Sankalp: ‘Chitkara committed to supporting media & entertainment industry – right from manpower to start-ups’

Media and Entertainment Sector Skills Council in collaboration with Chitkara University organised its first-ever Media and Entertainment Industry Round Table Summit ‘SANKALP’ in Punjab. It was a great opportunity for professionals and institutions to interact with the selective group of leaders in India focusing on North, especially Punjab and Chandigarh.

The event aimed to bring the industry of North in the direction to develop a bigger segment not just in the media and Entertainment space, but also considering the possibilities of the global expansion. The Summit was chaired by Mr. Mohit Soni, Chief Operating officer, MESC. He passionately believes that the Indian Media and Entertainment industry has the potential to challenge and succeed in the highly competitive Global M&E segment. Various company heads in the field of Animation, VFX, gaming and Film were invited to grace the event. Companies including Prime Focus, Chicmic, Xeemu Studios, White Hill Productions, Karma Productions, Andy TV, Team DirectorGifty just to name a few. There was various academic institutions were also available including VidyaJyoti, Arena, the Shelters etc. Representatives of various state skill mission and NSDC were also a part of the event.

Media and Entertainment Skill Council (MESC) is the industry-led sector skill council set up through Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to create the skilled resource for the media and entertainment. Founded in 2012, MESC is a Not-for-Profit Organisation, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.The Council has been promoted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), with financial support from National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). MESC has been working closely with prominent employers in the Media and Entertainment Sector to offer short and long duration training programs with assured internship opportunities.

To focus on the North region of India, during SANKALP; the AVGC industry got together to take a pledge of taking industry from the north region to another level. During the panel discussion on Films and VFX, Hon’ble Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University, Punjab, said, “Chitkara University is committed to supporting the local media and entertainment industry at every level, right from providing the right manpower, to hand-holding them through incubation and start-ups by creating complete ecosystems around them.”

Mr. Vineet Raj Kapoor, Dean, Chitkara University, has a vision for the industry studios to be guided to be able to leverage their IPs at an international level. He has more than two decades of experience in this field and has been instrumental in guiding and motivating them to participate internationally as the leader of Indian Delegation of Animation, Game and Film Studios. He said, “The Industry needs to participate in the training of the students so that they get a chance to prepare the exact artist they need. The Industry also needs to come together and partner like the Industry in the South where they have got the government to provide enough concessions to help the industry take risks.” He also said, “Despite our success at creating world-class animator, there are issues in delivering Industry ready students since there were too many specialisations relating to specific industry needs and the demand fluctuations meant that the over specialised student was at a risk. So involving the industry with specific students was a more progressive idea to meet industry demands and get students off to a good start.”