BWI: 9.9 School of Convergence Launched

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd.
Monday, July 27, 2009 06:12 PM IST (12:42 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Information technology, Media & entertainment; Technology
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9.9 School of Convergence Launched
The School will Launch its unique 11-month Diploma in Applied Journalism, with Sundays-only Classes, in September this Year

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Monday, July 27, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- A new media school, 9.9 School of Convergence (9.9 SoC), was launched here today by the 9.9 Media Group. Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder & Managing Director of 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt Ltd and the Founding Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, will be the Dean of the new institution.

Speaking at the launch of 9.9 SoC, Dr. Sinha said, "we are driven by the twin motivations of meeting the growing demand for high-quality journalistic talent as also driving for professional excellence by constantly setting new benchmarks in journalism for the media industry. Our very first programme in Applied Journalism is aimed at building the fundamentals in terms of skills and values for the journalist of the future."

The Diploma in Applied Journalism will focus on training entrants into the industry. This 11-month program will equip students in the craft of journalism using a process of "learning by doing". It will focus on the fundamentals of reporting, writing and editing a story, from an idea to the finished product, regardless of the media. The Programme will use a high degree of experiential learning, which is a preferred way of teaching in most J-schools globally, along with concepts such as mentorship, use of the city of Delhi as a laboratory, and syndication of content created by students - again, employed commonly in universities abroad but rare in India.

9.9 SoC is being advised by an impressive Advisory Board that comprises leading academicians and journalists from around the world, including:

1. Prof Sanjeev Chatterjee, Vice Dean, School of Communication & Executive Director, Knight Center for International Media, University of Miami, Florida

2. Clive Crook, Chief Washington commentator for Financial Times; Senior Editor, The Atlantic Monthly; columnist, National Journal (formerly Deputy Editor of The Economist)

3. Don Durfee, Hong Kong Bureau Chief of Thomson Reuters (formerly Editor of CFO Asia and CFO China, and with the Economist Intelligence Unit)

4. Indrajit Gupta, Editor, Forbes India (formerly Resident Editor, Economic Times, Mumbai; National Business Editor, Times of India; Deputy Editor, Businessworld)

5. Prof Radha Hegde, Dept of Media, Culture and Communication & the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University

6. Tony Joseph, CEO, Mindworks Global Media Services (formerly Editor, Businessworld, Associate Editor, Business Standard; Features Editor, Economic Times)

7. Vinay Kamat, Editor, DNA Bangalore (formerly Editor of Business Times, the business supplement of The Times of India, the Editor of indiatimes.com and Associate Editor of Business Today)

8. Surya Mantha, CEO, Web 18 (formerly with Sify India, RealNetworks, PRTM, and Xerox Corp all in the US)

9. Graham Watts, Consultant, New Paragraph Company, Bangkok, Thailand (formerly spent 20 years with the Financial Times, including as a journalism trainer)

In addition, leading journalists will serve as faculty to add practical insights to 9.9 SoC's curriculum. Four Associate Deans including Eric Saranovitz (Academics and Research), Pooja Kothari (Programmes), Bejoy Suri (Admissions and Marketing), and Gunjan Aggarwal (Career Services) will manage the school. The school has tied up with the Indian School of Business and Finance to use their upcoming state-of-the-art campus in Lajpat Nagar in South Delhi for its classes. It is now taking applications from working professionals and students for the Diploma in Applied Journalism. This programme is also meant for journalists in the early stages of their career.

"Our aspiration is to make 9.9 SoC a top-ranked media school, not just in India but globally. We want more Indian journalists to be globally respected. What better time to do this than now when India and Indian media are growing so much faster than the rest of the world," said Dr. Sinha.

About 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt Ltd

9.9 Media is one of India's fastest growing diversified media companies that offers high-quality, timely knowledge and insights to targeted consumer, business and professional communities through magazines, websites, events, and peer groups. It publishes six magazines, Digit, India's leading personal technology magazine, Digit Channel Connect, for the technology retailer, SKOAR!, a magazine for gamers, The CTO Forum, aimed at CIOs and CTOs, Industry 2.0, for the manufacturing industry, and Logistics 2.0, for the supply chain and logistics sector. It has recently launched peer group-based knowledge services for business professionals through the CIO Institute, the CFO Institute, and the Growth Institute. Its flagship events include, the SMB Conclave, the Growth Summit, The SKOAR! Expo, and the CTO Forum annual conference. For more details, visit www.9dot9.in.


CONTACT DETAILS
Deepika Khurana, 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd., +91 (11) 45069943, deepika.khurana@9dot9.in

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, IT, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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