Profile:

To develop the media components as part of the media-mix of the distance education offerings, MANUU has established a full-fledged ‘Instructional Media Centre (IMC) on its campus. While the IMC primarily serves the distance education needs of the University, it will also help on-campus students by providing them with supplementary learning materials to enhance class-room learning and as a practical laboratory for students of Journalism & Mass Communications and such other disciplines.
The basic infrastructure of IMC consists of one Video studio, one Audio studio, associated control rooms, and a comprehensive post production facility by way of audio edit suites, non-linear editing, computer graphics & animation etc.
A sets construction workshop, props & costume stores, make-up room, and a tapes library are an integral part of the infrastructure. In addition, the IMC also houses two computer labs, and one e-class room.

Hardware Setup

The video studio has a floor area of 145 sq.meters and a ceiling height of 10 meters, with an adjoining production control room. It is equipped by high-end broadcast grade cameras (Sony make D-55PH), a twenty-input vision mixer, a 32 channel audio mixer and associated production gear. Digital recording is carried out on DVCAM format. Lighting in the video studio is provided by a flexible, motorized lighting grid containing cool lights. 

Audio studio with its associated control room is equipped for digital audio recording on Audio work station, with facility for producing the audio programmes on CD’s.

Acoustic design of both the video an Audio studios confirm to broadcast standards and on par with the best in the country. 

For outdoor shooting, four HDTV compatible cameras (HVR-ZIP of Sony make) are provided. 

Three non-linear editing facilities (AVID make) and one Graphics & animations system are the basic compliment for post-production work.

The Electronic Classroom (E-class room) is another unique facility provided in the IMC. The e-class room contained ceiling mounted, compact size video cameras whose functions can be remotely controlled. In addition, one document camera on stand, electronic white board, a ceiling mounted LCD projector and a computer of showing power print slides or accessing the internet are also provided. One of the ceiling mounted video cameras is generally focused on the teacher, while the other on the students. The video lesson will be ready in its final shape in real time without any need for post production work. The system can be handled by a single person need not be a professional, students can be involved in handling the system so that they gain some experience in this activity.

Programme Production

MANUU’s objective is to offer academic programmes in higher education, with Urdu as the medium of instruction. At the same time, MANUU’s mandate is also to promote Urdu culture, literature, arts & crafts among the people at large. Keeping these objectives in view, the IMC aims to produce audio & video programmes of two distinct kinds: 

Curriculum based audio/video lessons for the use of students belonging to different courses/academic programmes of MANUU in its distance education stream. Documentaries on topics of interest to general public in the areas of culture, literature, arts, social work etc.

The University’s academic faculty interacts closely with the producers of IMC in developing scripts for educational audios and videos, so that they confirm to be exacting requirements of educational content and production standards.

Documentary programmes meant for the public at large are delivered through the broadcast mode. For this purpose, the University has entered into a MoU with Doordarshan, Prasar Bharti so that MANUU programmes are broadcast on the DD Urdu channel on a regular basis. The broadcast mode, while addressing the public at large, will also come in handy for the students in particular for broadening their educational and cultural understanding as well as for benefiting from curriculum based programmes which too are broadcast through the DD Urdu channel. 

MANUU Programmes on DD Urdu were telecast from January 2008 to 2013 , MoU with DD Urdu is lapsed University is in the process of entering into fresh MoU with DD Urdu, now our documentaries are being telecast on ETV Urdu every Saturday  3:30 pm.

Both the curriculum based programmes and enrichment programmes of MANUU strive to confirm to the highest standards of content accuracy, social relevance and production aesthetics.

Live Streaming: Important functions of the University are being covered live on MANUU website with the help of Multi Camera setup, so that anybody from any corner of the world can be able to watch our programmes.

Audience Research

Feedback from student is being elicited regarding their media preferences so that the feedback can be taken to an account in planning different format of educational programming and broadcast schedule.

Future Plans

At present, the University aims to generate the media components mainly as supplementary inputs to the printed Self Instructional Materials.  However, as technological advancements continue and become more and more accessible to the students in general, the media components can as well play the role of a master medium, replacing the Print.  In the near future, plans are afoot to launch short term workshops and certificate programmes based on media components exclusively. 

Since the Urdu Diaspora is spread worldwide, it is important for the University to reach beyond the shores of our country to popularize Urdu based higher education.  Media can play a vital role in this respect.  Satellite linkage of the University’s study centres located abroad and web-based instructional methodologies like web channel or you tube channel are some options under consideration in this regard.