Prof. Anubhuti Yadav is Head of the Department of New Media and Course Director of Advertising and Public Relations Course. She also held the responsibility of Dean Students’ Welfare. She is a member of the Executive Council and Academic Council, IIMC. She is a certified Fact Checker and has conducted workshops on Fact-checking and verification for journalists and media educators. Prof. Yadav comes with more than 20 years of experience in teaching and research. She started her career with an Advertising agency in 2000 and worked on various prestigious campaigns. She also worked with the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in areas like educational media, educational technology, New Media, and media literacy. Her work in the area of educational media won her four national awards as best script writer and researcher for the series on women achievers, Paramveer Chakra awardees and Media Literacy.

She is a leading expert and an active promoter of media literacy in India. She undertook various projects to promote digital and media literacy education in India. She is the co-author of the Indian edition of Media Literacy: Key to interpreting media messages book developed under Digital International Media Literacy Project. She has received various awards like Innovative Use of ICT in Education award during the ICT Conclave on Education 2016 organised by DELL, Public Relations Society of India award for Contribution to Mass Communication Education in 2018, Women of Excellence Award by Women Economic Forum ( WEF) and Web Wonder Women Award by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare for using twitter to create awareness on Fake News and Misinformation.

IIMC New Delhi

Being the HOD of the Advertisement and PR Department, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

“Students are abreast of the latest developments and receive this knowledge from the best in the industry and academia is our first and foremost responsibility towards our students”

Being Head of the Department which offers a sought after course, it becomes very challenging to meet the expectations of the students. However such expectations motivate the department to go the extra mile and deliver the best. From the development of the curriculum, keeping in view the latest trends in the Advertising and Public Relations industry, to the identification of the best faculty member to deliver that content is the responsibility of the head of the department. Students are abreast of the latest developments and receive this knowledge from the best in the industry and academia is our first and foremost responsibility towards our students. In addition to this, continuous efforts are being made to hone their soft skills whether it is their communication skills or how to work in a team or time management. All these are given a lot of importance throughout the course so that these students not just emerge as people having a lot of knowledge about the industry but also as the ones who are ready to work with the team, manage their time well and are excellent communicators.

What is the latest program that you are offering in your department which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

“The ADPR curriculum is dynamic and is adapted periodically to suit the changing needs of the industry” 

The programme which we offer is the Diploma course in Advertising and Public Relations. As I mentioned before, it is the most sought after course at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. We receive a maximum number of applications for this course. This also means it is very competitive and it is not very easy to be a part of this course. This course was initiated in 1981 to address the growing demand for professionals for the advertising and PR industry. The curriculum is dynamic and is adapted periodically to suit the changing needs of the industry. The main objective of the course is to provide basic and emerging concepts and principles in relation to better decision making in the areas of advertising and public relations. The department enjoys huge patronage of the industry; many AD/PR Departments’ alumni hold positions of leadership in the ad world, corporate sector and PR industry today.

What are the types of projects that the students are currently working on under this program?

“Students in the past have worked on live Projects for the Indian Army, Facebook, Delhi Metro, UNICEF, UNESCO etc”

Students of Advertising and Public Relations are involved in a number of projects. The focus is more on the practical aspect. The marks distribution for the entire course is 6o % practical and 40 % theory. For each and every paper they are given a lot of assignments and projects. Students work on a number of live projects which are given to them either by the department or from the guest faculty members from the Industry. Students in the past have worked on live Projects for the Indian Army, Facebook, Delhi Metro, UNICEF, UNESCO etc. Students are also supposed to conduct research on any area of communication. The idea is to teach them various research techniques and methodologies. Based on their interest and aptitude, they are required to identify a subject from any one area of the course curriculum and work on a Research Project Study. The students are evaluated on the basis of the application of research, gathering insights and the final presentation of the Project Study. For this research study, they are guided by the people from the industry and Academia. Students also work on 360 degree Campaigns in the second semester. The class for this is divided into small groups and briefed to suggest an area of their interest for a 360 degree campaign planning and production. The aim is to synergize the learning of what they have learnt in the first semester. The students work from client brief to production of campaigns that broadly includes research to gather consumer insights, development of creatives, media plans, suggest PR strategies, media engagement to budgeting and production. Clients are involved at all stages of campaign work. The Ad/PR agency’s environment within the group is encouraged to enable students to work on areas of their aptitude and interest. An effort is made to make the students understand group dynamics and team work. The campaigns are presented to a galaxy of industry experts and concerned client organizations for evaluation.

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How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards the subject and make it industry oriented?

“We involve experts from the industry in Curriculum development, delivery of content (by inviting industry experts as guest faculty) and assessment and evaluation of projects developed by the students”

As mentioned before, we involve experts from the industry in Curriculum development, delivery of content (by inviting industry experts as guest faculty) and assessment and evaluation of projects developed by the students. Students are also invited to the various conferences and seminars organized by the sector. They are involved in the organization of these events. This way they get ample opportunities to network with the experts from the industry. At IIMC, the curriculum of all the courses is updated every year to include new trends. Faculty members are also given flexibility to teach what they feel is important and not mentioned in the syllabus. Various workshops on emerging areas like Mobile Communication, Digital Storytelling, Augmented Reality, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing are being conducted by the best from the Industry. Students of ADPR also work on the Departmental magazine titled Baton every year which focuses on the Advertising and PR Industry. Students write features and articles on the various trends in the Industry and take interviews of the stalwarts in the Industry. This not only helps them in improving their interviewing skills but also helps them in building their network.

Students are encouraged to attend media conferences, seminars, dialogues, panel discussions and special events related to Advertising and PR. Such participation helps students to understand industry trends better and also give them a prerequisite exposure before they venture out for job opportunities.

What are your views upon the placements and higher education concerning the students from your department? Or how does your department prepare students for higher education and future job opportunities?

“Students get offers in the areas like Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Corporate Communication, Content Development, Digital Marketing, Public Affairs etc” 

Most of the students after completing their course prefer to join the Industry. They get offers in the areas like Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Corporate Communication, Content Development, Digital Marketing, Public Affairs etc. Since the institute’s placement cell organizes placements every year, students prefer to get jobs in their area of interest after the completion of the course. Some opt for higher education in specialized areas in foreign universities. At the departmental level we do make them aware of other learning opportunities and provide further guidance.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing the course?

“Students of Advertising and Public Relations get jobs in best of the Advertising, PR agencies and PSUs like NTPC, Adfactors, Avian We, Madmen, Ruder Finn, Dentsu Webchutney, MSL, Genesis, ET Media Labs, Zee, Schbang, Ogilvy, Lowe Lintas, DDB Mudra, to name a few”

To relate the concepts with practice, the students are sent on attachments to advertising agencies/public relations consultancies/government/corporate sector/NGOs. This is being organized by the placement cell and the Department. Many times students arrange this themselves. Usually this comes in a form of placement offer in which the first month is considered as an internship which is mandatory for the course. Students of Advertising and Public Relations get jobs in best of the Advertising, PR agencies and PSUs like NTPC, Adfactors, Avian We, Madmen, Ruder Finn, Dentsu Webchutney, MSL, Genesis, ET Media Labs, Zee, Schbang, Ogilvy, Lowe Lintas, DDB Mudra, to name a few.

What are the factors that make this course the best for the students to opt?

“Providing best soft skills and industry connection”

  • Strong Industry Connect
  • Focus on Soft Skills
  • Focus on Imparting Digital Skills
  • Involvement of Industry experts throughout the teaching learning process
  • Practical Intensive Course
  • Live Projects

What would you like people to know about your department that they may not already know?

“Keeping in view the recommendation of National Education Policy to involve students in constructive public engagement students of the Advertising and Public Relations Department, conducted a Media information Literacy Workshop across different locations in India” 

Social relevance of Advertising and Public Relations has been given its due weight age. Apart from preparing full campaigns on social issues, relevant segments have been included in the papers on marketing, public relations and advertising to sensitize the students about social responsibilities of advertising and public relations practitioners. Special emphasis is given on gender sensitivity in communication.

Keeping in view the recommendation of National Education Policy to involve students in constructive public engagement students of the Advertising and Public Relations Department, conducted Media information Literacy Workshop across different locations in India. Students were given this assignment during their semester break. These workshops were conducted by the students both online and offline. The workshops were conducted in Delhi and NCR region, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Prayagraj, Haridwar, Lucknow, Mathura, Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Betul, Jamshedpur and Ganganagar. Simultaneously, the students also ran successful social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter for Media Information Literacy. At the time of the pandemic when there was so much misinformation and disinformation around COVID 19, and this was the ADPR department’s initiative to help people sail through the infodemic. Students also organize street theatre on the issues of social importance like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, cleanliness etc.

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What valuable advice would you like to give the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead?

“Sharpen your Communication Skills, Upskill yourself and Never lose Hope”

Sharpen your Communication Skills: In addition to gaining domain knowledge it is important to acquire soft skills to have a successful career. Communication is the key. One must develop excellent verbal as well as written skills. A well written CV is your gateway to the Industry. Look at some good CVs. Keep updating it. Do not wait for the time when you have to send it to HR. As and when new development takes place, update. It could be your participation in a conference or seminar or writing an academic paper or learning new skills. 

Upskill yourseslf: In today’s digital age new digital tools are coming everyday. Make efforts to upskill yourself. You might not have learnt certain skills during your college. That is OK. But now when you are planning to enter Industry you must. Enrol in some open courses and upskill youself.

Keep your Communication Channel open: Keep your communication channel open with your peers, teachers, experts from the Industry. You never know from where you may get a lead for a new job.

Never lose Hope- Perseverance is the key: Last but not least, never lose hope. For some it may take a little longer to get that dream job but if you have learnt well or acquired the right skills you'll certainly get what you have prepared yourself for. This means think everyday what you have done that day to deserve what you aspire for. Remember, a river cuts through a rock not because of its power but through perseverance.