MCU shifts to new 50 acre campus
| Date :01-Feb-2023 |
By Bhavana ‘Aparajita’
Shukla
Brushing aside fragmented or piecemeal approach to investing in education infrastructure , 30-year-old, State’s only and one among country’s top 10 universities in the country for Journalism (as per ranking by a renowned private agency), Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication (MCU) has now been shifted to new campus from this session. The university commonly known as MCU. It is not merely a change in postal address but it seems that beginning of an era towards teaching as well as learning process with naturalness (light, air quality), stimulation (complexity, colour), and individualisation (flexibility of the learning space), a visit by our senior special correspondent to the new building suggests. As education experts opines that the design of education infrastructure affects learning through various infrastructure related factors.
The new premise is not only bigger in size spread across 50 acres (58 lakh sqft built-up area. But houses modern techniques also to inculcate teachers and students with new dimension of learning. Vice Chancellor K G Suresh known as initiator, has tried to bring new features to this new to provide world’s best resources.
It houses a museum on the history of media in India named The Newseum (concept came in light from an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication) and Meditation centre also.
The bumpy project of construction of such a huge building at the outskirts of the capital was begun in 2016, could only get kick start in 2020.
Villagers upbeat over the completion of project seeing opportunity of development in the region and job prospects including upsurge in real estate market, Ramesh Pancholi, a daily-needs small store owner in Bisankhedi Village says “till 2019 there was barren land only a nominal activities were there. We were not expecting in such a short duration of three years this building has been emerged. Frequent movement of vehicles can be seen.”
Concerned officers stated that the university has biggest media library in the world, with around 41,000 collection of books of media content.
Over 60% of the area has parks, gardens, football and cricket grounds with two academic and one administrative blocks, hostels for boys and girls and accommodation for VC and teaching and non-teaching staff, besides a library, meditation centre covering the remaining 40% area. The construction took six years and Rs 160 crore to complete.
“This new campus is replacing overcrowded classrooms, such the one below, are suboptimal for teaching and learning to spacious one with 120-140 seater capacity. Smart classrooms, equipped with projectors, smart boards and LED screens. All the departments have separate meeting halls and libraries. 40-seater -Transit Hostel for PhD scholars of the university and of other universities where they would be able to stay during their visits to the campus. It also has a ‘Cafe’ for journalists where they can come from the city and be able to have discussions. Although, new enrolled students are excited about the new venture but seniors who are in the internship process and have an accommodation in the city have reservations. Despite having bus and hostel facilities, they are afraid about transportation and how to maintain a balance between studies and their internships, jobs. The new premises are not only our own but has been designed and constructed for us, says go-getter Vice Chancellor K G Suresh.
Answering about main challenges to ‘The Hitavada’, he said, "one of the major challenges was to remove psychological hurdle, as no one wants to come out of comfort zone, as the old one building was situated in the heart of the city. Misconception and misinformation also start making rounds with the beginning of every new thing. But, we have decided to bring the project in reality which was in pipe line for more than years. To give a kick start, we have to accelerate tender and other procedures as per Government’s norms. For ground work there was need for personnel who can supervise construction work around the clock except seven hours of night when the construction work remains on hold. The Hercules task of moving records of thousands of students as around one lakh candidates enroll in every new session, hundreds of computers and more than 50,000 books etc. from twin multi-storied building in the middle of the town to outskirts, new campus in fortnight was not an easy, officers said. Essential items shopping center, 24-hours ATM facility, medicine and health care, modern gym etc. will soon be available at the new campus, they added. Established in 1990 by the Madhya Pradesh Government, MCNUJC is named after Pt Makhanlal Chaturvedi, the great editor, poet, literature and freedom fighter. It was operated from 74 Bungalows (Government quarter). Later, moved to a rented accommodation and administration purchased a twin tower building at the MP Nagar, in 2006.