excellence award in for Women in Leadership for the special category- Academics by Dr.Pankaj Mittal Addl Secy UGC, among others.

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world,” opines Dr. Ritu S. Sood, Dean of SMFE. Dr. Sood, is an award-winning media professional with over three decades of experience in Journalism, Film Making, Radio and Television production. She adds, “We believe in creating a stimulating, flexible and application-based learning environment for students as well as faculty.”

The university makes efforts to provide the necessary platform to impart skills and knowledge related to journalism and mass communication and creates brilliant professionals by imparting a blend of theory and more practical lessons through state-of-the-art infrastructure.

Sharda University’s School of Media, Film and Entertainment (SMFE) is an effort to build a department that goes beyond regional and cultural barriers with an educational model that is sustainable, replicable and scalable, and empowers students with a future that is driven by knowledge, practice, entrepreneurial skills, socially responsible principles and moral values. It was initiated with a pledge to provide intensive and integrated education in the field of communication, that is at par with best global communication schools and that nurtures individual aspirations to lead, innovate and collaborate to effectively apply conceptual understandings vis-a-vis practical and complex communication phenomena and technologies. “At Sharda University, the students of mass communication get vivid exposure while pursuing their respective studies. The courses and the curriculum are designed keeping in mind the industrial relevance; hence all the teachers and instructors try to teach the students what is relatable in the contemporary media scenario,” shares, Dr. Amit Chawla, HOD & Associate Professor, SCADMS’s Department of Mass Communication.

Offering Industry-Oriented Media Education At present, the SMFE’s Department of Mass Communication offers various programs to its students including BA(J&MC), BA(F&TVP), MA(J&MC), MA (Ad&PR) and MA (D&MC). The department of Mass Communication focuses more on imparting practical knowledge to students beyond traditional classroom teaching, time-to-time the department organizes skillbased training workshops for students where experts from industry help in enhancing the skills of students. Dr. Sood says, “To maintain the academic status and industry standards, we invite working professionals and renowned academicians every year to scrutinize the syllabus. This is an effort so that the syllabus of the department is updated every year as per the requirement of the industry.”

Apart from the regular up-gradation of the syllabus,

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Dr. Amit Chawla, Head - Department of Mass Communication, SMFE Dr. Amit Chawla is a Doctorate in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, a Scholar at Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Kashipur) and a Qualified Trainer from ITC-Netherlands. With an experience of over 15 years, he has taught thousands of students of top institutions including those from National Institute of Fashion Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia, Amity University, Mewar University, Indian Institute of Photography, JICM, FDDI, NIT, IITTM etc. Aside, he also has close affiliation with media & corporate sector. Some of the organizations that he has been previously associated with include Canon India, Staff Selection Commission, Prasar Bharati, Press Information Bureau, Doordarshan, Sahara India and NTPC. He is also the founder of India’s first on-site photography and film making workshops titled-PHOTOSHALA. Presently, he is heading the Department of Mass Communication and the community radio station - ‘Suno Sharda 90.8 FM’ at Sharda University.

the department organizes industrial visits for the students and to bridge the gap between academia and industry. The department is also focused on organizing events for faculty and staff as well including faculty development programs and workshops.

“We have set up an Industry Advisory Board with an objective to establish strong industry connects, conduct workshops and lecture series to achieve a creative input from the students in collaboration with industry and provide suggestions for process improvement as well as curriculum development. The department is focused on e-governance and keeps a tab on different portals with a focus on mentorship to connect with the creative industry and utilize their services, like guest Lectures, internship opportunities, placements and many more,” explains Dr. Chawla. The university has created industry-oriented multimedia labs with an objective to develop student’s ability with innovative products in a cost-effective manner, where the students learn futuristic ideas of innovations so as to make them ready for the industry.

“Industry collaboration is foremost important, as a student gets the environment of the work culture in the industry and it also increases the chances of getting placed.

The Department of Mass Communication tries to organize as many events as possible with the industry and ensure the involvement of the maximum number of students,” adds Dr. Sood. For instance, SMFE’s Department of Mass Communication entered into a collaboration with the Jagran Film Festival in 2019 as its knowledge partner to introduce the students to a promising film career. The department also has an active collaboration with Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s public international broadcasters. With Deutsche Welle (DW), the department organized a 5-days training workshop on social media and mobile journalism for its faculty, staff, and students.

SMFE’s Department of Mass Communication maintains healthy and cordial relationships with a large number of media organizations, academics institutions & other industry professionals. “Our modern practical-centric the curriculum allows our graduates to get a flavor of the real working atmosphere of the media industry. Faculty members themselves are involved in the placement process,” claims Dr. Chawla. Balaji film, CNN-IBN, News 18, NDTV, Rediff Fusion, India TV, Rajshiri Production, Mudra group, Percept, PTC, and India News Big Synergy are some of the companies which have provided on job training and placements to the students of the university. SMFE’s Department of Mass Communication has witnessed more than 90 percent placement after BAJ&MC and MAJMC.

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

Greater Noida’s only Community Radio “Suno Sharda 90.8 “ was launched on December 16, 2015 and the station provides a platform for dialogue and discussion amongst the local community.

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

Fine-Tuning the Media Aspirants The entire education system at Sharda University is based on the idea of the relationship between the Master and the disciple where the latter learns and understands the core knowledge from his master and grasps the essence of the master. “We at Sharda University’s Mass Communication department believe in the core principles of the relationship between the master and the disciple by creating an atmosphere where the disciple follows, understands the foundational knowledge of his master and then he becomes the master and goes beyond, adding his life’s insights and teaching his own students even more than his old master know,” says Dr. Sood. The Department despite adopting the technological models of education has retained the core cultural values of the relationship between the Teacher and the Students.

Dr. Sood adds, “We have hired an inclusive collection of faculty members who are academically as well as technically sound to impart the best quality media education. At Sharda University’s Mass Communication Department, we don’t compromise on quality.”

The students of Sharda University not only develop a decent theoretical framework, but also get to learn numerous nuances of the media industry, which is of paramount significance for any journalist. The students learn other peripheral skills such

The Mass Communication programmes at Sharda University have been tailored to meet the needs of developing countries and that is what sets it apart.

as Personality Development, Public Relations, Visual Communication and other skill sets, which are required for any journalist to sustain in this ever-dynamic media world.

Dr. Sood pinpoints, “A student at School of Media, Film and Entertainment at Sharda University gains a lot of practical hands-on experience while working on different and latent gadgets, machines, and all available technical equipment, which are of the ‘state-of-the-art’ standard. Therefore, when our student goes to the industry, he/she already knows about the new innovations and best practices, which are adopted by this vibrant industry.”

Students enrolled in Sharda University for an UG or a PG program, become effective and efficient communicators, which will help them when they start working in media houses their work is being appreciated by their employers. In the past, students of Sharda have entered higher education after completing their undergraduate degrees, while others have been successfully placed at various reputed news organizations throughout the world. “Each and every topic of modules of the course is structured in such a fashion so that our students can become the leaders of the times to come. Our students are not only becoming job seekers, but they are becoming job creators. We at Sharda, believe in turning our students into shepherds who can dictate the agenda of news and dominate this industry in the coming years,” shares Dr. Chawla.

For the brilliant innovators and startup visionaries, Sharda University has come up with a new initiative named Sharda Launchpad. Under this initiative, Sharda University offers a platform to weave together scribbled ideas and notions into a single, comprehensive vision to build an empowered society through actions. Dr. Sood says, “At SMFE, we keep encouraging our students to go ahead with their innovative ideas and get a chance for their own startup through Sharda Launchpad. We also encourage them to participate in film festivals and in various other competitions to showcase their talents and productions.” SMFE has various students-based productions (in-house publications, Community Radio, TV) within the department where students get hands-on experience and confidence to complete the production within the given deadline.

Today, SMFE envisions to become a leader in nurturing brilliant and capable media and creative professionals who are knowledgeable and equipped with new-age skills to excel in the highly competitive media industry. In the future, the university will be launching one of the Best Film Schools in India that will cover the entire gamut of film production, writing as well as acting. “The school will be structured to provide a holistic development to the students and shapes the next generation of media scholar and practitioners and to provide thoughtful leadership on existing and emerging forms of media,” concludes Dr. Sood.

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INDUSTRY PERCPECTIVE

Never Use Tech Like a Textbook Ninad bring in 18 years of edtech experience in K-12 and skill development sector. He was one of the pioneers of mobile learning in India when IL&FS Education launched the world’s first English learning course on feature phones in 2009.

The course was subscribed by over 3 million paid users in 3 years. At Utter, Ninad heads Sales and Business Strategy. Ninad is a Masters in EdTech from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an MBA from NMIMS. In an exclusive interaction with the Higher Education Digest, Ninad talks about the importance technology in education and many more.

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Ninad Vengurlekar

Higher Education Digest November 2019

The growth in Ed-tech needs to integrate humans to deliver better learner-centered education

• What are some of the major problems/ challenges plaguing educators today?

The mindset of educators is that of a follower. They keep searching for leaders to take charge and change the status quo.

Educators are best suited to change education, but they tend to be risk-averse and look down upon entrepreneurship as a for-profit activity unsuited for academicians like them.

• In India, not all students have equal access to technology. How can we achieve digital equity in India?

Just one word: Low cost high bandwidth smartphones (The Jio model) If we have to offer access, we should subsidize the access points like smartphones and bandwidth.

• What are the biggest changes you have seen in educational technology since you started you career in this field?

The biggest change has been the acceptance by educators that the technology can be used to teach, learn and provide access to education to all.

• At present, what works well in educational technology? What can be improved upon?

Edtech in itself is a medium. What works well is how good humans are able to drive edtech to achieve educational outcomes. Edtech need not be improved, academic quality needs to be improved.

• What is technology doing to help learnercentered education, and where can it improve?

Education tech is the best option for delivering centered education. It can be used as a front in for self-learning or as a backend tool to help teachers discover the progress of each child/student in the class. Sadly, most tech solutions are built with the intent to replace teachers. So, the growth in Ed-tech needs to integrate humans to deliver better learner-centered education.

• There has been a lot of talk about meaningful use of technology today, how would you describe meaningful use?

Meaningful use to me depends on the context of the stakeholders. To a student it is quality of content and personalized learning, to a teacher it is the understanding of learner’s journey and to an administrator, it is progress reports. Meaningful use can happen only when technology delivers outcomes to each stakeholder to deliver a combined impact on the quality of education delivery.

• How do we educate our students and educators so they can keep up with the rapidly changing pace of ed-tech? What is your advice to them?

Never use tech like a textbook. Tech can deliver more than marks. It can deliver knowledge, wisdom and even material outcomes like jobs, admissions, joint projects and internships. Tech is not just about content, but connections and networking as well.

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edia and Entertainment industry is a goldmine of opportunities for creative people. It has many different segments under its folds such as television, print, and films.

The industry also includes smaller segments like radio, music, OOH, animation, gaming and visual effects (VFX) and Internet advertising. In India, Media and entertainment industry has registered an explosive growth in the last two decades making it one of the fastest-growing industries.

From a single state-owned channel, Doordarshan in the 1990s there are more than 850 active TV channels covering all the main languages spoken in the nation and whereby 197 million households own television sets.

At present, with the existence of a wide variety of media jobs, someone can be an expert in one field and not even know another exists. Typically, media professionals remain in one medium. For

instance, one might begin as a journalist or a camera operator and eventually becoming a TV anchor or a cinematographer. This field also gives an option to move between similar positions, and we have many media professionals doing this well. For example, a newspaper columnist might switch to writing a book, and then write and host a television program. Or more commonly, an expert in a traditional field such as radio might transition into the ever-encompassing Internet media such as radio podcasts and webinars.

With so much to aspire for, in this issue, we have come up with a list of ‘10 Must-Watch Media & Mass Communication Institutions in India’ that have been producing generations of students who work in the media and entertainment industry. We sincerely hope that our efforts will help the media aspirants in India to make informed decisions about their study destination.

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College Name Annapurna College of Film and Media

Asian College of Journalism

DCSMAT School of Media and Business Center for Management StudiesJain Deemed to be University

Manipal School of Communication

MICA

Sharda University’s School of Media, Film and Entertainment

Sir J J School of Art

Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication

Whistling Woods International

Higher Education Digest October 2019

City

State

Hyderabad

Telangana

Chennai

Tamil Nadu

Trivandrum

Kerala

Bangalore

Karnataka

Manipal

Karnataka

Ahmedabad

Gujarat

Greater Noida

Uttar Pradesh

Mumbai

Maharashtra

Pune

Maharashtra

Mumbai

Maharashtra

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MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF COMMUNICATION

Where the Future is Always Bright

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s per the reports from the industry, by 2020, the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sectors may be short more than 1.1 million skilled workers globally. Fast forward to 2030, that deficit may reach 4.3 million. While companies across all industries are struggling to find great digital talent, skill-shortage is a big problem for everyone. “Yes. There is a severe dearth of manpower in India especially in the Media and Entertainment sectors which need to be addressed. There are a lot of Media and Communication Schools mushrooming in India but again there is a dearth of professional media and communication schools which produce quality media professionals,” says Dr. Padma Rani, who is the Director of Manipal Institute of Communication and a sociologist, media researcher and educator with extensive teaching and research experience.

Since its establishment in 1997, Manipal Institute of Communication has been producing industry-ready media professionals and it has emerged as one of the premier communication media and journalism institutes in the country. At present, the institute offers a three years degree course in BA (Media and communication), a twoyear postgraduate degree in communication, MA (Media and communication), MA (Film art and film making) [in collaboration with EICAR, France] Postgraduate Diploma in Corporate Communication (PGDCC), B.Sc. Animation, Certificate Course in Animation (CCA), PG Diploma in Sports Communication. Dr. Rani shares, “The programs are designed to meet the specific requirements of a rapidly changing media scene. The communication education in the institute covers print, radio, television, new media, film studies, public relations, advertising, corporate communication, along with other related subjects.” MIC’s programs are ideal for those aspiring to build a career of propose to pursue higher education in the fields of journalism, media studies and corporate communication.

MIC is one of the very few institutes in the country offering full-fledged graduate and postgraduate programs

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with advanced infrastructure, unique holistic curriculum, modern library, knowledgeable and experienced faculty, international exchange programs, co-curricular activities (theatre, dance, music, cinema, literature, debate, nature, painting, clay modeling and many more) and a learning environment that encourages students to scale new heights in their areas of interest. The institute is equipped with state-of-the-art audio, video and computer labs, which are up to date with the industry standards, thus, ensuring the students trained to be industry-ready professionals.

Dr. Rani pinpoints, “Witnessing excellent feedback from both our regular and new recruiters is a testimony to the quality of Media and Communication professionals created each year and their commendable achievements.

We strive to reach a step closer to our ultimate goal of 100 percent placements for our students and we look forward to the same this year as well.” Last year, MIC had prominent recruiters in the industry visiting the campus: Thomas Reuters, Viacom 18, Zee TV, Ad factors, Vedanta, CNBC TV 18, Uber, MSL, Trescon, Radio Mirchi, TAFE, Genesis Burson- Marsteller, iPac, Social Panga among others. Dr. Rani adds, “This year we look forward to a substantial increase in the number of recruiters visiting the campus.”

MIC offers plethora opportunities for students to be job-ready by the time they finish their course work at the

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Established in 1997, the institution, by benchmarking high academic standards in its curriculum, has visibly contributed to the burgeoning media industry by providing it with trained, industry-savvy professionals for over two decades now.

Dr. Padma Rani, Director Students at MIC get practical training in audio-visual content production in MIC’s in-house separate Sound and TV studios using modern gadgets and equipments which includes digital mixers, cameras, lighting equipments, workstations for postproduction activities, vision mixer consoles and more.

campus. For instance, basic training in reporting and writing for the media is integrated through the MIC curriculum. All students receive theoretical and practical training in writing and reporting skills. Dr. Rani explains, “Students work on an in house publications and are constantly being involved in many AV projects wherein they gain hands on training in reporting, writing, editing and page designing skills and receive training in various kinds of computer and software tools essential for the modern media professional.

Students are also introduced to the ethical and legal issues involved in media and communication work with a view to turning them into responsible professionals.”

The students of MIC ultimately acquire a universal understanding of the Media and Entertainment industry’s activities and the courses equip them with the necessary theoretical/ practical knowledge and skills required to become an expert media professional ready to take on the challenges of the industry. “In the coming years, we will be starting certificate courses in order to train and equip the students with the latest technology and trends of the M&E sector. We also have plans to promote a culture of research and publication among the students and faculty in order to be recognized as one of the best institutions in the world,” concludes Dr. Rani.

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ACADEMIC VIEW

Why Do We Need a Holistic Approach Towards Skilling?

Shaheen Khan, Founder & CEO, CEDP Skill Institute

In addition to 12 years of professional experience in the Education Industry, Shaheen has hands on experience in the field of learning and development. She is a master of NLP and certified coach. Since the inception of CEDP, Shaheen has been effortlessly working towards providing training to the youth in a holistic manner. With a mission is to ‘Empower the Youth of India with job-oriented courses,’ Shaheen has contributed significantly towards the National Mission of ‘Skill India’ to modernize and revitalize the existing skill education system that had lost its vigor and become rusted over time.

Shaheen’s previous experiences include Kaya Skin Clinic and IBM.

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Looking at the industry demands, academicians must move beyond the traditional teaching method and practice upgraded tool in the classroom

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he era of Industry 4.0 has already begun where the industry has widely adopted information technology, material sciences, production technologies, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, robotics and many advanced tools to improve the productivity and quality. This rapidly evolving world has a major impact on the current workforce and the education system. According to the World Economic Forum, “The fourth industrial revolution will make 75 million jobs obsolete by the year 2022. But also create 133 million new jobs, a net gain of 58 million.�

As all the industries will eventually get evolved, we will be experiencing that a lot of jobs will become obsolete and make way for job opportunities which are in sync with the time. Thus, formal and updated skill training is imperative to keep up with technological advancement and globalization. If we provide industry-relevant skills, it can give impetus to our efforts of skilling India and making the youth employable.

For instance, electric and driverless cars are touted to be the next thing in the automotive industry. For the same, a workforce who is accustomed to servicing these cars will be in high demand and be relevant in the job market.

Similarly, various globalization factors would also enable the creation of more job opportunities.

The GCC countries are expected to have a booming the tourism market in the upcoming years, which will have a trickle-down effect on the hospitality industry, and it will be well poised to create a lot of job opportunities in the sector. Thus, creating a requirement for a skilled workforce which is ready for the hospitality sector.

Moreover, along with skilling, focused efforts towards re-skilling and up-skilling would be critical to staying relevant.

While earlier professionals and graduates could rely on the industry to upgrade themselves with new machines, now the hired employees are expected to work with

smart technology. In this scenario, industry leaders and academicians hold a responsibility of transforming the education system and generating the efficient workforce.

But first, we need to understand what the new industry demands. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the new employees need to hold specialized knowledge with a fundamental understanding of the industry. Hence, to meet this expectation the education system needs to adopt more skill based specialized course.

With technological advancement, new job functions have emerged that needs to be catered. Hence, new curriculums and reskilling should be introduced at the university and institutional level. In India, we do have the infrastructure but what we lack is a holistic approach towards skilling. The development programs around skilling in India have not been up to par.

Our country faces a unique paradox. In a country where it is estimated that close 1.5 million engineers pass out every year, finding a decent plumber who can fix your sink is a difficult task at times. The current roadblocks being faced by the youth today in terms of skill development is that we have only managed to focus on the supply side of things rather than the demand side, an outdated curriculum that is a knowledge-based education rather than a skill-based one.

As a society, we have low social acceptance of vocational training, delays in channelizing funds for skill development, little standardization and credibility of certification. All this having a trickledown effect on the employability factor of our youth. As a result, we are basically living in a world where we have more doctors but a smaller number of skilled nurses and supporting staff. We have more cars on the road but less skilled auto technicians to repair them. We are constantly focusing on achieving formal education and often neglecting the need of the hour of having skilled workers.

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Time and again industry stakeholders have pointed out towards India’s problem of the substandard education system. Except for the IITs, IIMs and a handful of other reputed institutes, most institutions are unable to provide education that would get the students suitable jobs. At the root of the problem is ignorance to development of a curriculum which designed as per industry needs.

Taking cognizance of this at CEDP Skill Institute with the help of the 800 strong partner brands we’ve successfully developed curriculums which addressed the employers’ needs and make the students employable as per the job requirement. This has enabled us to be a part of more than 15000 success stories through our students who’ve been placed at various companies within the country as well as in the abroad. We strongly feel that a collaborative effort among the institutes, stakeholders and employers will effectively tackle the problem of employability.

As per All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), in 2016-2017 close to 3 crore students enrolled themselves in the undergraduate programme.

Even if we consider a total of 70 percent must have passed out of it as graduates, we are looking at close to 1.7 crore students looking at entering the workforce and the rest 35-40 lakh students pursuing further studies. In such a huge pool of job seekers, at times it becomes difficult for hiring managers to differentiate between candidates, as most of them have basically the same set of qualifications in their respective sectors. Its skills that can help one in a significant way.

While job-specific technical skills are important, landing a job is about much more than ticking off boxes; in these days it’s more about demonstrating the soft skills that make you a viable candidate across jobs and industries. Soft Skills are important to basic job skills because they help to bring forward an individual’s best self to the employer and create an impression on them as well. Without these associate skills, all the practical knowledge a person has will not be of any use.

For example, a young professional doing a presentation may have immense knowledge on the topic, but may lack the skill of making an eye-catching PPT. Or, a person who is going for a job interview is extremely qualified for the job but does not know how to articulate and put his or her point across because of his average speaking skills. Such problems are faced

Higher Education Digest November 2019

by the youth time and again. Even though they are skilled in different aspects, more importance needs to be given to soft skills as well. Once this is done, we can accommodate conceptual and personalized learnings, driving student engagement.

With regards to technical upgradation and digital reforms, education is one of the last industries to undergo extensive change, holding on to antiquated methods and practices. However, with the recent increasing gap between supply and demand in the workforce, now the time has come to create a second wave of institutions, where the education trend must be in parallel with the industrial demands. Industry needs higher educated people who are skilled and who can drive our economy forward. Following this, the role of academician has become much more challenging where their profile has broadened from a classroom lecturer to a professional and an industry expert.

Looking at the industry demands, academicians must move beyond the traditional teaching method and practice upgraded tool in the classroom. At CEDP Skill Institute, we hire industry professionals who are well versed with the current technology and aware of the future tools. This has enabled us to make several advancements in our curriculum, laboratory, classroom, kitchens and so on. Further to this, we are working towards bringing in Virtual reality in day-to-day training methods. For instance, transporting the students into a hospital setup or hotel kitchen right from their classroom for their respective training is very much possible. If you have the technologies at your disposal, why not make the most of it?

I believe students are aware of the business environment, which is under rapid evolution, influencing the employment scenario globally. To make the cut, students should embrace the concept of lifelong learning, as just having a formal education degree will not be enough to have a successful career. Enrolling for industry-relevant skill courses and upskilling courses will not only aid you in getting a job but also make a pivotal contribution in excelling in it right from the start. Furthermore, students should also focus towards acquiring soft skills, which are not industry-specific, but it trains you on things like digital literacy, creative problem solving, critical thinking and the ability to work with a team and so on. (As told to the editor)

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WHISTLING WOODS INTERNATIONAL

Introducing a Brand-New Model of Media Education in India

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ccording to an Assocham-PwC joint study, the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is estimated to touch around Rs 3.73 lakh crore by 2022, led by increasing disposable income, population and content consumption across various formats. While the demand for workforce is on the rise, there has been a shortage in the number of qualified professionals who possess the relevant skills for jobs within each subsector. Meghna Ghai Puri, President of Whistling Woods International (WWI), opines, “For decades, India has confronted the paradox of possessing a massive workforce while simultaneously contending with a perennial shortage of skilled professionals. There are many reasons for this state of affairs – a massive population base; the traditional education system, which prioritises rote learning over critical thinking; a limited selection of options for higher education; and the loss of our best and brightest to foreign shores. In order to tackle this situation and fully unlock India’s human potential, many vital steps must be taken on an urgent basis.”

The most vital step is to increase educational spending by both the public and private sectors. By opening and expanding primary and secondary schools and increasing the base quality of education available to everyone, India can come one step closer to raising a generation, ready and willing to contribute to the wider job market and overall economy. Meghna Ghai Puri adds, “Increased funding for public and private universities will have a similar impact at the higher education level, producing industry-ready graduates. Raising the bar for education will also incentivise our finest minds to stay in India and work towards its long-term development, over taking their talents elsewhere.” While the government works towards taking these steps, private institutes like Whistling Woods International (WWI) has been instrumental in offering alternate educational pathways. By promoting the field of film, communication and creative arts, WWI uses its expertise in these sectors to diversify India’s workforce and produce world-class professionals in the Media and Entertainment industry.

Bridging the Skill-Gap “At WWI, we offer platform to students to turn their passion into career. The teachings are imparted in such a way that they gain and build different qualities like team ability, excellent communication, administrative skill, creative thinking and great visual sense. The various exercises and practical sessions help them become detail-oriented and develop the required good visual acumen and hand-eye coordination, as well as the communication and interpersonal skills necessary to work with directors, producers, actors, and the other members of the film and media industry,” explains Meghna Ghai Puri. Considered as Asia’s premier Film, Communication and Creative Arts institute, WWI consists of a progressive academia that caters to various competencies.

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The institute offers degree and diploma programmes accredited by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) , that vary in duration from 1 year to 4 years catering to all major verticals of the Media and Entertainment industry.

“We have always believed in world-class education. The campus is frequented by professionals from the industry for guest lectures, masterclasses, workshops and practical sessions. Our students have the unique opportunity to interact and impress their future employers while still learning from them. The calibre of WWI trainees ensures meaningful association with the industry,” assures Meghna Ghai Puri.

The curriculum at WWI is a unique hybrid of theoretical and practical knowledge, ensuring that the creative dovetails well with the business aspects. The teaching methodology at WWI is designed to ensure that the students’ learning is collaborative and industry-oriented. In addition to education, the institute also has interests in research, development, emerging technologies and workflows in the Media and Entertainment industry. “We are highly committed to ensuring that our students move into the industry in creative and rewarding areas of employment. Over the past 13 years, we have proactively prepared a niche for our students in several key media industry areas – production houses, animation and design companies, fashion houses and M&E organisations.”

WWI alumni are currently working at several leading media organisations both in India and overseas - like Dharma Productions, Yashraj Films, Excel Entertainment, FoxStar Studios India, Mukta Arts Ltd, Phantom Pictures, Prime Focus, Technicolor, Zee TV, Double Negative, Weta Digital, Sony Imageworks, NDTV, Pocket Aces, Red Chillies Entertainment, Seventy Seven Events, Star TV, Times Now, TVF, Culture Machine, Tommy Hilfiger, and several more.

Since its first batch graduated in 2008, WWI has graduated over 1900 students and most of them are very gainfully employed in the Indian and global Media and Entertainment industry. Meghna Ghai Puri proudly shares, “Our students and alumni have gone on to be part of some of India’s best film and creative arts content created in the past decade.

They have started fashion labels, music labels, animation and VFX studios and have moved on to highly gainful and successful professional accomplishments across the world.

WWI alumni today literally span the earth, working in all locations from Canada to New Zealand.”

Starting from the very first batch, the students of WWI have always made a mark in the industry. Not only Hindi and other cinema, WWI alumni are successfully working with visual, print and online media. They are engaged with the biggest names in animation, graphics, VFX, as well as collaborating with leading fashion houses, designers and brands. “There are many WWI students who are continuously

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Higher Education Digest November 2019

Meghna Ghai Puri, President

Meghna Ghai Puri is the President of Whistling Woods International and has been involved in setting it up since its inception in 2001. A Business Management graduate from Kings College London, University of London, Meghna also spearheaded Marketing & International Distribution activities for India’s leading Production & Entertainment companies, Mukta Arts Ltd. At WWI, she has spearheaded the launch of 7 schools in Film, Communication & the Creative Arts. These schools run degree & diploma courses in Film & TV, Acting, Animation, Fashion, Media & Communication, VFX, Game Design, Visual Communication Design & Music Composition. In 2015, Meghna was awarded with the prestigious Honorary Fellowship by UK’s Bradford College for her contribution to Media Education.

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mesmerising the industry with their professionalism and stellar attitude. Our alumni’s success is our greatest achievement and they make us proud every day with their new, unique achievements,” shares Meghna Ghai Puri.

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Contributing to the Industry Industry collaborations are critical in the education field, as it contributes immensely towards the skill development of the students. Having the right industry collaboration not only enhances the theoretical knowledge, but also helps students hone their creative skillsets. Meghna Ghai Puri says, “We have always believed in collaborating with the best in the industry, in order to offer the best to our students.” WWI has partnered with several global Film, Media and Technology giants to set up four Technology and Innovation Labs on campus, which include Sony Media Technology Centre in 2010, Red Education Platform in 2015, Foxconn Media Lab in 2016, and WWI Jio VR Lab in 2018.

WWI is a key contributor to the Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC) of India. The Founder and Chairman of WWI, Subhash Ghai is the Chairman of the MESC. “Our institute is a member of CILECT – the world’s premier association of Film and Creative Arts institutions. CILECT’s 170 member institutions in 50+ countries, enable credit transfers, student and faculty exchange programme for WWI,” shares Meghna Ghai Puri. In addition to that, WWI regularly seeks research partnerships with other institutions to explore the multiple emerging fields of education, which can be incorporated into its curriculum to enhance student learning, the latest being an association with IIT Gandhinagar in the field of Cognitive Science.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

On the other side, the Career Resource Centre at WWI has a very strong industry connect and reaches out to this network to fetch opportunities for students of our various schools. “The students, during their academic sessions at WWI, have an opportunity to work on various live projects, events and other avenues in different capacities.

They work on festivals and events like MAMI, Comic Con, Jagran, FICCI Frames, Big Boys Toys and many others,” states Meghna Ghai Puri. Students of filmmaking work on several projects and make a short 10-15minutes diploma film in their final year, which is promoted at various national and international film festivals by the institute.

The School of Media and Communication at WWI offers an 8-week Summer internship to students as a part of their BBA and PGD curriculum. The internships are in areas of PR, Advertising and Brand Management, Events, Journalism, Audio Visual Production, Marketing, Social Media, Brand Services and so on. Meghna Ghai Puri adds, “This helps them get hands-on industry knowledge in areas of their interest and enables them work on their weaknesses before their final placements. They also help organise and execute several student and marketing events at the institute, which too offers them a hands-on experience.”

The filmmaking students post their course completion, work with TV, Digital, Film Production Houses and Studios, Wedding companies and many more. “Our fashion graduates work with stylists, designers, and fashion brands after their course completion and even work on projects during their course to understand the whole design process and business of brands. These students also put up a final graduation show in the last term,” shares Meghna Ghai

As an institute of international standard, WWI ensures that its curriculum combines theoretical, practical and industry interface for students, with an exposure to management topics and contextual studies

Puri. Considering that WWI has Schools of Filmmaking, Animation & Game Design, Acting, Fashion, Music, Media and Communication, and Design, students have an opportunity to work in various areas of the Media and Film business and collaborate with students/alumni from these schools on various projects.

With the Mumbai campus well established, WWI is strongly looking at expansion both in terms of programme verticals and campuses. WWI is at various stages of establishment of additional campuses both within India and outside, in partnership with governments and like-minded organisations. Meghna Ghai Puri says, “Our vision is to create an even greater state-of-the-art academic institution

that sets new standards of world-class education in film, communication and creative arts.” The institution aims to inspire innovation and encourage creativity, by leading from the front in the field of media and entertainment.

Indeed, the ultimate dream of Meghna Ghai Puri is to have an institution that hones and promotes talent from the age group of 5 to 50. “We want every creative person who wishes to make a career in this dynamic industry to receive top-quality education and be successful in what they do.

We are also in talks with various state governments, as it’s our endeavour to build more such schools that aren’t just a film institute but a communication and media oasis,” concludes Meghna Ghai Puri.

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ACADEMIC VIEW

India Requires Entrepreneurship Education to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By Dr. Lalit Sharma, Faculty, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India Dr. Lalit Sharma is an academician, researcher and trainer in the field of entrepreneurship. His area of expertise is youth entrepreneurship development and training. The other areas of interest include women entrepreneurship, HRM & Organizational Behaviour. He guides FPM scholars, teaches post-graduate students, grooms budding entrepreneurs and conducts research in the areas of youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education.

Dr. Sharma specializes in Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Entrepreneurial Lab, Creativity & Innovations and Entrepreneurial Effectiveness. He is actively engaged in the national research projects of the Government of India on entrepreneurship development. He is also well-recognized as a corporate trainer by industrial associations like BIA. His research articles on entrepreneurship have been widely published in several reputed international journals.

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ntrepreneurship is regarded as the ultimate determining factor for the industrial growth of any country or region. India is in the midst of an entrepreneurial wave as it is emerging as one of the most exciting entrepreneurial societies in the world.

Various government initiatives like Make in India, Startup India, and Skill India are intended to transform the Indian economy into an ‘entrepreneurial’ from the ‘managerial’ one. Though India is witnessing several initiatives in this direction, it requires yet more sustained efforts in the domain of entrepreneurship education. There are a few institutes which offer entrepreneurship education as a discipline, and there are some that offer it as a part of their wider syllabus. But the question remains whether these initiatives are enough to push entrepreneurship to a scale that India desires.

On hindsight, it is good to note that society is waking up to the charms of entrepreneurship and holds the discipline in high esteem.

Having said that let me add, while entrepreneurship has become easy

In the developing world, entrepreneurship is picking up gradually and the orientation towards secure, salaried jobs still predominates.

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to pursue, the inhibitions associated with the discipline have not got wiped out completely. Studies reveal that a majority of the youth in our country is still interested in securing a well-paying job; very few take the conscious decision to pursue entrepreneurship as career. A few examples of failure further discourage potential entrepreneurs.

Education strengthens the most important part of an entrepreneurial environment viz. culture or value. A recent study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) revealed that entrepreneurship education in academic curriculum is an important factor in encouraging effective youth entrepreneurship. According to the report, a culture of experiential learning will provide students an opportunity to learn from the professional world and thereby assist them in their entrepreneurial journey. Therefore, the report establishes that entrepreneurs are not necessarily born but could be nurtured and developed through training as well. The GEM report, therefore, suggests introduction of entrepreneurship in school education too.

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It is a common observation that in countries where entrepreneurship has been flourishing the most; management and professional institutions play a key role in promoting entrepreneurship and reducing employment dependency.

Institutions in these countries design structured entrepreneurship programs and courses to ensure that students give a thought to the charms that accrue out of entrepreneurship.

In the developing world, entrepreneurship is picking up gradually and the orientation towards secure, salaried jobs still predominates. However, on the flip side, what needs a mention is that these countries are experiencing a scenario where job opportunities are fast shrinking; thus giving ample reasons to promote entrepreneurship. Let me quote from a study by ASSOCHAM. It says that excluding a few top management institutions, more than five thousand management institutions in our country are producing “unemployable� sub-par graduates, earning less than Rs 10,000 a month if at all they find placements. Most of the well-known corporates pick the best management graduates of the country, leaving a large section to fend for themselves and settle for meagre salaries. Against this backdrop, entrepreneurship appears even more powerful.

Various stakeholders like the government, academicians, researchers and the private sector play an important role in enabling an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Government, as a policymaker, lays down path for emerging entrepreneurs to follow while academicians, researchers and private sector, as executors in different value chains, support them for new enterprise creation. Though efforts are being undertaken by academia in promoting entrepreneurship education, a lot is yet to be done in this respect if India wants to resolve the issue of unemployment.

The important point here is that entrepreneurship is also guided by knowledge like any other discipline; its intriguing nuances need to be understood in order to succeed, and these can be learnt. Courses on entrepreneurship, like the one Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad offers, develop an individual to constantly analyse opportunities and take initiatives based on calculated risks.

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They are trained in creating, developing and nurturing an enterprise by imparting knowledge on procedures, formalities, legal aspects, markets, business environment, skills of managing people, money, material and markets.

The emphasis is also on building an aptitude to manage risks appropriately, take quick decisions and face ambiguities successfully. All this is strongly backed by soft skills. So, the curriculum is focussed on creating owner-managers and family business successors.

Strengthening entrepreneurship education will impact the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem as it will ensure development of skills required to generate an entrepreneurial mindset and will develop future leaders who solve more complex and integrated problems. It will also be helpful to most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who wish their second/third generation to grow their family businesses. In India, most of the businesses are family-owned and most of these businesses do not have a succession plan.

According to PricewaterhouseCooper’s India Family Business Survey 2016, barely 15 per cent of the family businesses in India have a welldocumented succession plan in place.

Since entrepreneurship is closely connected to innovation, education in emerging economies will also have to focus on raising the innovation capabilities of budding entrepreneurs/students in order to ensure higher success ratio. The development of any country is directly linked to its innovation potential. More developed economies tend to have higher levels of education and more diverse industry-sector profiles.

This, coupled with advanced technologies, encourages new-age entrepreneurs to become more innovative.

Government policies are enhancing their potential to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, it is a matter of time before these initiatives translate into a booster dose for entrepreneurship development in India. Apart from improvement in education and training, along with government policies, factors like financial support, economic climate, commercial infrastructure and cultural and social norms play pivotal role in growth of entrepreneurship in India.

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