DEROZIO MEMORIAL COLLEGE

Journalism and Mass Communication is a practical application-based subject. Today this subject has been emerging as a broad career option boom for the students. Mass communication is an exciting and faced-paced field with a wide selection of careers in areas like journalism, public relations, television, radio broadcasting and web journalism. Ideal for those with inquisitive minds and a passion for storytelling, mass communication studies examine the processes and the impact on local and global cultures of different forms of media. While working for a magazine, radio station or television network, mass communication professionals contribute to the steady stream of media that informs, educates and entertains millions of people all over the world.

Rajarhat-Gopalpur locality is not very far from the metropolitan city Kolkata, but there is a huge gap between the local community and so called ‘information society’. Minority sections of the people at large reside in this area and they are illiterate, poverty-stricken and mostly uneducated. Agriculture and fisheries are the main source of income of the local inhabitants. Their children are mostly first generation learners and have taken higher education from the one and only college of this locality- Derozio Memorial College. This scenario is not suitable for education in Journalism and Mass Communication where communication and technology are synonymous. In this context, financial stability is important for adopting technology for communication studies. The authority of Derozio Memorial College took it as a challenge and introduced the subject at under graduate level in 2001.

That was the starting of a slow walk for the small department. Initially the department did not have any equipment or any infrastructure but the teachers and students were overcame this hurdle by their devotion, dedication and enthusiasm. Now this is one of the most active and colourful department of the college. The department of Journalism and Mass Communication offers general courses of West Bengal State University. Besides regular academic curriculum, the students of the department get exposure to various activities which ignite their passion of becoming a good journalist or a good communicator in all respect.

YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT:
2001-2003
FACULTY MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT:
Anirban Basu Roy Chowdhuri. M.A (PhD Pursuing) (Profile Enclosed)Epshita Roy. M.A (Profile Enclosed)
SUPPORTING STAFFS OF THE DEPARTMENT:
Joy Chakroborty.Rinki Sarkar.Tanmay Nandi.
ESTABLISHMENT:
We are proud to inform that Derozio Memorial College has been selected as one of the four colleges in West Bengal to start UGC Sponsored Degree Programme from the academic session 2015-16 in the following trade to supplement the performance of the mother department Journalism and Mass Communication.

B.Voc in Broadcast JournalismB.Voc in Printing And Book Publishing
Also a couple of Diploma Courses in the following trades have been launched earlier.

Diploma in Photography & Video ProductionDiploma in Web Designing and Development
These kind of programme helps to build up a better infrastructure for learning the Journalism and Mass Communication subject at the under graduate level in its full ethos.

ENDEAVOURS:
The Faculty strives to help students cultivate a holistic perspective and understanding of communication processes by arranging seminars and workshops wherein media applications interface with subject areas such as Science and Technology, Environment and others. Interaction with Visiting Faculty, invited guest speakers, and experts from mainstream media from within India or from abroad also helps students to widen their information base and gain new and interesting insights. More over there is an ample opportunity to give the students the ultimate level of ‘hands on training’ facility which attunes them with the needs of industry.

MISSION:
Students are imparted the skills needed to work in a print or broadcast newsroom, along with media law, politics, and an understanding of the role of media in a democratic country like India. We are trying our best to inculcate in the students a degree of sensitivity and empathy that will enable them to reach out to the world and provide effectual service by generating resources without overtly depending on financial inputs from the Government. More over implementation of individual communication is very important for not only their career option but also for mass communication at a large for the local community.

VISION:
The motto of the department is “Education for Employment through Skill Formation”. The educational activities are designed in line with the needs and demands of the industry. More specifically, the main objective of this department is “to provide job-oriented training based on the perceived industry demand for specific manpower”.

SOME MAJOR IMPLEMENTATIONS & INITIATIVES:
Initially, we faced various kinds of problems but gradually we started working hard to increase the number of students. We now have classrooms full of students. We strived to provide the best faculty for the students. Different media persons and academicians came to deliver lecture and share their practical experience with the students. In the meanwhile, many students were able to secure employment in various sectors. We are much privileged to see that the students are working as professionals and we are giving them full support from our end. We have developed a media laboratory and an audio studio for the betterment of the students. Our faculties provide ‘hands on training’ so that the budding journalist can gather knowledge from the practical field. We have organized several National and State level seminars, photography competitions, photo walks, silent movie making, documentary production and exhibitions regularly as part of their practical projects. It is one of many ways we can empower, embolden, and enlighten our students. The weaker sections of the students get extra attention of the faculties. Even remedial coaching is provided for them to maintain the balance of the classroom.

INFRASTRUCTURE:
In this regard, after setting up primary infrastructure (Smart Class Room with ICT facility, Studio for Video shooting and Dubbing, Editing Console, Cameras, Still Digital Cameras, Web streaming Facility etc.) we are looking for fund generation from different sources. To make our dreams true in reality, we are all together trying to achieve the excellence in the concerned area and we are determined to serve the student and as well as humanity better.

FUTURE PLAN & INITIATIVE:
Now it is the time for advancement and the time for a new dream. It has been a long cherished dream of Journalism and Mass Communication Department of Derozio Memorial College to conceive and bring forth, a Communication Resource centre, which, through technical education and training, will pave the way for sustainable economic development in the rural sector of Rajarhat-Gopalpur area in the state of West Bengal and create the resources for an archive of digital India. Sustainable economic development, along with the culture and norms which nurtured the rural population so far is being destroyed severely by the onslaught of modern development. More and more peasants and artisans are losing their right to livelihood. On one hand, human resources are being wasted by keeping the unemployment problem pegged at a higher level and on the other hand, natural resources are being dribbled away to serve the wants of the privileged few. The value of the current education system is used only to strengthen the elite who neither belong to the local culture nor believe in the self-sufficient, sustainable pro-environment economic development. In the current educational system students, parents, teachers and members of the community are alienated from the local culture and also from the society. So, it is a great opportunity for us to hold vocational skill based education system in our institution- like the Community College Scheme and B.Voc Degree Programmes. We are now stepping towards a new goal of implementation of vocational education system in the practical field where the educated students will be able to use their skill and expertise for the betterment of the livelihoods of the local inhabitants and in return they will also get an opportunity to identify their source of income for a better living. The Communication Resource Centre will certainly secure a bond between the common man and the educational/scientific institution by implementing research findings in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, apiculture and fisheries. Documentaries in local language on the process of cultivation, fisheries, bio-diversity preservation, water treatment, solid waste management, energy efficiency, tree plantations, marketing their products, Governmental support for agriculture and fisheries etc., everyday communication with local common people, arranging discussions, seminar and workshops for demonstrating the solution of their problems will surely enable them to join in the process of sustainable development and better living. As a result our farmers and entrepreneurs will get the necessary help from the University experts. It will create a developmental atmosphere in the entire arena of vocational education system and the local community. Additionally, establishing of a community radio station or community Television channel will definitely fostering the whole process of sustainable development of vocational education, society development and community rehabilitation.