IIMC Delhi transforming with new courses, more seats; aims for NAAC grade, NIRF rank

NEW DELHI: The newly-earned deemed-to-be university status has opened many doors for the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC Delhi). It has plans to launch master’s degree courses, expand infrastructure and recruit teachers. Professor and dean, academics, Govind Singh spoke to Careers360 about the changes, becoming eligible for government grants, experience with admissions through the Common University Entrance Test, and more. Edited excerpts.

Q. How long did it take to receive the deemed university status?

A. The process for getting the deemed university status started in 2010 itself. In between it would get stuck. In 2016, it was finally taken seriously. First, a committee was sent by the UGC [University Grants Commission] to check on the preparedness. The committee visited the institute and its five regional centres. In other centres there was no regular staff or permanent buildings. They refused. In 2017-18, another team visited and said we could start the process as land had been acquired in various places. Construction of buildings had also started.

In 2019, we received a letter of intent asking us to fulfil some of the conditions. These included building staff strength, building, infrastructure and others. Importantly, we had to start new departments in emerging areas of communication. It had to be courses which were not running anywhere else. It had to be in niche and emerging areas and had to be masters courses. Then there was the COVID-19 pandemic and another two years passed.

Last year, on the basis of an old application, we were told to start the process of fulfilling the conditions given in the letter of intent. We applied again in December 2023 but since the new regulations came in for the [grant of] deemed-university status, our application had to be changed as per the new UGC rules.

We now have to sign a memorandum of association with the UGC. A new vice-chancellor will be appointed.

Q. What are the niche courses you are looking at?

A. The courses are MA in new media, media and communication governance, strategic communication, media business management and health communication. Strategic communication will be little inclined towards defence and diplomacy. With health communication, health reporting will be more responsible, sensitive and
specialised. We will be able to start two of the courses this academic session. We have developed a course matrix for all and have given it for further detailed preparation.

Also read IIMC to launch masters’ programme, allow lateral entry after diploma courses

Q. With new courses, are new faculty being recruited by IIMC Delhi?

A. Since 2019 a lot of appointments have taken place. Twenty new assistant professor posts have been sanctioned; they will have to be recruited. We could get another 20.

While we have 582 seats for nine diploma courses. With new courses being started, the number will increase. Women constitute 56% of the students enrolled in the institute.

Q. What will be the required qualification of faculty now?

A. Earlier, industry experience is what we used to place a lot of focus on. But now we will have to follow the norms of the University Grants Commission, for which PhD is important. In the recently-conducted interview of two assistant professors, we received about 800 applications. We are open to taking a PhD with a multidisciplinary background but some aspects of the study will have to be related to mass communication.

Q. What happens to the already existing diploma courses?

A. These courses will remain. In the academic council we will discuss lateral entry in the second year for students who have completed the course. It will take time, as we have to fix the number of seats, since the ones passing first year will also graduate to the second year. There is no clarity as of now but this is our plan.

Also read UGC Category-1 Autonomy: State universities plan new courses but struggle with funds

Q. With new courses being started, are you also developing infrastructure?

A. We have very good buildings in Jammu, Aizawl and Kottayam. A new land has been acquired in Amravati. These will be called regional campuses of the university. We have around 15 acres in the headquarters and the process of building has already started. The CPWD [Central Public Works Department] has been given contracts. A hostel is being built as we acknowledge the shortage of it.

Q. How will the governance of IIMC change?

A. We were following the UGC for academic work. But we were flexible in case of appointments and gave a lot of importance to industry experience. In other universities there is not much focus on industry expertise. We will continue to give preference to industry experience, but now we will have to tweak our norms a little as per UGC guidelines.

Also read CUET UG: Admission delays, vacant seats, loss to students have universities seeking alternatives

Q. What will change for IIMC now?

A. We will be able to confer degrees and enrol PhD students. We will be able to receive funding from government agencies and also get UGC funding for projects. We can also take research projects and funding from the Indian Council of Historical Research, Indian Council for Social Science and Research and other agencies. We were not eligible earlier.

Now professors will be able to take research projects independently. We will also have to take NAAC accreditation [National Assessment and Accreditation Council] now and participate in the NIRF ranking [National Institute Ranking Framework].

Q. With IIMC becoming a university, what will the fee structure look like?

A. The fee will not increase, it will be rationalised. In certain diploma courses, such as advertising and PR, the fees are higher. It is around Rs 1,25,000 per year. In radio and TV, it is around Rs 1,60,000 per year. For digital media, at Rs 2,00,000 the fees is the highest. The fees of any department has not increased in the last five years.

Q. What is the scenario with IIMC placements?

A. In 2023, it was around 73% and in 2022, it was around 90%. As the entrance had been delayed, there was a slight drop in the number of students getting placed.

Advertising and public relations is the area where most students get placed, the number of seats is also high. The average salary is around Rs 30,000-40,000 per month. One of the students of the 2022-23 batch got a package of Rs 9.12 lakh per annum with S&P Global.

Q. What has been your experience being part of CUET PG?

A. Since 2020, the National Testing Agency has been conducting the entrance for us. In 2021-22, they conducted a test for IIMC where we had prepared the questions. But since last year, we have been part of CUET PG where students answer multiple choice questions. Earlier, when we conducted interviews, we would find very focused students, unlike now.