Campus Talk | How a community radio run by a Mumbai college offers hands-on learning opportunities

One of the two RJs, Tejaswini Mundaye, who also serves as the overall coordinator of the Acharya 90 FM, said the radio station broadcasts in Marathi, Hindi, and English, or a mix of these languages, tailored to suit the specific audiences. Besides music, the radio’s content includes interviews with celebrities or people who are in the news locally, interactions with inspiring personalities, and academic or career-oriented sessions for the local youth. “The idea is to provide a dedicated platform for the local community,” she said.

Responsibility towards the local community was the idea behind the launch of this community radio by the Chembur Trombay Education Society, the parent body of the college. The society’s general secretary, Subodh Acharya, said, “It all started with an application to the Central Government in 2016 after reading about the impact of a community radio station. After years of follow-up to obtain permission, we launched in 2022. And our college was selected as the base, so students could benefit directly.”

Not just for mass communication students

Acharya said the management had arranged for consultations with radio experts. The studio and the logo were designed by students of the trust’s architecture college, while students of mass media and other courses have become a critical part of the station’s day-to-day operations.

Elaborating further, Mundaye said, “Our radio station mirrors the setup of any professional radio channel with dedicated teams handling marketing, advertising, content creation, etc. This allows students the opportunity to gain experience in an area of their choice. Apart from students from mass media courses, students from other disciplines also intern with us to gain hands-on experience.”

Acharya 90 FM also features recorded academic and career guidance programmes by faculty, available as podcasts via the station’s mobile app. “These podcasts are especially popular during exam and admission seasons—not just among our students, but also across the wider community,” said Mundaye.

Dr Sunil Kadam, the principal in-charge of the college, said, “Acharya 90 FM extends classroom learning into real-world application. Our teachers also record remedial lectures for past learners to clear pending papers, which invariably help a larger student community from the locality.”