New communication pathways emerge from Massey and Mahindra partnership

New opportunities for students and academics are taking shape through a partnership between Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University and Mahindra University in Hyderabad, India. One of the first initiatives is an articulation pathway that will allow eligible Mahindra University students to enter Massey’s Bachelor of Communication (BC) and Master of Communication (MC) with recognised prior learning. The universities are also developing study abroad and exchange opportunities, alongside faculty exchanges and immersive internships for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the partnership brings together Massey’s School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication and Mahindra University’s School of Digital Media and Communication (SDMC).

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Cynthia White says the partnership creates opportunities to connect students and academics across different cultural and academic contexts.

“This partnership brings together complementary strengths in communication education and research and creates exciting opportunities for our students and staff to learn, collaborate and build connections across two very different cultural and academic contexts.

“The articulation pathway will give Mahindra University students a new route into Massey’s Bachelor of Communication, while exchanges and internships will give students from both universities the opportunity to experience communication in different settings. The research collaboration adds another important dimension, connecting our academics in addressing shared global challenges,” Professor White adds.

The research collaboration brings together Massey’s Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) and SDMC to develop community-engaged, culture-centered communication responses to global challenges.

CARE works alongside communities to develop communication responses to complex challenges, with its research grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principle of tino rangatiratanga.

Dean’s Chair in Communication and Director of CARE Professor Mohan Dutta says this approach will be central to the collaboration.

“Tino rangatiratanga means the communities we work with hold authority over the questions that get asked, the knowledge that gets produced and the solutions that get built.”

The research partnership will explore shared questions around democracy, media and big tech, with a focus on developing communication solutions alongside the communities they are intended to serve.

Professor Dutta says bringing CARE’s approach together with Mahindra University’s strengths in digital media and communication creates opportunities to address challenges that cross national boundaries.

“Bringing this approach together with the strengths of the School of Digital Media and Communication gives our two universities a shared platform for applied communication that addresses complex global challenges such as health inequalities, the climate crisis, disinformation and the erosion of democratic voice.”

Mahindra University Vice Chancellor Dr Yajulu Medury says the partnership will provide students and faculty with opportunities for global engagement and scholarly exchange.

“Our partnership with Massey University reflects this commitment and will provide our students and faculty with meaningful opportunities for global engagement and scholarly exchange.”

Dean of SDMC Dr Shashidhar Nanjundaiah says the relationship has developed through discussions around student internships, faculty exchange and research collaboration.

“Visiting the campuses and meeting colleagues in person has turned those conversations into a working relationship,” he says.

The MoU also provides scope for joint projects, sharing academic materials, joint applications for third-party research funding and further articulation of courses across the two institutions.

Massey’s BC is the only qualification outside the Americas and the Middle East accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Communication at Massey is also ranked first in Aotearoa New Zealand and 45th in the world by ShanghaiRanking.