Digital media college opens
Image College of Arts, Animation & Technology (ICAT), labelled as India's first digital media college, was inaugurated by
Dr. E Balagurusamy, Vice-Chancellor,
Anna University, in Chennai, recently. Vivek Harinarain, secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Information Technology Department, chaired the function.
The college will provide comprehensive education to students pursuing a career in animation, visual effects and game development, backed by state-of-the-art equipment and technology and expert faculty. Academic programme options include full-time PG diploma in 3D animation, visual effects and game development that includes 1,450 hours of training, spread over a period of one year.
Inaugurating the college, Dr. E.
Balagurusamy, said, "I am very happy to be inaugurating a college which will impart knowledge in the creative area. Every year, so many engineers pass out of technical colleges who are sound in knowledge and skill - but lack creativity - which is a key factor in increasing their employability. Digital media is the next wave waiting to happen in India, close on the heels of IT and ITES explosion. A collegiate programme of this nature would provide for adequate duration of training and produce better quality professionals and higher value-added earnings for the Indian multimedia industry."
The digital media industry is expected to reach a size of Rs 5,000 crore by 2004 and Rs 7,500 crore by 2005 as per the recent NASSCOM report. There is tremendous scope for India to capitalise on the digital media wave. This sector will soon be a large employer with a revenue/employee potential of $ 15,000 and an average offshore salary at
$ 7,000. Even within India, explosion of satellite channels and professionalisation of the
film industry has given rise to a definite pull for well-trained talent and colleges.
Colleges like ICAT will be instrumental in shaping and creating the talent pool of . professionals.
ICAT is a positive step towards the promotion of the Indian digital media industry. It has plans to set up production studios in Chelmai. ICAT will also assist students who complete the course, for placements with potential employers.
ICAT is managed by Image Infotainment Ltd (Chennai), the fountainhead of multimedia training in India. Its training division 'Institute of Multimedia Arts and Graphics Effects' (IMAGE) is among the largest providers of post-secondary education in multimedia in India with student enrolment exceeding 10,000 as of 2003. IMAGE offers its training through a network of company-owned and company-guided franchisee centres and currently has 15 centres in four states and one abroad.
