The Eastern India Regional Centre of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) was started at Dhenkanal, Odisha, in the year 1993. It was the first regional centre started by IIMC and is nestled in the rural and tribal hinterland of Central Odisha. Located about 80 km off Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, the Centre is connected by both rail and road (NH-55).

The regional centre offers two courses i.e. Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism (English & Odia). Since 1993, the Centre has produced around 2000 media professionals. Most of them are working in leading mainstream national and international media organisations as well as government establishments and voluntary organisations.

With an idyllic 7.5-acre campus on the valley of Paniohaola (which means dew drops in Odia) Hill, an academic ambience, strong industry interface and deep alumni connect IIMC, Dhenkanal has earned the sobriquet: a national institute with international repute.

In addition to its two full-time Post Graduate Diploma programmes, the IIMC Dhenkanal Centre also offers short courses and training programmes to a range of government and quasi-government organisations. Presently, 68 seats are available for English Journalism course and 25 seats for Odia Journalism. However, the number of seats in Odia Journalism have been increased to 30 from the academic session 2024-25.

Facilities

The institute has a curated library, reading room and well-equipped computer labs, audio-visual lab, spacious and smart classrooms and auditorium with 150 seats, separate hostels for boys and girls, media museum, Yoga Hall, an outdoor gym, a spacious canteen and residential facility for faculty members.

Library: The campus has a library with a collection over 6000 books on different aspects of mass communication and media. The library subscribes to various Newspapers and Magazines/Periodicals in English and Odia.

Publications: The Eastern India Regional Centre has published more than 30 monographs in English and Odia including ‘Agricultural Journalism’, ‘Peace Journalism’, ‘Reporting Child, Election, Sports, Business Journalism, Language Culture and Identity, History of Public Relations, etc.

Hostel: Fully furnished hostels with twin accommodation per room is available for boys and girls. There are 36 rooms in the girls’ hostel (Mahanadi) and 30 rooms in the boys hostel named (Brahmaputra).

Fitness and Recreation: An open gymnasium has been set up in the campus premise with necessary equipment to keep the students healthy and fit. Indoor games are also available at the hostel for recreation. Outdoor facilities such as a Badminton Court and a trekking track are available.

Free Wi-Fi: The Centre provides a free Wi-Fi facility in the academic block as well as both hostels.