Mr. Malya Dasgupta has been working as the Head of Television Management Department at Calcutta Media Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal. He is an independent documentary Filmmaker and Media Consultant and has 20+ years of experience in the film and television media. He has also worked as a Senior Producer in television channels like E-TV and Kolkata TV and as an Executive Producer and Project Director in corporate production houses like Ushakiron Movies and Saregama India Limited. Apart from this, he is also the Former Head of the Media Department at the International School of Business and Media of Kolkata and has conducted film-making workshops with the post-graduate students in Jadavpur University and Department of Mass Communication in Rajasthan University. He has produced and directed several documentaries and a number of television shorts which were screened in different film festivals in India and abroad.

Calcutta Media INstitution

Being the Head of Department, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

"My responsibility is to supervise departmental activities and educate students"

As a Department Head, my prime responsibility is to ensure that students receive skilled education in the subjects and courses they are pursuing with us and they should also be exposed to a comprehensive learning ambiance so that they can easily adapt themselves with the changing environment.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty in your college?

"By regularly arranging connect sessions for faculties and students to address their issues and queries"

We organize a Mentor-Mentee session every month to create a collaborative learning environment and develop the feeling of mutual trust, respect and healthy relationship between students and their respective faculty members. 

How do you introduce a practical and industry driven approach towards subjects?

"By assigning case studies and assignments to students and involving them in real time projects"

We regularly assign case studies based on the curriculum along with short-term projects, group presentations, and applied assignments which are directly connected with the corporate world to enforce a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects. 

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Which best practices are offered by your department to the students to help them gain necessary skills?

"Expert sessions, professional tours and conclaves are offered by us to students"

We conduct expert series talks from time to time on specific subjects. In addition to this, industrial tours and conclaves are organized on a regular basis in association with industry and academic experts to give a direct opportunity to students to interact with amazing minds and get their doubts cleared. 

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it befitting for the students?

"We involve every stakeholder ranging from experts to academicians and Alumni in its design and review process"

To prepare a curriculum that is best suitable for the students, our teachers make a thorough plan to ensure that the syllabus of various subjects is completed on stipulated time. Also, we work collaboratively with academicians, industry experts and our Alumni from the corporate world to review the subjects and their syllabus. Lastly, we have a Board of Studies to make sure that the curriculum of our college is up-to-date in accordance with latest trends and we have included sufficient activities in it for best practical learning experience for students.

How does your department prepare students for higher education and placement?

"We have a dedicated Training Cell for that and our faculties provide their full support to students"

I firmly believe that furnishing students with strong critical thinking skills can help prepare them for success in higher education and the workforce alike. And to make this happen, we have a dedicated Training and Placement Cell which we have established to organize training and mock-interviews to make them industry ready. And to guide them for higher education courses and the application and preparation process, we have amazing faculties in the department who arrange special sessions from time to time. 

How do you prepare your students to deal with the outside competitive world?

"By asking them to regularly do the SWOT analysis and asking them to try new things and build new skills"

In order to produce confident and competent professionals for the cut-throat competition in the outside world, we teach important technical and social skills to our students along with educating them about the collaborative way of working and SWOT analysis. And we also encourage them to learn from their mistakes and not to be afraid of trying new things by coming out of their comfort zones. Lastly, we organize personality development sessions on a regular basis and ensure learning beyond the classroom for them through real time projects which we assign them in every semester.

What challenges are you facing in uplifting the education quality of your department?

"Lack of basic skills and financial literacy in students is a real struggle for us"

The biggest challenge in front of us currently is the lack of even basic skills and practical exposure in students as this ultimately creates a gap between students and their teachers and also leads to frequent updates of our educational delivery model. Apart from this, financial illiteracy is also a major issue for us as many students come from non-finance backgrounds. 

How does the curriculum of your department ensure the best practices of industry?

"It is designed after taking through inputs from experts hence includes best industrial practices"

We design the curriculum of our college after rigorously inspecting the latest trends and developments of the corporate world and simultaneously taking inputs and valuable suggestions of industry experts on the same. And once we receive their recommendations, we do the necessary changes in curriculum to make sure we remain compliant with their best practices and standards. Apart from all this, we supplement the students' knowledge through value added courses which also we keep modifying after a certain interval of time. 

How does your department enhance faculty skills and prepare them as per industry standards?

"Faculties are upskilled through FDPs, webinars, seminars, conferences and industry connect sessions"

For the purpose of training teachers and enhancing their skills in accordance with the industry standards, our college regularly motivates faculty members to attend Faculty Development Programs, seminars, webinars, conclave, symposiums and conferences which are organized either by us or by other institutions. And then we ask them to share their learnings with our students so that both stay updated with the latest trends, developments, practices and technologies which are being used in the corporate sector nowadays. Last but not least, we have special periodical activities that are conducted through classroom teaching.

What approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach the students?

"Financial awareness campaigns along with special training programs are regularly conducted by us"

We conduct financial literacy campaigns quarterly to reduce the gaps between students' skills and demands of the outside world. Apart from this, special training programs and student exchange programs are hosted on a regular basis to encourage the students to learn beyond the classroom and add diverse range of skill sets in their expertise. 

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What do you see as your department’s greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

"Our highly educated and experienced faculty members along with our industry partners makes us strong"

We do have an amazing team of highly qualified and experienced faculty members. And we also hire visiting faculties with corporate experience to add value to the core teaching of our department. In addition to this, we have very strong relations with reputed industries and organizations and in collaboration with them and our management support, we organize Faculty Exchange Program to enhance our teachers knowledge and make them ready as per industrial standards, so that they in return can deliver best to students. All these things together make us strong and resilient. 

Any precious advice which you would like to give to the students for a prosperous career ahead?

"Focus on gathering practical knowledge and try to enroll in work-study integrated programs"

I would like to advise my dear students and youths of our society to gather hands-on knowledge and develop a diverse range of skill sets so that they have the options to explore abundant opportunities in the outside world. Also, participate in an integrated work-study program and pursue courses which match your passion and interests.