Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and Netflix have announced scholarships for 100 students, providing up to 80% financial support across six professional programmes designed to support the next generation of Indian Storytellers.
The scholarship initiative covers six programmes, comprising two one-year diploma programmes and four six-month certificate programmes.
The programmes are designed to build industry-relevant skills across the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) ecosystem.
The two diploma programmes covered under the initiative are Diploma in Interactive Comics & Sequential Arts and Diploma in Visual Effects Mastery.
The four certificate programmes are Virtual Art Department Content Creation, Media Tech Workflow, Art of Character Animation, and E-Sports & Gaming Management.
The announcement follows a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos on August 5, 2026.
During the meeting, Modi remarked that India has a rich tradition of storytelling and an extraordinary pool of creative talent that can be leveraged to strengthen the country’s position as a global hub for content creation.
The Netflix India Storytelling Initiative was launched following the meeting with the aim of investing in India’s creative talent pipeline.
The initiative seeks to equip the next generation of Indian Storytellers with industry-relevant skills across the AVGC ecosystem, which serves as a key driver of India’s ‘Orange Economy’.
The scholarships will be available to students as well as working professionals across India, expanding access to professional education and training in creative technology and related fields.
Indian Storytellers: IICT, Netflix Align Programmes With Global Industry Standards
As part of the collaboration, the curriculum for IICT’s Visual Effects Mastery and Media Tech Workflow programmes has been designed to align with contemporary industry workflows and global standards, with inputs from Netflix.
The collaboration is intended to bring industry expertise into academic programmes while supporting the development of skilled Indian Storytellers and professionals for the evolving AVGC-XR industry.
Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Chairman, IICT Board, Chanchal Kumar said, “India’s creative economy is at an inflection point. As technology transforms the way stories are created, the institutions shaping the next generation of talent must evolve with it.
IICT was envisioned as a bridge between India’s enormous creative talent pool and the rapidly changing needs of the global AVGC-XR industry.
Partnerships with leading global players are an important part of building that bridge. Such collaborations will bring industry knowledge into the classroom and help develop India’s talent into the creative workforce of tomorrow.”
CEO, IICT, Dr. Vishwas Deoskar said, “The purpose of an institution like IICT is not only to impart skills, but to ensure that those skills remain relevant to the way the industry is evolving.
This collaboration with Netflix brings that industry perspective directly into our academic framework, from curriculum design and professional workflows to the standards students will be expected to meet.
By combining structured education with direct industry inputs and financial access, we aim to create a stronger pipeline of talent that is ready to contribute to India’s growing creative economy.”
Chairman, FICCI AVGC-XR Forum, Munjal Shroff said the FICCI-IICT-Netflix collaboration marks a shift towards industry-aligned talent development to build a future-ready workforce for India’s AVGC-XR sector.
The initiative brings together IICT’s academic framework and Netflix’s industry inputs to support the development of the next generation of Indian Storytellers.
Through scholarships covering up to 80% of programme costs, the initiative will provide 100 students with financial support across six professional programmes.
Indian Storytellers: Six Programmes Covered Under the Scholarship Initiative
The scholarships are available across the following six programmes:
- Diploma in Interactive Comics & Sequential Arts – one-year diploma programme
- Diploma in Visual Effects Mastery – one-year diploma programme
- Certificate in Virtual Art Department Content Creation – six-month certificate programme
- Certificate in Media Tech Workflow – six-month certificate programme
- Certificate in Art of Character Animation – six-month certificate programme
- Certificate in E-Sports & Gaming Management – six-month certificate programme
The programmes form part of the broader effort to strengthen India’s creative talent pipeline and prepare Indian Storytellers and professionals for opportunities within the AVGC-XR ecosystem.
