Ankuran Dutta is Associate Professor and Head, Department of Communication and Journalism (Estd. in 1967), Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India. Dr Dutta is a media educator by profession with an experience of about 15 years and involved in different academic activities in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Malaysia. Recently he has been awarded with prestigious “National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science and Technology Communication in the Electronic Medium, 2018″ by the NCSTC, DST, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India on February 28, 2019. He is also awarded as the Best Media Educator (Associate Professor) at Media and Media Education Summit, 2018 in New Delhi. Dr. Dutta has participated the Study of the United States Institutes programme in Journalism and Media at E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at the University of Ohio, USA from June-August, 2018.
Dr Dutta’s academic career took off in the year 2004 as the founder Course Coordinator of Media and Communication Study Centre at Cotton College, Guwahati and also held the position of Lecturer at the present department of Gauhati University in 2006. In the year 2007, he shifted to KKH State Open University (KKHSOU), India and rendered positions of Academic Consultant, Assistant Professor, Deputy Director (Multimedia) and Associate Professor & in-charge of Bhupen Hazarika School of Mass Communication. He founded the first community radio service of north east India ‘Jnan Taranga’ and the first web radio of the region ‘e-Jnan Taranga’ as the Station Manager. He worked on educational programme production in the radio for 5 years and is credited to have produced more than 800 audio and 250 audio visual educational programmes.Academically he was inducted in a short term research at York University, Toronto, Canada as a fellow of Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute which formed the base of his understanding of global media.His career took flight and he received global exposure as a Programme Officer at Commonwealth of Learning; an inter-governmental organisation under UN privileges from 2013 to 2015 to look after Livelihoods and Skills of Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), New Delhi.
As part of his profile he had travelled the South Asian Countries extensively and promoted educational policies in these regions to a large extent. He participated in various national and international conferences in different parts of the world. Apart from global exposure he has been involved in promoting media issues in regional language and he has authored, translated and edited about 15 volumes of literature associated with media in English, Assamese and Bengali language. Adding feather to his cap, Dr Dutta also wrote and edited around 50 self-learning study materials for seven universities of India and abroad, published about 35 research papers and articles in journals of national and international repute. He has contributed around 350 articles in different newspapers, periodicals and participated in around hundred programmes of radio and television. Communication is very diligently used by Dr Dutta to inculcate scientific temperament among the marginalised communities in South Asia. He has empowered communities through technical hands-on intervention of Community Radio among information poor communities. Veering into domains of science, risk and health communication through innumerable programmes using models like CLP, SBCC Dr Dutta continues to work in the development sector. He has authored, edited and translated books, research-papers and articles on the domain and organised local, national and international events to make science easy to decipher for all and dispel miscommunication.
He also rendered his service as founder Vice President of Community Radio Association of India and is currently the Managing Trustee (honorary) of the Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust which is a charitable trust that works for media research and health rights in the nation as well as is a mouthpiece for medical negligence in the country.
Communication Today 