NRAI School of Mass Communication Review By Nishant Kanani

NRAI was quite different from the my last institute Auro University because theory was equally important here as the practical. We had to study all the subjects related to journalism and then decide the one we feel are comfortable with. Your UG prospect will not work here as they say what you did before joining NRAI is all crap. It was a harsh reality because knowing something and mastering something are two different aspects. Here after the completion of theory, we are given choices as in which department we want to go. Mass Communication course provides jobs and career opportunities in various sectors such as television channels, social media platforms, radio channels, magazines, newspaper publication houses or ad agencies. To have a deep knowledge of the field we were thrown into the pool of specialization and getting an opportunity of working with the best was possible only at NRAI. Coming so far from my home was not alone my idea as I had my friend along but one thing for sure that everyone here is given equal chances and opportunities.

Almost all media companies require good publishers or writers and this is why mass comm graduates are always in demand. Academic was project-based learning after the first few months as initial 4 to 5 months were scheduled at the classes and we were taken only after that. If one thinks that mass communication students don't have to study then they are wrong because our theory was as tough and vast as any other course. Also, we had a very little time to study because everything was so fast paced here.

Faculty here did one of the best things and that was to build our inclination of working in this industry. Many students joined this curse as they felt like rather than doing something let’s take up this course. Faculty of NRAI has worked hard and long enough in the media industry to give us a perfect perspective of the same. They trained and worked with us in some real-life scenarios. Apart from this philosophy of publication and tone of writing that can engage the audience were also taught by our professors. The profiles of the guest faculty at the college were so strong and most of them don’t even need an introduction.

In this industry more than the college, it's you own skills that works. Institute has tie up with many media houses and therefore some big channels who needed people for publications were hired. The job offered was also as a trainee because I was offered the job write on politics. It was obvious that I hardly had any interest in politics but while working as a trainee, I developed the taste and now working as a junior writer for one of the biggest news channels in India. Placement may not have been given in accordance to what specialization we did but it was more of the jobs that were needed by the media houses and ad agencies that have tie-up with the institute.

The college is just a building and in Delhi, hostels are private as most people stay in private hostels. PG was suggested to us by one of our class mates and we took that as it was nearby college and we can come walking to the college in minutes. There are many PGs and one private boys' hostel close to the college. Delhi maybe the capital of India but boarding and lodging aren’t that expensive here as I would say they were just 15-20% higher than what we have in Surat.

One thing that NRAI believe is in changing. Technology is changing fast and NRAI has made sure that it provides students all the latest equipment such as jimmy jibs, cameras, lights, and rigs. The college’s studio wasn’t that big but importantly all the latest equipments were housed by the college. Guest lecturers were held on the top floor of the building that had a small auditorium and many students had to stand and attend that seminar as the seating were not sufficient. Infrastructure was latest but the space is not sufficient.

The club culture or the events on occasions was nowhere to be seen in Surat and that is why I was glad that I came to this part of the country. Students here have other ideas with respect to college life and it was a pretty cool idea to celebrate festivals at the campus. For annual event, students were asked to give it a shot. The three-hour program ended after the DJ played our song and we danced like ‘Yeah’. Life at NRAI never let me or friend as an outsider and we could easily mingle with the students of the college better than what I experienced in Surat.