The Higher Education Review

Offering abundant career opportunities to candidates which are not only high salaried but also ensure job satisfaction and expression of ingenuity, the courses of mass media and communication have gained wide admiration across the country with many new-age budding journalists eager to step into the podium. Established to provide high quality, professional and affordable inclusive quality higher education for sustainable development of the society in the State of Jharkhand and nearby states in the region, Usha Martin University (UMU) has set benchmarks for itself across the media and mass communication education arena.

With a vision to provide value-based education relevant for all, nurture local talent, support the creation of excellence in teaching, learning and research, produce high-quality innovative graduates and contribute toward sustainable development of the state, the university strives to promote innovative strategies for seamless dissemination and creation of knowledge using latest techniques, available media and technologies.

Creating A Technology-Rich Learning Environment
As its mission, Usha Martin University urges its graduates to acquire skills for acquiring suitable employment and contribute with a sense of service to the national and global knowledge pool. “There are so many pain points from under performance syndrome to politico- bureaucratic interference. Moreover, graduates of Indian Universities do not possess analytical and problem- solving skills due to overemphasis on rote learning and so on.

To address some of the issues, we are creating a technology-rich learning environment, appoint highly qualified and hardworking teachers and conduct capacity-building programmes regularly. Imparting outcome-based learning and curricula which are revised regularly, the UMU offers admission in a wide spectrum of programmes ranging from Management and Commerce to Engineering, Computers and Health Science, which would enable our learners to be competent employees as well as

entrepreneurs in their own right,” states Prof. S.C. Garg, Vice-Chancellor, Usha MartinUniversity.

Including Media and Mass communication education, the various other programmes offered by UMU are comparable with the best in the country. With the latest course curriculum for all degree programmes, the University imparts training in skills and competencies necessary for the present- day world of work. “UMU offers cost-effective programmes and all our teachers in journalism and mass communication department are PhD holders. Apart from providing bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication, we soon intend to introduce PhD in the coming academic session. To equip our students with industry-relevant skills, we are training our learners in a/v (academic program) film production, editing with photoshop and adobe.

“UMU offers cost-effective programmes and all our teachers in journalism and mass communication department are PhD holders”

Our faculties are trained in newer technological skills which enable us to offer advanced education but we are also using novel technologies in the classroom to create a more pragmatic approach while imparting knowledge. During Covid-19 lockdown, online classes were held and teachers were trained to hold monitored online examinations. Conducting FDP regularly in online education and curricular development, we ensure that our faculty members are completely aware of the latest developments in the education sector,” adheres Prof. S.C. Garg.

Awards and Recognitions
Usha Martin University, Ranchi, which is one of the fast emerging highly innovative and rapidly growing universities in Jharkhand, was conferred the ISO 9001:2015 Certification on June 21, 2018, to duly recognize and acknowledge its various educational and training courses/programs. On 20th October 2020, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. S.C Gargmwas conferred the ‘Most Inspiring Vice-Chancellor Award’ by Dynergic Business Solution. Apart from being conferred with E-Lead certification by QS I Gauge, UMU is the first university in Jharkhand to be certified for digital competence.

Steadily thriving since its inception, UMU has been awarded with the ‘Best Innovative University- East’, during themagnificent 'ASSOCHAM

National Education Awards 2020', held on 19th February 2020 in Ranchi (Jharkhand). In recognition of outstanding and positive accomplishments that University made towards society and the educational fellowship, the Academic Insights has chosen UMU as the ‘University of the Year for Faculty Excellence 2019’.Apart from receiving the award for ‘Excellence in Training & Placements’ during the '14th World Education Awards 2019' organized by elets in Delhi from August 9-10, UMU has also been awarded ‘Best University of East India’ during the mega educational event ‘7th DIALOGUE INDIA Academia Awards 2019’ held in UAE on 2nd May 2019.

Offering merit-based scholarships, where female students are given the advantage of 10% in the exam score, the University holds an excellent placement record. While all willing students of various graduating cohorts have been placed at various corporate conglomerates, the University is entering into MOUs with corporates like Tata Steels. The University has created a niche for itself through workshops coordinated by internal as well as external experts. To name a few, the UMU conducted a workshop on Fake News where participants from many other universities also participated and Koha workshop was held for library professionals. Various workshops and seminars such as the development of expertise in internal faculty for outcome-based teaching- learning, online education, and the use of LMS have been conducted by the University.

“We are working towards more intense industry-university collaboration, establishing an incubation centre and instituting chairs for innovations led sustainable development in Agriculture and tribal development. As of now, internal grants are provided to the faculty for executing research projects, in addition to the support for participation in conferences and workshops for paper presentations and publications. We wish to promote research further and get external funding in entrepreneurship in collaboration with EDI, Ahmadabad,” concludes Prof. S.C. Garg.

Vikram Bhojia, Secretary, Bhojia Charitable Trust
His vision and expertise in the sector has been the driving factor behind the growth of Bhojia Dental College & Hospital. With him at the helm, the college is aiming to develop into one of the finest colleges in the country dealing with dental sciences, education and research.