Journalism students have a sense of what makes news and what a good news story would look like, says Admissions head

Deputy Director-Admissions & Outreach at Jindal School of Journalism and Communication Arpit Solanki speaks in-depth about the genesis of the institute in an interview with Shiksha.com. He discusses in great depth the numerous programmes that are available, the application process, and the selection criteria, among other things. Solanki also talks about various key differentiating factors that helps the institute stand out among other institutes offering similar programmes.

Solanki discovered his interest in education industry long back. He is instrumental in creation and launch of New-Age courses in Cloud Technology, Cyber security, Data Science, Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence and more with multiple universities in Northern & Western India. He has been an expert career counsellor and addressed more than a lac students & parents for almost five-year consecutively

Read the complete interview in detail.

Q: Tell us a brief about your Jindal School of Journalism and Communication

A: As India’s first global media school, the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication provides a vibrant scholarly setting for the study of journalism, film and new media studies. In today’s increasingly digital, interdisciplinary and interconnected environment, our students acquire the skills and knowledge to question the status quo. We emphasize both theory and practice, enabling our students to take a mindful approach to storytelling. Jindal School of Journalism and Communication emphasizes hands-on multimedia training, a rigorous writing programme and the interdisciplinary social sciences, making us compatible with international media schools. Our students graduate with a greater understanding of the world, with technical skills in radio, film and TV production and find their feet as writers and storytellers.

Q: What makes Jindal School of Journalism and Communication stand out from the other institutes?

A: BA (Hons) Journalism and Media Studies Our B.A. Honours in Journalism and Media Studies creates a vibrant space for students to emerge as the storytellers of the future. Today’s Internet Age has brought on the challenge of engaging audiences. Newsrooms are changing. Storytellers are expected to create engaging and credible content for all kinds of digital platforms in multimedia formats. We equip our students for the newsrooms of the future through studio-based production and writing. We take a liberal-arts, interdisciplinary approach. Specialisations include radio and television, data journalism, reporting climate and policy change, reporting conflict, migration, religion and caste, gender and sexuality. Students also learn to situate journalism in the overall context of media and society, where they engage with issues of trust, misinformation, and bias. B.A. (Hons) Film and New Media Our B.A. Honours in Film and New Media will incur a deep familiarity with video and film in all its genres with special emphasis on documentary or narrative non-fiction. The rise of OTT platforms has led to a proliferation of content for both, national and regional audiences, resulting in a surge of demand for filmmakers and screenplay writers. Our curriculum takes a liberal arts approach to filmmaking in a world of new media. Our students will combine their technical skills in writing, moving images and sound with interdisciplinary foundations in the social sciences. Moreover, they will learn to appreciate and engage with film through their studies in audio and visual culture. Specializations include direction, screenwriting, cinematography, sound, editing, animation, gaming and film appreciation.

Teaching methodology

Our teaching methodology marries theory and practice. We take a critical design practice approach where our students use their theoretical understanding to inform their craft and vice versa. Both of our programmes emphasize liberal arts foundations and a rigorous practice in writing, video production and sound design.

Q: Apart from academics what other aspects of a student are checked while selection.

A: We appreciate students who read books and watch films. Our students are deeply passionate about what they do. Journalism students have a sense of what makes news and what a good news story would look like. They follow current affairs avidly and spend their time discussing media coverage to various topics. Film students spend their time watching film, reading about film or discussing film. They are also interested in performing arts like theatre or music. Alternatively, they are interested in the visual arts from traditional crafts to digital arts and visual effects.

Q: What are some initiatives being taken/planned by Jindal School of Journalism and Communication to make its student’s industry ready?

A: We emphasize internships through compulsory internship credits. JGU's Office of Career Services enables our students to find internships that leverage their skills and are in line with their career goals. Our curriculum is benchmarked to international industry standards. We are also signing Memorandums of Understanding with industry partners such as IndiaSpend, India's first Data Journalism platform, CivicDataLab and Hasgeek.

Q: As a School, How does Jindal School of Journalism and Communication ensure that students gets extra exposure apart from academics?

A: Jindal School of Journalism and Communication has memorandums of understanding with 22 international partners. Our students may go for a semester abroad with any of our partners around the globe. At times, we also arrange Short Term Study Abroad programmes hosted by our international partners. Most recently, our students have attended University of California-Berkeley, Koc University in Istanbul and IDC Herzilya in Israel. Some of our students have also attended online courses at the University of Sydney during the pandemic.