The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, witnessed a celebration of media, creativity, and storytelling as the first edition of Media Verve, the annual media festival of the Department of Media Business Studies, unfolded on 17 April 2025.
The day-long festival brought together nearly 600 students from colleges and universities across Delhi NCR, competing in six diverse and dynamic events.
“Media Verve was envisioned as a platform to connect young minds with the ever-evolving media ecosystem. The enthusiasm, energy, and creative talent we witnessed today reaffirm the future of media is in brilliant hands,” said Prof. Dr. Surbhi Dahiya, Festival Director and Head of the Department.
The valedictory session was inaugurated by Dr. Anupama Bhatnagar, Vice Chancellor of IIMC, and featured a keynote address by Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld. The event also saw an engaging address by popular radio personality RJ Aakriti from Big FM.
The highlight of the fest was a panel discussion on 'The Business of Storytelling: Building Scalable Media Ventures from India', moderated by Dr. Dahiya and featuring distinguished voices from across the media landscape, including Ashish S. Kulkarni - Chairman, AVGC, FICCI, A. K. Bhattacharya - Editorial Director, Business Standard, Richa Anirudh - Anchor and Producer, Zindagi with Richa, Brij Pahwa - Editorial Lead, exchange4media, Abhishek Gulyani - Managing Director, Zeno India & Head of Corporate Affairs, Zeno APAC, Mimansa Malik - Senior TV Journalist, and Dr. Nimish Rustagi - Registrar and Additional Director General of IIMC.
The competitive events - Taair (On-the-Spot Filmmaking), AdVantage (Ad Mad), Lafzon ki Mehfil (Open Mic), Samvaad (Extempore-cum-Debate), The Fourth Wall (Media Quiz), and Click-Off (Online Photography) - were judged by external experts from the media industry and academia. The top three winners in each category received cash prizes of ₹5000, ₹3000, and ₹2000, respectively. The photography entries were also showcased in an open pavilion exhibition.
Mannat Joshi, a student from Indraprastha College for Women, whose team won the Taair - On-the-Spot Filmmaking Competition, remarked, “The entire experience was empowering. From ideation to execution, the festival gave us a real taste of the media world. I’m proud of what my team created in such a short span.”