IICT’s satellite campus starts at NFDC premises, offers 18 courses

A full-fledged university of IICT is planned on a 10-acre plot at Film City, Goregaon. It will take around two years to complete and begin operations, the officials said

MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT)’s satellite campus at the National Film and Development Corporation (NFDC)’s Peddar Road premises was inaugurated on Friday by the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. IICT is India’s first institution for creative technology to come up along the lines of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management.

the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugrated the campus (@CMOMaharashtra X)

The newly inaugurated campus has world-class infrastructure with fully equipped classrooms, advanced media labs, post-production suites, and dedicated spaces for animation, VFX, and XR training. The admission process for its first batch of students has begun, and actual classes are expected to open in September. The IICT is offering 18 industry-driven courses in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) sector. The inaugural academic offering includes six specialised courses in gaming, four courses in postgraduate productions, and eight courses in animation, comics, and XR. As many as 300 students could get admission at the new NFDC IICT campus.

On May 4, HT reported on IICT’s makeshift campus at NFDC premises. A full-fledged university of IICT is planned on a 10-acre plot at Film City, Goregaon. It will take around two years to complete and begin operations, the officials said.

“I am glad that in such a short span, we have inaugurated the first NFDC IICT campus in Mumbai. In this creative world, technology has become an integral part, and it is important that we empower people who want to be part of the creative economy,” Vaishnaw said after inaugurating the campus. He said he has personally reviewed the architectural presentations for the campus in Film City. “I assure you it is going to be one of the finest campuses,” he added.

Fadnavis called the event a moment transforming into a movement. “As part of this movement and its legacy, the announcement of IICT was made, and the campus was inaugurated in a remarkably short time.” He added that IICT will emerge not only as an institution of world-class education but also as an architectural and cultural landmark that will attract people from across the globe in the coming years. “Just as the WAVES summit revolutionised the entire creator economy, IICT stands as a testament to all that hard work,” he stressed.

IICT will be an autonomous, non-profit organisation with a governing council, a students’ council, among other wings. It will offer advanced programs in integrated media post-production, animation, VFX, XR, and other emerging technologies, bringing together academic expertise, industry collaboration, and state-of-the-art infrastructure under one roof.

The central government is funding the institution, and the state government had, earlier this year, provided a 10-acre plot at Film City at Goregaon. The development plan of the institution is also in the final stages.

IICT has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with nine leading companies, including Meta, Apple, Jiostar, Microsoft, Star India, Adobe, YouTube, and WACOM, to collaborate with the university by providing support in curriculum development, internships, scholarships, startup funding, and job placements.