MICA offers a Specialization in Digital Communications Management

Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, (MICA), India’s premier communications management institute, has started a specialization in Digital Communications Management for its flagship 2-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Communications (PGDM-C) from this year.

Consumers today increasingly prefer digital content; on smart phones, laptops, desktop computers and ipads. Businesses recognize the need to go the digital route and use multiple touch-points in pursuit of a single objective of reaching their consumers. In the last few years, communication technology has revolutionized the media through which we communicate.

Rapid penetration of internet has resulted in exponential growth of social media usage and proliferation of the online market. With this, digital education has become need of the hour.

‘Digital Communications Management’ will be the fifth new specialization offered to the students from this academic year. The earlier four specializations were ‘Brand Management’, ‘Advertising Management’, ‘Media Management’ and ‘Marketing Research’. In the current day scenario given the increased use of digital communications which cuts across all industry verticals, MICA will be the first institute in the country to offer one of its kind specialization in the field of ‘Digital Communications Management’ for its students.

The communication and media of its delivery, of tomorrow will most certainly be strikingly different from what it was yesterday and is today. Being the premier institute in Communications Management, MICA has taken note of the rapid changes already seen in the environment, identified the emerging media and communication trends and has enhanced the curriculum to include this.

A new specialization will be now offered to the students of the flagship PGDM-Communications students from this academic year.

In the words of Dr. Nagesh Rao, President & Director, MICA,

“The decision to establish MICA was pioneering as there was no communication management school when MICA was conceptualized. The decision to introduce an academic vertical in the domain of digital communications is equally innovative and pioneering.”

For the introduction of these courses, MICA conducted an extensive survey on the available academic literature and had a series of discussion with industry experts. In words of Dr.. Rao,

“The problem with this domain is that the knowledge in this domain has yet to be codified into books. When we decided to launch an academic vertical in this domain, we knew we will have to define the boundary of the domain. Therefore, literature review and consultation with experts was necessary”.

Dr. Rajneesh Krishna, Chairperson, Curriculum Committee, further explained that the courses which have been included are of two types – first are foundational core, which will be taught to all the students (such as Digital Marketing, Digital Transformation Framework, Information and User Experience Design).

The second type of courses would be the electives which will help the students to design their career paths in this particular domain (such as Search Marketing, Social Local and Mobile Marketing, Integrated Content Management, Online Display/ Video Advertising, KPI of Digital Channels).

Elective courses would include not only those course that focus on career building but also look at the basic lifestyle and consumption changes that digital revolution has brought in. Examples of such unique courses are Consumer Insight through Data Integration, Online Ethics and Morality and Digital Citizenship.

The vertical of ‘Digital Communications’ will open new doors for MICA and lead to development of a new dimension in the industry-academia interaction. This is especially true because the specialization additionally has a digital project which will result into a marketable digital product/entrepreneurial opportunity for a student choosing this elective.

This was announced today during inauguration of MICA’s Academic Courses.

MICA’s 20th batch of the flagship PGCM-C course was inaugurated today at MICA campus in Shela, Ahmedabad. Dr Bhaskar Das Group CEO, Zee News Cluster and Digital Media was the Chief Guest and keynote speaker at the inauguration ceremony.

At the same time, 23rd batch of the Crafting Creative Communications (CCC) Program (which produces art directors, copywriters, etc) and 3rd batch of the Fellowship Program in Communications Management (FPM-C, which is equivalent to a PhD) were also inaugurated.