Working in the digital media space requires a new way of thinking and interacting. Whether one manages an online community for a major corporation, develops a media plan for a digital advertising agency, builds an online brand strategy for a marketing agency, or promotes his or her own blog and website as a digital media entrepreneur, he or she must be able to design and manage a strategic online campaign, write content and develop visuals that engage customers, and analyze data about those customers in a way that further responds to their immediate needs.

With these needs in mind, the 9.9 School of Convergence in collaboration with the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication is offering the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Media Communication—a one-year, full-time programme, which provides students the skills and knowledge they need to start their digital media career. The PG Diploma in Digital Media Communication brings together a diverse array of courses in order to teach what one must know to work in the digital space: how to engage an audience, how to develop interactive communication networks, how to apply strategic ideas in an ever-increasing contextual environment, and how to adapt to constantly changing social conditions and new technologies.

Through a creative and hands-on course structure, students get exposure to rigorous practical skills and theoretical insights as they learn from top digital marketing professionals, content creation experts and academics. A rigorous industry-integrated internship helps students gain access to some of the nation’s leading digital media companies, so they will not only be able to launch their digital careers, but eventually become leaders in it.

The programme focuses on three main areas of study within an integrated framework :

• The business of digital media (revenue models, effective marketing strategies, media planning, etc.)
• Content creation & perspective building (creative writing, web design, video production, etc.)
• Digital media applications (blogging, twitter, social networking sites, mobile applications, etc.)
  Our classes emphasize the practical application of knowledge, so from the outset students will learn, for example, how to use Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook to optimize audience interaction, design and measure viral marketing programs, and integrate online, offline and mobile marketing strategies. A healthy dose of theoretical and perspective-building courses provide the grounding so that students will not only react to the changes underway in the media, but have the in-depth understanding to be part of the vanguard in shaping them.

There are eight terms of six weeks, with four classes each term. The first five terms are spent on developing the basic skills and concepts needed for a career in the digital media space. For the remaining terms, students learn on the job in an industry-integrated internship from Monday through Friday, while formal classes are conducted for four hours on Saturdays. A bi-weekly seminar/workshop allows students to share their work experiences in the classroom and to reflect on their internships within the larger framework of media theory and ethics. During the final term, students will gear up for job placements, as they take part in a multi-media project of their design.

Classes are offered from a wide range of areas, including, content creation & perspective building; marketing, advertising & PR; media theory; technical skills building; and online/digital applications.

The program will look at the fast changing landscape of social networking and marketing through all digital media including the latest in mobile capabilities and personal communication devices, so students will be ready not only for today, but for the future.

Because students learn to create content while developing an in-depth understanding of the strategic application of technology and business methods to distribute this content, they will be ready for careers in the fields of online and digital marketing, advertising, media management and digital publication, including :