Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication MBA Review By Medha Shukla

I had always been a media enthusiast. So, studying media was like an old dream turning into reality. When I got the chance to study in Makhanlal, it was like a feather added to my cap. Whenever people come to know about my education from MCU, they get impressed knowing this fact. Established in 1992, MCU is the first university for journalism and mass communication. It was named after the great poet and journalist, Makhanlal Chaturvedi. It is affiliated from Public Relations Department of Madhya Pradesh. The admission in MCU is based on complete merit. An entrance exam is conducted also taking in concern the educational qualification. The college is approved by UGC and is funded by state government. The management of the college is comparatively better than many other government institutions.

I took admission in Department of Management for pursuing M.B.A in Media Management. The eligibility for this course is graduation from any stream from any reputed institution. Also, the entrance exams weightage is considered. On the basis of entrance result, a merit list is prepared and then after admission continues with document verification in the counseling process. I had already been a media graduate and further I wanted to have a management degree as well so that I can have the perks of both corporate job as well as academics. So, I researched about the course and found that a very few institutes are running this course. So, out of all I relied on MCU. The course is designed in a way that one can have an idea of both media as well as management. But I can say that 70% weightage is of media studies. If you do not have a media background and you want to pursue core management, this course is indeed a bad choice. The course has 4 different specialisation i.e., Corporate Communication, Advertising and Marketing Communication, Entertainment Communication and E- Commerce. All these specialisation are meant for different sectors in media. So, one can completely know about their choice of subject which further helps them to get a good job in their particular field of interest. In fact the specialisation makes it easy to choose a field.

The faculties in every department are well qualified and experienced. Be it academics or technical faculties, they are quite supportive. In my course, there are around 8 faculties. All of them are not from media background. Some are from management even. But they are well qualified. There are around 100 faculties in the college and maximum of them are NET qualified with an average 3-4 years of experience in teaching. Based on their age, the experience are different. But mostly all the faculties have a degree of PhD with a broad and clear understanding of media. Apart from teaching, they have good contacts in the media sector and the classes taken by them are really worthy. A few of the faculties mainly young ones are really quite knowledgeable and they guide their students well in shaping their future.

The training and placement cell of our college works enthusiastically. It is headed by Dr. Avinash Bajpai who is also the head of MBA department as well as the rector of the University. The placement is not that good as compared to other media institutes. Every year the same companies come for the placement like ETV, Zee Media, ABP News, Dainik Bhaskar and a few other local media houses. No PR agency or entertainment channel comes for the placement which is a matter of concern. The highest package has gone around Rs. 2.5 lacs p.a which is not worthy for a post graduate student. The average package received by the students of my department has been around Rs. 1.8 lacs p.a. by Zee Media. The last year placement was not good due to lockdown situation. But before that, a few small ad agencies and media houses conducted placement out of which only 30-40% of students got placed in a few companies.

The campus in M.P. Nagar is not a permanent campus and it has no hostel. In fact the hostel is located at some other place at an around 3-4 kms from the college campus. The permanent campus is still under construction and hasn't started yet. Very few students stay in the college hostel whereas most of them reside in private hostels and paying guests near the college locality. I have never been to the hostel of college but I have heard from a few friends. The rooms are not that spacious and the food quality is below average. The girls are given proper security. The hostel fees is quite low and people preferring low budget accommodation can live but the overall review hasn't been quite up to mark.

MCU is located in the heart of the city, Bhopal and has a very small campus. The campus contains only the academic building with administration in it. The administration area is different but is inside the same premises. There is a library in the academic building itself. The library is good and has a huge collection of books with a separate section for newspapers and magazines reading. Also there is a big production room and studio for audio and video recordings. There are enough equipments available and provides good quality for practical production. The classrooms are just like any other government institution but still has facilities like smart class and the departments are quite open and interactive kind of decorated with students creative pieces. The campus has a cafeteria which is below average. Only the tea and aloo paratha is up to mark. But it's a good place to have fun. There is no sports playground. The auditorium is in the academic building on the top floor and is well facilitated with sufficient seating capacity.

The overall campus life is quite recreational and as it should be for a media student. The college keeps on conducting events, workshops, industrial visits, conferences. The students get a complete opportunity to showcase their talent. The exposure is quite good in MCU for the field of media. The students can be seen with a camera busy in production activities most of the time. The college instigates the students to inculcate all the skills required for a media person. The annual fest named Pratibha is celebrated every year with full on participation and enthusiasm by students in different activities. It also includes sports activities and later the beat performers are awarded in an event which is marked by the presence of any reputed journalist. The students involve themselves in both co curricular and academic activities of the college. The campus is full of greenery and provides a proper space to the students to hangout, interact and have a beautiful memory as a part of their life.