Ashish Kumar P., an alumnus of the Department of Communication, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad, has been appointed a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Communications at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, United States. He joins the Division of Communication and the Arts, where he teaches video and sound production with an emphasis on interdisciplinary practice and storytelling.
Ashish completed his MA in Communication at the University of Hyderabad with the 2011–13 batch. A first-generation university graduate from Hyderabad, he took his BA in Mass Communication at Loyola Academy Degree and PG College before joining UoH, and went on to earn an MFA in Media Arts, Cinema and Television Arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Over the past decade, he has taught and mentored students across a range of institutional settings and developed courses in Narrative Film Production, Editing, Documentary, and Media Arts. His teaching philosophy centres on critical engagement, technical fluency, and care, framing the classroom as a collaborative space in which students examine not only how stories are told, but why and for whom they are told. Shaped by his work with grassroots movements, he encourages students to treat lens, light, and editing decisions as ethical responsibilities and to question how media shape perceptions of identity and society.
His most recent work, In/Dignity, a feature-length documentary produced as his MFA thesis project, follows Ambedkar statues in India and the United States to examine caste, identity, and the politics of visibility. Combining personal narrative, archival material, field interviews, and experimental technique, the film honours the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while tracing the intersections of memory, art, and activism.
Ashish began his career in video production with the editing team at a Bollywood film and television production house, before moving into independent practice exploring caste, memory, and identity through film, sound, and collaborative art. He has worked as a director, assistant director, and post-production editor across Indian and international media industries, collaborating with organisations including Google, NTFP-EP, ICRISAT, the community radio station Ad Astra, and Ambedkarite collectives — work that consistently brings technical craft together with public history and advocacy.
Writing to the Department, Ashish recalled his years on campus with warmth. “The knowledge, guidance, and training I gained during my MA program at the University of Hyderabad have played an invaluable role in shaping my artistic approach, academic career, and preparing me for this milestone,” he wrote, adding that he hoped to explore student and faculty exchange programmes and joint research and publication with the Department in the years ahead.
At Pitt-Bradford, his academic focus continues to centre on critical thinking and creative exploration in video, radio, and digital media production, with an emphasis on cultural diversity and inclusive perspectives. Outside the classroom and the studio, he is a keen cook who enjoys preparing fusion-style food for others — a practice he describes as an extension of the same creative approach, blending traditions and forms into something new and shared.
The Department of Communication, the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, and the University of Hyderabad congratulate Ashish Kumar P. on this milestone and wish him continued success in his teaching, filmmaking, and research.