I am Wilma Serrao, currently serving as Assistant Professor at School of Media and Communication, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dubai since 2019. 

I have a post graduate degree in Media and Communication and has specialized in Broadcast Journalism from St. Aloysius College, Mangalore - Karnataka (India).

I am currently pursuing my part-time Ph.D from Centre for Creative and Cultural Studies, Department of Humanities and Management, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), India. The topic of my research focuses on 'A Study on the Service of Indian FM Radio Stations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Indian Diaspora'.

I have been am academics from past eight years and has been teaching both under graduate and post graduate students of media and communication. My area of teaching focuses on writing for broadcast and digital media, advertising, branding, public relation and event management. 

I am currently the program coordinator for post-graduation studies at our institution along with managing placement and industry collaborations.

I am currently exploring “The Service of Indian FM Radio Stations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Indian Diaspora”  which is a less explored subject in media in the region. The study focuses on the following objectives- 

• To analyse the content of the programmes of the Indian radio stations meant for Indian diaspora in UAE
• To study the impact of Indian radio stations on the socio-cultural life of the Indian diaspora in UAE

Considering my existing study, I would like to take this opportunity to expand my study in Australia and focus on Indian communities living in the region and the Indian broadcast media serving these communities living in this region. Today radio has become one of the powerful, popular and effective medium of communication. Post pandemic the role of radio has expanded. As per the research there are Indian radio stations serving the diaspora living in Australia in different Indian languages. The programme content and formats have been developed in such a way that the Indian diaspora feel connected and enjoy the programmes. Over the years the number of Indian FM stations have increased in the UAE as well as in Australia, thanks to its growing listenership and innovative technology.

This study gives a scope for the analysis of programme formats, measurement of competitions among other stations, adaptation of digital and technological innovation and implementation of innovative methods for production and broadcast of various programmes by the Indian FM radio stations.

If ARCH provides me an opportunity to travel to Australia and chose a region for the study, then I would like to analyse various Indian FM stations including their working and broadcasting format in one of the chosen regions in Australia. The researcher would want to analyse types of Indian radio stations, their programme formats, their target groups, audience engagement and their growth over the years specially post pandemic. 

The output of the analysis within the given time-period could help academicians and scholars to take up further studies in the same area. It will also guide the radio stations in analysing their content and improvising the programmes content if required to serve the Indian communities in better way.  It will also help the radio stations to understand and analyse their competitors in a better way. The study may also help the clients in choosing the right media to advertise their products considering the total number of listenership and growth of station over the given time.