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GOAN STUDENT IN EUROPE COMPLETES Ph.D. IN MEDIA STUDIES >From Frederick Noronha PANJIM, April 5: Journalism research of Goan origin Manjiri Virginkar-Papproth has recently completed a PhD on the impact of economic liberalization on the Indian media and the "beginnings of the information revolution in the country". Titled 'The Information Revolution in India and the Communication Policy: Media, Politics, Society (July 1991-May 1996)', the thesis also tries to put the development communication used by the Indian government in its actual perspective. Virginkar-Papproth moved to Europe in 1992 to do a Masters in Communication Sciences. "Since the subject really interested me, I decided to continue with a Ph.D. Here, I was encouraged by my grandfather Prof. D.B. Wagh, my grand mother, my uncle and my parents," she told this journalist recently in an interview. She studied in Goa till her eleventh standard, then in Mumbai's Ruia College and in Bombay University. She has been working in the Siemens Business Services as a consultant for knowledge management/information gap in the organization. "In future, I would like devote myself to research on closing information gaps enabled by modern web-based technologies," she adds. In the heartland of Europe, where English is not the main language, what was the university environment like? "There were students from a lot of countries studying a lot of different subjects, which was indeed an encouraging environment. I stayed in a student housing complex called 'Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris'," she added. Here many countries had buildings for its students. As for the language, she had started to learn French while in India. "This certainly helped me since my entire thesis was done in French," she adds. How does the media there compare with the situation here? Opines Ms Virginkar-Papproth: "The press in India and in Goa is equally challenging and critically monitoring the ruling parties like the press in Europe and thus a very good example of the Anglo-Saxon press." If she had the chance to work on a media-related research subject in Goa, she would probably zero in on the digital divide and its effects, she says. "In the present information age, this gap is all the more evident due to the differences in buying power. Those who can afford to buy the most modern technology, become even richer in information, while those who can't are becoming poorer in information," she adds. "Studies in Europe did give me a chance to get a different perspective of the media field. While working as a journalist in India, I was well informed about the current topics. But the studies here gave me the possibility to learn subjects like media management, geopolitics," she adds. She adds that her PhD gave her the chance to "learn something new every moment". Or, as she puts it, "It was a great experience. I am glad that I decided on the right topic and of course decided to continue my studies after an intermediate professional experience in India." Manjiri Virginkar-Papproth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> is currently based in Munich in Germany. (ENDS) -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price. _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet