Multimedia Education in India - Past and Present
The Medium and the Message
The ability to deliver data, sound and visual imagery neatly coordinated as a single message is perhaps the most significant attribute of the computer. This capability has been used for almost three decades with amazing results. Generally referred to as multimedia or digital multimedia, you can harness this potential to accomplish a long list of tasks and functions such as e-learning, online presentations, streaming audio and video and even live interactions such as video conferencing. In its advanced manifestation, the same technology has been used to stay in touch with orbiting astronauts in the Space Shuttle.
The arrival of Multimedia Education in India
The Apple IIe and the TRS 80
The Apple II e from Apple and the TRS 80 from Tandy Corporation were the first multimedia PCs to become available in 1979-80. They opened many new vistas of rainbow-colored opportunities for the wide-eyed inquisitive consumer who was fascinated by the power and potential of PC technology. Due to their prohibitive cost, they were by no means ubiquitous in the Indian market. The infancy of the multimedia hadn’t even dawned in India at that time. When MSDos-based personal computers became reasonably affordable in the early nineties and with the advent of trend-setting multimedia packages such as Adobe PhotoShop and Corel Draw, the demand for qualified graphics designers skyrocketed in industries such as book publishing, print and electronic media, advertising and corporate communication. Even the marketing professionals were quick to spot the potential of multimedia to close large volume sales and were eager to jump on the multimedia bandwagon. When the Internet officially arrived in India on January 1, 1999 through a government-sponsored program, there was no looking back.
Postsecondary Multimedia Education in India
Hundreds of multimedia Institutes sprung up all over India as a result of the major shift in the multimedia paradigm. I had the privilege and opportunity of establishing Caba Innovatives Multimedia in New Delhi, the city’s first full-service multimedia training institute and a multimedia animation production house in 1993. Caba was among the first in India as well. Multimedia education in India had finally arrived.
Multimedia Education in India Today
The growth of the multimedia industry in India has been exponential to say the least and that is putting it rather mildly. India’s entry into the age of digital entertainment, for instance, is a thing of the past now. Many universities and colleges now offer full-fledged graduate and postgraduate degree programs, diploma programs and certificate courses in all aspects of multimedia ranging from graphics designing and animation to sophisticated digital multimedia applications such as game design, 3D and 4D modeling and digital image processing for the broadcast industry. Multimedia education in India is at a point today where it not only keeps pace but also stays ahead of the latest developments and innovations in the industry. The future is ablaze with possibilities and has never been brighter.