India launches first creator economy course as demand for trained professionals grows

MICA, a business school in Ahmedabad, has launched India's first full-time residential programme dedicated to the content and creator economy, as brands seek formally trained talent to keep pace with the country's rapidly expanding creator market.

The course is built around four areas: content creation, influencer marketing, talent management and social media marketing. Its first cohort of 22 students includes digital media specialists, content creators, social media agency professionals, advertisers, podcast hosts and film production specialists, all of whom passed through a competitive admissions process.

Dr Falguni Vasavada, a professor at MICA who chairs the programme, told The Daily Influence the decision to launch it was driven by growing demand from both employers and prospective students.

"Brands and companies will need more and more people who are professionally trained and qualified to understand social media content and influence," she said. "The content creator economy is hugely growing, and the government of India is also trying to give a big push to the orange economy" - a term used to describe industries built around creativity and intellectual property.

MICA has also partnered with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, which is leading the government's plan to establish content creator laboratories across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges nationwide. India's creator economy is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, with the government having committed $1 billion to support digital creators and improve production quality.

The programme builds on India's efforts to formalise its creator economy. As previously reported by The Daily Influence, the government has proposed extending IT rules to influencers publishing news content and signalled that platforms could be required to share revenue with creators.

The course is also indicative of a broader shift as the creator economy matures. Companies are increasingly investing in education and professional development, with organisations such as Bedford and Billion Dollar Boy's FiveTwoNine launching programmes designed to help creators build sustainable businesses.

Deepak Singh Rawat, founder of creator platform Cloutaura, told The Daily Influence MICA's course is significant because it signals that the creator economy is becoming more formalised. He cautioned however that training more creators would not fix a market where discovery still rewards follower count and algorithm luck over talent.

"Education can prepare creators for the system," he said, "but infrastructure must change the system."