GECs
IIMC and QUT join hands for training and capacity building
NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia have agreed to collaborate in academic programmes and in frontier areas of research in Media and Communication.
An International Cooperation Agreement to this effect was signed by Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary and IIMC chairman Bimal Julka and Professor Peter Coaldrake, Vice Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
The agreement envisages bringing ICT in academic programmes in a significant way. Both the institutes have agreed for the development of joint venture projects and also for opening avenues for developing a collaborative doctoral programme to benefit students and faculty. The bilateral cooperation agreement also envisages organization of joint academic and scientific activities, such as courses, conferences, seminars, symposia or lectures, exchange of staff and students and exchange of materials and publications of common interest.
One of the core areas of the agreement is to facilitate training of senior and mid-level Indian Information Service officers at the QUT, especially in use of modern technology and social media for providing information about government policies to stakeholders. The objective is to ensure skill development of IIS officers in critical areas of the changing media landscape.
This is the first agreement signed by IIMC seeking international collaboration and partnership with a foreign university. The agreement aims to facilitate a two-way value added training and capacity building programme in the field of Mass Media and Communication.
This cooperation agreement will be valid for five years and will be reviewed six months prior to expiry and may be renewed for a further term by mutual agreement.
GECs
Sony Pictures Networks India pulls off a slick April Fool’s Day prank and we can’t keep calm
The broadcaster dangled a fake “confidential” leak across a ten-slide carousel, reeling in curious followers before delivering the punchline
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India had a little fun with its audience on Tuesday. The broadcaster posted a ten-slide Instagram carousel that opened with a bold red “CONFIDENTIAL — For internal use only” cover slide, tagged with its Go-Beyond branding, and the cryptic caption: “In light of recent developments, we felt it was important to address this subject.”
What followed was a masterclass in slow-burn trolling.
Slide by slide, the post built the tension methodically. There had been “a lot of chatter,” it warned. Some of it had “confused” people; others had “strong opinions.” The company was “not planning to address this publicly yet,” it teased, before conceding that “things seem to be moving faster than expected.” By the midpoint, the carousel was practically daring followers to keep swiping and they obliged, hunting for the scoop, connecting dots that, as the post dryly noted, “may or may not exist.”
The final slide landed the blow. “And right now, they realise this is just an April Fool’s Day prank.”
The post carried the hashtags #SPNI, #GoBeyond and #TellStoriesBeyondTheOrdinary, a neat reminder that the whole exercise was, in itself, a piece of brand storytelling.
No leak. No announcement. No bombshell. Just Sony, very much in on the joke.
