Established in 1924, Delhi Universty’s IP College for Women is one of the oldest women’s colleges in Delhi which was started in two rooms of the Indraprastha School at Chippiwara near Jama Masjid.
The college shifted to its present location at Alipore House in 1938 with the efforts of Dr Ram Kishore, the then Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi, and members of the Indraprastha Educational Trust and Governing Body.
Enlisted among the top ten art colleges of Delhi University, IP College offers courses in Computer Science, Commerce, Economics, English, Hindi, History, Multimedia and Mass Communication, Music, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology and Sanskrit.
“This is the only women’s college in Delhi to have a swimming pool. We are installing a climbing wall because one of our students is an Everest climber. We are in the process of setting up a museum which is our learning resource centre. We have translation studies research centre,” shares Dr Babli Moitra Saraf, Principal of the college.
The college is disabled-friendly
According to the Principal, the USP of the college is 100 percent barrier-free access. The college has numerous facilities for the differently-abled students.
Ramps and markers for the visually challenged are all over the campus, apart from special kind of washrooms. The newly renovated auditorium also has a ramp for the specially abled upto the stage. Resource materials and customised software are available for the visually challenged in library.
Multimedia and Mass Communication department of the college is one of its kind.
Dr MM Yogi, Coordinator of the Multimedia and Mass Communication Department of the college shares that the mass media course continues to be the reason for admission into this college. “We have a state of the art audio-visual production centre where we started Bachelor of Mass Media and Mass Communication course. This course which started in 1998 has been the flagship course of the college which is the only college of Delhi University to offer one,” she stresses.
The fully air-conditioned studio and the audio-visual production centre was inaugurated by the then Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj in 2003. The audio visual studio is available with every equipment required for audio and video production. The video studio has multi-camera set up, receivers for wireless microphones and talk backs. These studio facilities are controlled from a fully functional production control room which has all the necessary equipment required for production. The studio also has a separate production control room for sound recording and mixing which has a recording machine with 32 channel digital mixer which supports multi track recording. Besides, video and audio studios, there is also an editing bay for all kind of post production activities.
Three radio production rooms, eight editing bays, dark rooms, the latest in computer hardware and software and classrooms equipped with projection facilities. The department has also made cameras, video units and other equipment available on an individual basis to each and every student, for hands-on experience of the course and to enable them to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum.
“The best thing is that we have our personal mac computers to work on a project in the studio. There are no restrictions for using the equipment. This course is fun-filled as it is the only course without books. The faculty lays stress on hands-on learning experience which is a good thing. We have projects like film making, documentaries, radio production, photography projects which are interesting,” said Minal Khosla, a final year student of the course.
The course was ranked 9 among the best media schools in the country in 2013 by India Today-Nielsen Survey.
“The nomenclature of the course has changed and now it is called BA hons Multimedia and Mass Communication. We are in the process of restructuring the course this year again and introducing papers like ‘Communication in plastic art’, ‘fashion communication’. This is to make it upto the global standards. It is a self-financed course with 52 seats for the general and reserved category. It is the only college of DU to offer this course,” adds Dr Yogi.
Scenic beauty
The college is surrounded by lush green trees. It is home to various migratory birds apart from peacocks. One can find shehtoot and anjeer trees while taking a stroll in the lawns. The campus is clean and well-maintained.
“Walk into the campus and you will get the feeling of a classic British film seeing the remarkable building of the college which was declared a heritage in 2001. Lush greenery, wide variety of flowers enhance the beauty of the campus,” exclaims a second-year student.
The Swimming Pool
This college is the first and the only women college to have a swimming pool.
Multi-facility sports complex
The college has a sprawling multi-facility sports complex which was renovated in 2010. It has a fitness centre with all the latest machines available for students. Table-tennis court, badminton court, outdoor and indoor shooting ranges, vast playgrounds are the sports infrastructure offered by the college.
The seminar room and conference room with projectors LCD Projection facility in 30 classrooms are also the infrastructural facilities it offers.
Life at the campus
The dramatics society which is called the Abhivyakti is very active and has won several laurels for the college across the country. Afroza, the dance society is also very popular. Besides, there are also facilities like photostat, stationery shop, cyber café, mobile phone recharge shop in the premises so that students don’t have to go out of the premises in case a need arises. The campus is also Wi-Fi enabled.
"It was a life changing experience for me to join this college. I came here as a confused girl and now passing out as a confident woman. Especially, for the co-ed school girls, a women's college is the best thing happened to you. It is like a life changing ride, the one you'll never regret being part of," shares Minal, a final year student.
