Raising the bar on media education.

In 1979, one of India’s most respected Statesmen, KS Hegde — Judge in the Supreme Court and Speaker in the Lok Sabha — established the Nitte Education Trust with the goal of empowering rural youth. Today, the Trust supports more than 43 institutions, including schools, professional colleges, hospitals, and rural health clinics. Nitte, was officially declared to be a “Deemed-to-be University” in 2008.

“What sets the university apart from many others is its philanthropic core,” says Raviraj Kini, Head, Nitte Institute of Communication. “Our Chancellor aims to provide as many people as possible with access to education, so we offer scholarships, fellowships, and free seats. As a result, we have become a trusted name in education for both students and employers. Full fee waiver in a few employment oriented courses is offered to students from the North East.”

In 2012, Nitte established Nitte Institute of Communication (NICO), which offers full-time bachelor’s and master’s degrees in media & communication, post-graduate programs in photography & filmmaking and advertising & public relations. On the anvil are shorter multi-month programs in photography, social media marketing, and drone photography & videography.

When Kini became Head of NICO, he was passionate about exploring ways to balance theoretical media education with technical skills demanded in the modern workplace. Whatever the nature of work, they all need to learn how to create social media posts, edit videos, and create websites to host content.

By actively incorporating Adobe Creative Cloud for teams into courses, NICO immediately saw a jump in student success. Employers reacted very positively to graduates’ technical and communication skills, and as a result, 85% of students are employed immediately after graduation, with the other 15% enrolling in higher education and training programs.

“Nitte leadership quickly recognized the merits in an approach that combines technology and media,” says Kini. “We now design our curriculum with Adobe apps at the core.”

Incorporating apps into the classroom

NICO keeps class sizes small to make sure there’s adequate resources and instruction for all students. Every year, 40 students are admitted to the bachelor’s in media & communication program, with 10 to 20 students admitted to post-graduate fields of study. The university labs are available at almost any time for students and faculty who need to use Creative Cloud apps.

During the first year of the undergraduate program, students learn graphic design and photography with a focus on Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Lightroom. The second year moves on to sound and film editing with Adobe Premiere Pro and Audition. Next, students learn animation and visual effects using Adobe After Effects, Animate, and Character Animator. Finally, in the fourth year of the program, NICO teaches students to use Adobe Dreamweaver and XD to learn web, UI, and UX design.

NICO’s combination of theory and practice is paying off, both in terms of the quality of students applying to programs and the response from the industry. The average marks in applicants’ qualifying examinations is 80%, which is a 20% increase over where it was just a few years ago.

“We have received excellent feedback from the industry,” says Kini. “Employers choose our students over other students because they graduate with training in industry-standard creative apps. Because our graduates are so much more competitive, we’re getting more applicants to NICO, leading to stronger classes of talented, hard-working students.”

Magazine layout created by student Akshay T S.

Learning practical design skills

Rather than focusing only on exams, NICO students demonstrate their abilities through practical projects that use their theoretical design knowledge while building confidence and skills in Adobe apps. For a magazine journalism project, students are challenged to conduct interviews, write articles, create visuals, and publish an original, 30-page magazine. Many students turn to templates and graphics from Adobe Stock to build their magazines in InDesign.

“We believe in teaching our students to use stock images and templates as a starting point that they can expand upon,” says Kini. “The challenge is to understand the philosophy behind a magazine template — why did they choose these colors or include a certain balance of images to text — and adapt the template to fit the goals of each student’s magazine. These are the types of media skills that will serve them well in their jobs.”

Martiny Mixology brand book created by student Flan Sana D'Souza.

Photography students use Lightroom and Photoshop to create photo books or photographs that are shown as part of an exhibition. Similarly, filmmaking students write screenplays, design storyboards, and then shoot, edit, color correct, and post-produce their short films. The projects are evaluated by panels or experts in the relevant fields. This method of instruction and evaluation builds students’ confidence, while helping them build their portfolio of work.

Supporting education across Nitte

Good education starts with instructors, which is why NICO mandates that faculty participate in multiday training sessions at least once a year. Faculty appreciate the opportunity to learn about the latest updates to Adobe apps every year and reinforce their skills.

Not only do faculty teach classes, but they also participate in consultancy work through the institute, such as designing logos and brochures or editing ads or corporate films for local companies. This consultancy work serves as an additional revenue source for NICO, helping to keep costs low for students while providing faculty with varied media projects to add to their portfolios.

With Adobe apps providing such benefits across NICO, Nitte plans to expand use across more Institutes, with Nitte Institute of Architecture incorporating Photoshop and Illustrator into courses. NICO also plans to continue incorporating Adobe apps into programs aimed at teaching students about modern media trends.

“Working with generative AI is the next step,” says Kini. “GenAI is the future, and we need to prepare students to best take advantage of it. Some of our students are already using technologies such as Adobe Firefly to create social media posts. There’s a great deal of potential to use GenAI for repetitive creative tasks, allowing students to focus more on impactful creative work.”

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