During the second week of April I had the pleasure of joining my colleague Dr Darren Lilleker on a staff exchange visit to the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest, try Romania. Although I have lectured at NUPSPA (SNSPA) in Romania before, check this was the first time in 10 years since I graduated from there that I returned as part of an official partnership and as a lecturer.
The programme of the visit was truly integrative with teaching to undergraduate, postgraduate and staff members and meetings to discuss ongoing and potential research projects.
My lectures included:
- a sample lecture from the Digital Communication Strategies course I teach at BU on “social media competitor analysis“
- a lecture to MA students about Crisis Communication and Contingency Theory where we looked at two online crises (Greenpeace vs Nestle and Amy’s Baking Company and Gordon Ramsey’s US show and how the theory reflects their different approaches to managing their communication crises)
- a lecture to MA and PhD students and staff members on Digital Humanities Research delivered together with Dr Darren Lilleker (see slides below where we identified both tools as well as examples of research where we used digital media for research; interestingly enough Facebook is the default social network and marketing environment in Romania, with Twitter enjoying far less popularity)
- a joint discussion with Dr Darren Lilleker about the research process held with PhD and MA researchers and research active members of staff
The lectures and meetings were well attended and highly interactive. I return to the UK looking forward to the visit of two NUPSPA members of staff as well as looking forward to continue and expand our collaboration.
The 7th of May was a trully special day when we celebrated the successes of the students undertaking the unit that I teach and lead at Bournemouth University as well as share our knowledge and experience with students and small and medium businesses in and around Bournemouth. The half day event featured presentations from students who successfully completed the Digital Communication Strategies Unit assessesed by industry representatives from LV, this
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presentations from Matt Desmier and Dr Dan Jackson and informal talks with SMEs in and around Bournemouth about their digital projects, challeneges and experiences.
The feedback from the judges and participating SMEs has been overwhelmingly positive and I am really proud to see our students work being appreciated. Hearing the judges stress how “strategic” and well measured the three projects showcased were was a strong support that our teaching approach both meets industry needs and responds to current professional trends. I am so thankful to my colleagues, Juliette Hecquet and Anna Feigenbaum, with whom I teach the unit for their input and support as well as to all my colleagues at BU, especially to Ian Jones, Liam Toms and Dan Jackson for helping me to organize the event.
A quick summary of what happened on the day is here: