India’s next generation of storytellers just got a bigger runway. The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and Netflix have joined forces to offer scholarships to 100 students, covering up to 80 per cent of fees across six professional programmes spanning animation, visual effects, gaming and comics.
The scholarships are part of the Netflix India storytelling initiative, announced by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos earlier this month. Backed by the Netflix fund for creative equity, the scheme is open to students and working professionals across India.
The six programmes include two one-year diplomas interactive comics & sequential arts and visual effects mastery alongside four six-month certificates in virtual art department content creation, media tech workflow, art of character animation, and e-sports & gaming management.
The partnership also brings Netflix closer to the classroom. The company has helped shape the curriculum for IICT’s visual effects mastery and media tech workflow programmes, aligning them with current industry workflows and practices.
The announcement follows Sarandos’ meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi during his India visit, when Netflix launched the Netflix India storytelling initiative. The broader effort aims to strengthen India’s creative talent pipeline and equip the next generation with industry-ready skills for the country’s growing animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) ecosystem and its wider orange economy.
IICT board chairman and ministry of information & broadcasting secretary Chanchal Kumar shared, “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.”
Netflix India content vice president Monika Shergill shared, “We’ve seen Indian stories travel further than ever before, and that’s just the beginning of what’s possible. India has an incredible depth of creative talent, and the most exciting stories of the future will come from people who are finding their voice today. Our role is to help unlock that talent. This partnership with IICT gives the next generation of storytellers real tools to tell the stories only they can tell – training in animation, VFX, gaming and comics, backed by people who know the industry. We are nurturing the next generation of India’s storytellers and are excited to step into the new worlds they create.”
IICT CEO Dr. Vishwas Deoskar added, “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.”
Graphiti Studios co-founder and chief operating officer and FICCI AVGC-XR Forum chairman Munjal Shroff mentioned, “The FICCI- IICT- Netflix collaboration marks an important shift towards making industry aligned talent development a cornerstone of India’s AVGC-XR growth. By connecting education with real world creative workflows and global industry standards, this partnership can help turn India’s vast talent pool into a future ready creative workforce equipped to create for the world.”
IICT is India’s national centre of excellence for the animation, visual effects, gaming, comics and extended reality (AVGC-XR) sector, established by the ministry of information & broadcasting, government of India, in partnership with the government of Maharashtra, FICCI and CII. The institute currently operates from the NFDC complex on pedder road, Mumbai, while its permanent 10-acre campus is being developed at Film City, Goregaon.
With training, industry expertise and financial support now sharing the same frame, the message is clear: India’s creative talent pipeline is moving from classroom theory to industry reality and Netflix wants a front-row seat.
