Indian Institute of Mass Communication Review By Dwarkesh Joshi

I passed out from IIMC in 2017 and was not much satisfied but studying and working alongside the best people of the industry was a great experience. I am proud that I am IIMCian and also have nostalgia but I would like to answer some of the most researched or talked about questions in my review. Why one should do journalism? Often, we say journalists are boring or this is not how journalism should be done. Why don’t you come and change it then? Things won't change unless people step up and that was one of the main reasons for me doing mass comm. I will be honest as I was fascinated by the influence and power that media has today. If you have expectations of earning a high package or have a passion to write something new and fresh then get into journalism. In the diploma, there are 4 specializations and I did PR & Ad. The course is not even a 12 months course; it’s actually a 10 months course. If I again be honest then I would say, I felt like I am on some picnic with assignments to be submitted in a specific timeline.

The semesters started after Diwali and all of a sudden, we were done with the semesters as in March, we had exams. After a month’s break, we were assigned a two months internship. I got to work under one of the best Prahalad Kakkar. Many even got the opportunity to work under Prasoon Joshi and the country’s some of the best PR agencies. Mumbai is the hub but almost all the PR and Ad agencies have their offices in NCR. Before Diwali, we had our finals done and a month later we were awarded our degrees.

The Mass Communication field has mostly the visiting faculties. People from various media houses and journalists of all fields whether they are covering sports, politics, or crimes were the ones who took lectures almost every week. College faculty too were the ones who had past experience of working as a journalist or in some Ad agencies. Ad world is huge and realizing its potential was the biggest thing that our faculty taught us. I was glad that I got to get inputs from the stalwarts of the journalism industry as I can say they were my faculty.

One needs to understand that journalism is a game of patience. In the initial days, journalism is one of the least paid jobs and sometimes, we even have to pay from our own pockets to get the job done. I wish I knew it before I would have taken the job from the campus itself. I went with higher studies and denied a job as an assistant ad maker in one of the biggest houses of print media. In lockdown, nothing worked but print media shone and is likely to take over.

IIMC campus had two hostels and one was getting built. One was reserved for PG students and one was shared between the diploma students and officers. The hostel was good but was only for non-Delhiites. Delhiites stand no chance to see the hostel from inside or even apply for the hostel.

IIMC is inside the JNU campus and all the facilities of the JNU campus were made accessible to the students of IIMC. Library which was an old age library, canteen that served just a handful of items and trees that could have easily made this place called forest but many buildings between the trees saved it from being called that. Many considered it to be a nice green campus but the institute needs to advance as the studio of the institute was an old age one. Not just that even the auditorium was shared between JNU and IIMC. Our college management had to take prior permission from JNU to hold our meetings and events in that auditorium. IIMC hardly has anything of its own and that in a way has gone against the college.

In this section, I will answer why one should choose IIMC? IIMC is good for sure it’s just that they lack some facilities but the connections that the institute has are overwhelming. IIMC has placed its students in all the big media houses of the country. Almost all ex-alumnus of the college can be found in the advertising, PR, and media industries. I think I should share a trivia and here it is that founding members of Lalantop are alumnus of IIMC. Even if you take placement from the IIMC campus, it gives you an edge when you try to find a job in the market. IIMC campus will give you the best exposure and learning experience by sitting beside some of the big names of the industry. I learn how to do the groundwork before finalizing and this is the biggest skill required in the field of journalism.