The courses offered by the department of Media Education Research Centre (MERC) in mass communication and journalism has been a boon for the youth of the valley. The centre has produced more than 800 postgraduates, about 80% of them are working with media organizations at local, national and international levels. The alumni of the centre are placed in reputed national broadcast journalism organizations like NDTV, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today, Sahara, Zee News, Times Now, Star News and national print media organizations like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Hindu, Mail Today, Outlook, India Today, Tehelka, and The Week.[13] The masters programme in Kashmir and South Asia Studies introduced at the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of Kashmir Studies[14] from 2013 academic session under a reformulated MoU between South Asia Foundation (SAF), India and the University of Kashmir, Srinagar has seen students in the state and across the border showing keen interest in studying Kashmir from a multi-dimensional perspective.