Train the Trainer Programme for Mass Communication and Journalism Teachers

IIMC took the first initiative in the country five decades ago to evolve an academic curricula in the fields of journalism and mass communication including advertising, public relations, visual communication(graphic, videographics, infographics, photography and films), traditional folk media and development communication. Such academic endeavors of IIMC have become the basic models for the journalism and mass communication education in India and many other countries.

 Today in India, there is a mushrooming growth of journalism and mass communication courses in the central and the state universities and their affiliated colleges, private institutions and the schools run by the media houses, To cope with the growing demand for professionally trained personnel in media and the fast changing media platforms there is need and concern for imbibing changing professional skill and outlook in media teachers in the country.

In the absence of any regulatory body for Journalism / Mass Communication Education, Research and Training on the lines of Indian Council of Medical Education, Bar Council of India or Institute of Chartered Accountants.

IIMC is undertaking a new initiative and extending its co-operation in the development of qualitative learning methods and production of educational materials for Mass Communication and Journalism education.

In an endeavor to make improvement in the present media education, IIMC is instituting a Train the Trainer Programme. This effort may provide an opportunity to a large section of the teacher community to update their skills and knowledge. It may set the uniform teaching standards across the country and may help the institutions and colleges in getting trained teachers and developing need based curricula.

The Train the Trainer Programme

The Train the Trainer Programme is planned as an integrated development programme taking into account the present trends of convergence of media, changing roles of the communicators and the technological developments with the objectives:

- To develop quality training and evaluation techniques for Journalism and mass communication education

- To develop higher specialization, skill and competence in the teaching comunity

-To standardized the blend of practice and theory to achieve professionalism

-To equip the teachers to improve, enhance and develop the curricula to cater to growing needs

-To make need assessment and provide guidelines to keep pace with the changing needs of media Industry as well as teaching/training.

The Training Methodology

The Train theTrainer programes intent to help beginner and practicing teachers develop their own individual styles of training, while equipping them with the skills and knowledge that are necessary to create interactive, experiential and effective learning environments in the class room. The programme will be organized in a dynamic, participant-centered, multi-sensory learning format to re-energize the participants.

The training methodology will include knowledge building through lecture demonstration, group discussion, and role play to integrate the knowledge in teaching and sample lecture plans as well as case studies.

Course Contents in Train the Trainer Programme

To cater to the growing need of up-gradation of skills and knowledge the course content under this programme will tend to update participants on the latest trends and issues in media.

Media convergence is the most significant development in the media industry in the last century. The ability to interchange text, audio, and visual communication over the Internet has fundamentally transformed the way media organizations operate. Convergence has enabled media companies to gather, disseminate, and share information over a variety of platforms. Throughout the history of journalism, it has been common for journalists to study one medium, such as traditional print or broadcast, and to anticipate a career working only in their chosen field. However, the 21st century journalist has fluidity to write and deliver media content in a variety of formats.

To cope with this situation the teachers will be benefited if inputs on specific sub areas are provided. Inputs on the subjects like:- Defining New Media, Visual Journalism (Graphic Communication, infographics, animation, vidiographics digital photography),  On line news flow, Internet Publishing, Web Radio, Online resource building, public affairs, corporate, business and development communication etc. require regular updates to the teachers to integrate new ideas within the syllabus.

The types of courses offered under this programme are as follow:

1. Basic Orientation Courses for Lecturers/Asst. Professors

Duration: Three to Five Days

Contents: Specific Emerging Topics

2. Workshops for Readers/ Associate Professors

Duration: Three to Five days

Contents: On Latest concepts, trends and technology

3. Seminars/Workshops for Department Heads

Duration: One to Three days

Contents: Curricula Development, Integrated use of new terms and concepts, resource share etc.