Excellent infrastructure, technological advancements, which are ahead of the Industry, innovative teaching practices, award-winning faculty and much more, is what makes Whistling Woods International (WWI), a worth contender for the accolade, ‘Educational Institute of the Year.’

Asia’s premier film, communication, and creative arts institute, WWI is located within the heart of Mumbai – Filmcity and was founded by one of India’s leading filmmakers – Subhash Ghai. It consists of cutting-edge academia that caters to various competencies – filmmaking, acting, media & communication, animation & game design, music, fashion & costume design, visual communication design, sport & esports management and event management. The institute offers degree, post-graduate, and diploma programmes under an agreement with Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) in various domains of film, communication, and creative arts.

WWI’s 5.5-acre campus comprises high-end facilities that contribute to nurturing the students’ professional and personal development. These amenities include – classrooms, auditorium, workshop rooms, and studios – that are acoustically-treated with projection and audio systems, acting/dancing/music/yoga studios, gymnasium, and so on. In addition to this, the campus also comprises of advanced technical infrastructure, which includes – WWI Emerging Media Lab, WWI JIO VR Lab, Sony Media Technology Center, and Foxconn Media Lab, to name a few.

Delivering Superior Learning Outcomes

WWI constantly works towards expanding its offerings by introducing new programmes and domains within the media and entertainment industry. Its USP is that it is closely connected to and aware of any and all developments in the fields of film, communication and creative arts, including the latest technologies, the newest techniques, and so on. As a result, everything taught at WWI is based on a forward-thinking attitude and a desire to provide students with more than the traditional cut-and-dry technique of delivering education.

WWI believes in training students for the industry of tomorrow, offering a perfect balance between practical training and theoretical knowledge. This is further reinforced by the faculty, which primarily comprises of working industry professionals; along with numerous masterclasses every week with industry experts who share their expertise with students. Guest faculties, both local and international, are also a regular occurrence at the institute. All these factors combine to produce graduates who are industry ready and prepared to take on any task that comes their way.

It also equips the students with the necessary soft skills, which are also crucial to collaborate with other professionals in the industry. This also helps them work well with a team, which is key to achieving success in the industry.

WWI follows an excellent approach to e-learning, which has risen to prominence. They’ve taken that approach via WWI Virtual Academy, their pioneering e-learning platform. The WWI Virtual Academy, as part of WWI’s ongoing efforts to promote Film and Media education around the world, offers video-based courses in a variety of creative professions. These courses, created by WWI’s industry faculty, combine technology with the institute’s unique teaching approaches, allowing students from all over the country and globe to pursue a career in the field of creative arts through a flexible, cutting-edge curriculum.

The institute has excellent industry connections. This is beneficial for the students because they get to acquire in-depth knowledge about the realities of the industry. The institute boasts of excellent full-time faculty consisting of academicians and industry professionals. Furthermore, it conducts regular guest lectures by leading Indian and international filmmakers, actors, technicians, musicians, fashion designers, and animators. The students also have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with some of the most successful professionals of the Indian film, media, and creative arts industry, who are also their potential employers.

Dedicated Leadership

A visionary and an achiever who believes in aiming high and then working towards achieving her goals – Meghna Ghai Puri is the President of WWI. She is a leader, an educationist, a mother, a wife, a businesswoman, and most importantly a student! While she does a lot more by associating with causes that she feels passionate about, these positions define the various aspects of her life and makes her the person she is.

Being the President, Meghna Ghai Puri leads and mentors an entire team of talented professionals, while also overseeing the operations of Asia’s largest and India’s only international school for media and film studies. As a good leader and person, she exhibits qualities like being ambitious, strongheaded, while also being empathetic and sensitive. Juggling between these and ensuring she leads correctly are not only crucial to her but to the entire organisation.

More than Just Education

Life at WWI is not merely confined to classrooms and textbooks. The institute pays equal importance to extracurricular and co-curricular activities so that the students can express themselves.

It has a host of clubs and avenues, which provide an opportunity to the students to learn and thrive in their academics and career. These are as follows:

5th Veda Cultural Hub

5th Veda is the cultural hub initiated by the Founder & Chairman, Subhash Ghai, under which best of the artists and young talent of India are encouraged to teach and perform their artistic skills, which in turn develops the artistic skills of the students.

Celebrate Cinema

Whistling Woods International provides film & media aspirants with a platform known as Celebrate Cinema, which helps them interact with the industry experts and learn about techniques in Indian cinema over two action-packed days. It is an open-to-all event, for all cinema lovers, aspiring filmmakers, media, design, and fashion professionals, where they have an opportunity to attend workshops, screenings, various contests, and celebrity panel discussions.

Aiyanna

Whistling Woods International School of Fashion & Costume Design, hosts ‘AIYANNA’, an annual fashion graduation show, giving a platform to the students to showcase their work. Students showcase brilliant couture collections, each with an innovative theme along with fashion films, research projects, and much more, designed and created by the graduating batch, respectively. It is the first time that a fashion design school has offered an opportunity to the students to showcase their creativity via movies bringing out the competitive stylist in them in a distinct way.

Inspiration

The School of Media & Communication hosts an annual media seminar series across multiple Indian cities where experts meet aspirants to talk about the industry’s dynamic nature.

INBOX

INBOX is a two-day, intra, annual college festival of WWI. It is an array of mixed events- from cultural programmes, sports championships to entertainment-based competitions.

Apart from that, the institute also conducts a wide variety of film and media events in collaboration with other entities such as foreign consulates, NGOs, cultural & film associations, and technological & learning partners.

An Inspirational Saga of Achievements

WWI constantly attempts to come up with pioneering and path-breaking maneuvers in education. Since its inception, Whistling Woods International has won innumerable accolades, at both national and international level. Its teaching methodologies have consistently been praised for reshaping India’s film, communication and creative arts framework, and its faculty have received plaudits for their contributions to advancing their respective fields of expertise. WWI’s faculty have also received numerous national and international accolades for their achievements.

But perhaps WWI’s greatest achievement has been the success of its alumni, with over 2500 such individuals playing a key role in India’s rapidly growing Film, Media, Entertainment and Creative Arts industry. The institute’s alumni body also includes highly successful and successful professionals working in the creative arts industry around the world. The combination of its vision, facilities, infrastructure, and faculty is a potent mix. Its dedication and innovative efforts have led the institute to bag many accolades. Some of the major achievements of the institute are as below:

With Whistling Woods International as one of the founding Advisory Board members, SMPTE launched On-Set Virtual Production (OSVP) initiative. The initiative is a first of- its-kind Rapid Industry Solution (RIS) activity and WWI is the first-ever and only institute

across Asia to be part of this initiative

• Whistling Woods International is honoured to be a member of the VR/AR Association and participated in the launch of its Mumbai Chapter
• Whistling Woods International has been recognised for its Enterprise Applications in the Education category at the Digital Technology Senate Awards 2021, hosted by The Indian Express Group
• Whistling Woods International has collaborated with Accademia Costume & Moda, Italy to further strengthen the academic relationship between the two institutions for the benefit of the students

• Whistling Woods International has associated with Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation for an industry-academia collaboration to further the cause of Emerging Media content and Cinematic Virtual Reality

Cruising through the Pandemic

WWI has always been synonymous with advancement, and it will continue to adapt itself with the changing times. With the world embracing several challenges owing to the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, WWI took the safety of the students and the staff very seriously. Various precautionary steps were put in place as soon as the pandemic began. The most important of these was the implementation of social distancing measures, which saw all the classes being shifted online. Although this undeniably impacted the courses when first implemented, these steps ensured that the ongoing academic session remained uninterrupted, and that the students’ learning stayed unhindered. Subsequently, both the faculty and students adapted to the ‘new normal’ very quickly.

The institute’s entrance exams for the 2020 and 2021 intake were shifted online, and the professors received training on how to provide virtual mentorship, guidance, and assistance to any student who required it. It also introduced the WWI Automated Resource Planner (WARP) – a customised ERP system that allowed access to WWI’s central database to the faculty and staff, without space or time boundaries.

The Future Awaits

With the Mumbai campus well established, the institute is strongly looking at expanding programme verticals and campuses. The newest addition to WWI’s academic repertoire has been the launch of the School of Sports & Esports Management. Additionally, it is at various stages of establishing additional campuses both within India and outside, in partnership with governments and like-minded organisations.

The institute is driven by the vision to create an even greater state-of-the-art academic institution that sets new standards of world-class education in film, communication, and creative arts. WWI aims to inspire innovation and encourage creativity by leading from the front in the field of media and entertainment.

Its ultimate dream is to have an institution that hones and promotes talent from the age group of five to 50. “We want every creative person who wishes to make a career in this dynamic industry to go through top quality education and be successful in what they do,” expresses the management. WWI is also in talks with various state governments, as its endeavour is to build more such schools that are not just a film institute but a communication and media oasis.

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