The Higher Education Review

With the advent of digital technologies, we have entered into a glorious time of content and media. While, many media com-panies have started investing huge sums of money in non-traditional media delivery options, India's Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is set to grow at a faster pace of 10.55 percent CAGR and it will touch USD 45.1 billion by 2021, up from USD 27.3 billion at the end of 2016, according to consulting firm PwC. This has resulted in unique job opportunities in various areas of mass communication, whether it is Advertising, Public Relations, Broadcast Journalism, Event Management, Production, film industry and so on. At the forefront of creating modern day media professionals who have the right mix of traditional and digital skills, Azaz Rizvi College of Journalism & Mass Communication (ARCJMC) is situated at Lucknow. Established in the year 2005 by the visionary Late Prof. Sheema Rizvi (Ex ­ Minister, UP Government), the institute imparts quality media education to the young generation, emphasizing on the practical aspects of the evolving media industry.

"At ARCJMC, the students are taught what is Industry related with a focus on practical inputs rather than theoretical knowledge. We follow a structured and stout curriculum that is rich in sub-stance and applicable to the industry standard," says Asif Z Rizvi, Director, ARCJMC. The curriculum of ARCJMC emphasises on providing the students with skill-oriented courses and making them con-front with the competitive world. Currently, ARCJMC offers traditional media programmes like BA & MA in

Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC), along with 12 and 18 months Post Graduate Diploma Courses in Print/Electronic Media, required for the profession. Student to faculty ratio at ARCJMC is 15:1, making an apt equation to build up a strong relation between them. "Our Chief Mentor, Ratan Mani Lal, a journalist with over 41 years of experience in working with mainstream English and Hindi newspapers, gives constant inputs in the syllabus and makes a point that we keep it at par with the changing trends of the me-dia industry," pinpoints Rizvi. To augment the practical learning aspects of JMC programme, ARCJMC arranges various seminars, workshops, interactions with media professionals and so on.

Considering practical training as an important part of the academics, ARCJMC provides their students with top-notch facilities that are at par with the industry. The institute has constructed one of the finest Electronic Media studios, which has separate News Room, an Editing studio, a research-oriented library and so on.

'Job ­ Ready' from the 'Day One'
ARCJMC has an excellent placement record with most of its alumni members working in leading television production companies, Newspaper agencies, PR & Event Management firms, advertising agencies and so on. "We con-duct pre-placement activities throughout the year, which involves the students in facing the industry from a closer proximity and the industry too could easily judge their hidden talents thereby direct them towards a rewarding career," explains Rizvi.

Some of the media companies inducting the ARCJMC students are Live Today, Kanwhizz Times, Swatantra Bharat, AAG, Voice of Lucknow, Hindustan Times, Punjab Kesri, Grey RC&M, E-TV, AIR, Lokmat, Zee News, ABP News, Business Standard, Amar Bharti, DainikJagran, Radio Mirchi, India Media Relations (IMR PR) and many more. "We have secured a successful record of 70 percent placement every year with students

bagging annual packages ranging from Rs. 1.80 ­ 4.20 lakhs PA," adds Rizvi.

ARCJMC has built a strong alumni association, which is responsible for the strong links between the institution and the Industry. "Most of the industry experts are senior media professionals apart from our alumnus working with reputed media organizations. They visit our institution as guest faculty to make our students understand about the pros and cons of the media industry," says Rizvi.

"ARCJMC has an excellent placement record with most of its alumni members working in leading television production companies, Newspaper agencies, PR & Event Management firms, advertising agencies and so on"

Often ranked among the top ten media institutes across the country, ARCJMC maintains a very industry-specific and student-oriented curriculum. The institution earned awards from media houses like ABP News, ET Now, DNA for 'Quality in Media Education' & for imparting 'Indus-try Related Academic Input Curriculum in Communications Management'. With an extra-ordinary record of accomplishment of accomplishments, the management of ARCJMC is in a move to create a university named Azaz Rizvi University. "We are striving to become one of the top media schools of international repute, hence, creating a niche for ourselves in the field of media education," summarizes Rizvi.

Asif Z Rizvi, Director
A throughout topper and gold medalist in PG Diploma (Mass Communication), MBA (Marketing), LLB & Geography Hon's graduate from AMU, Aligarh, Rizvi has a corporate experience of over 22 years and13 years of teaching experience in organizations and institutions of repute. He believes, "The biggest challenge to media men of tomorrow is to ride change. It's imperative that they develop competencies that are timeless, environment independent and indeed inherently evolutionary."