MUMBAI: Whistling Woods International (WWI) welcomed its first batch of MBA in Media & Entertainment (M&E) students from Manipal University.
The MBA in media and entertainment is an MBA course designed and developed jointly by WWI and Manipal University.
People from the media & entertainment industry like UTV Software Communications chairman Ronnie Screwvala, Reliance Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna, director Sunil Darshan, Manmohan Shetty, producer- director Ketan Mehta, John Mathew Mathan and Sanjay Chel, were present at the event.
The two year MBA (M&E) program has management level specialization in film and broadcasting. As per the course design, first year of the program is conducted at the Manipal University campus in Bangalore, which comprises of general management subjects. The second year of the program involves training at Whistling Woods International. This will include actual production and post production techniques, the process of film making, understanding TV, Radio and other sectors of the entertainment industry.
WWI founder and chairman Subhash Ghai said, "This is a momentous period for WWI to welcome the first batch of management students into WWI campus. We are proud to be associated with the Manipal University who saw our vision and believed in the need for a professional management course in media and entertainment. With this we have moved one step forward towards the true meaning and value of Industrialization of Indian cinema."
Manipal University CEO Anand Sudarshan added, "According to me the MBA here stands for Market Bridges Art. The Indian Film Industry will soon see professional managers walking out of WWI with Manipal University MBA (M&E) degree to change the business of Indian cinema and we will soon see commerce and creativity tango together."
Speaking about the course, Screwvala said, "Content merges with creativity. Today people do believe in the strength of media. We have not been able to match our revenues to our creativity even though we say we are budding. There are a number of challenges that our industry is facing like the regulation of cable TV as well as the payment of media content. This MBA (M&E) course will enable the students to undertake these challenges."
"We need creativity in business today. It is part of our Indian genetic make-up that we need to be entertained. In order to engage people and entertain them, timing is essential and that comes with learning. I strongly believe that this MBA (M&E) course will help the students recognize such opportunities in the industry," said Khanna.
The fee for the two year program is Rs 5,60,000.
