Dr. Bidu Bhusan Dash, Assistant Professor and Course Coordinator, School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar was a panellist in the UNESCO-WJEC Roundtable on Quality Journalism Education in Eastern India: Media, Ethics and Social Justice, organised by the Department of Sociology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar on 1st December 2021. The roundtable was inaugurated by Prof. Sabita Acharya, Vice-Chancellor, Utkal University and hosted by Dr. Tanaya Mohanty, Utkal University.
UNESCO-WJEC Roundtables are organised in 15 regions across six continents, of which two were held in India – Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi and Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. Eminent academicians and journalists, naming a few, Prof. Biswajit Das from Jamia Millia Islamia; Prof. Mrinal Chatterjee from IIMC; Dr. Pranta Pratik Patnaik from Central University of Rajasthan; Ms Kasturi Ray from the New Indian Express, Mr. Sandeep Mishra from Odisha Bytes and Ms Jayanti Buruda from Kalinga TV were also a part of the panels.
There were two sessions. Dr Dash spoke in Session – II: Curriculum, Training and Market, where he highlighted that curriculum play a vital role in students’ capacity building, internships and placement in their early career. If J-Schools start designing market-oriented curricula, it will definitely benefit the students. The talk was highly appreciated by the participants and they were critically engaged through appropriate questions and comments. The session was moderated by Prof. Bhaswati Patnaik, Department of Psychology, Utkal University. The programme ended with the valedictory address by Dr. Avaya K. Nayak, Registrar, Utkal University. Students and faculty members from different universities and Journalism schools including School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University actively participated in the roundtable.