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    #GetConnected - Media, Culture and Society

    Exchange programme

    Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. Just do it – Nike

    This campaign with Colin Kaepernick as the protagonist is considered to be one of the best examples when it comes to how organisation can take a stance on a political or social issue. It’s called brand activism and forms a new challenge for the PR professional. Many organisations keep quiet out of fear for being canceled by part of their stakeholders. But staying silent is also communicating something! People expect companies to speak up and address contentious issues. They expect companies to have an added value for society, a purpose. And in this mediatised world we are living in, these people have a strong voice.  

    In the networked society people can easily get connected and form a group of like minded people to challenge the status quo of an organisation. Activist communities and NGOs become bolder in addressing sensitive issues and subsequently putting pressure on companies to take a stand and act in a for them favourable way. As a future PR professional it is imperative to know how communities thrive, how they try to engage and change the behaviour of their target audience and how they can exert influence on the policy of an organisation.

    Purpose, brand activism, communities and behavioural change… Making the world a better place. That’s what the #GetConnected programme is all about.

    This programme is no longer available in our Spring semester.

    Facts and figures

    The programme at a glance
    number of ECTS
    30
    period
    September - Early January
    tuition fee
    No tuition fee

    Part of School

    Programme information

    What to expect

    About the programme

    The programme #GetConnected has roughly two tracks; communication about societal issues from an organisational and PR point of view (brand activism), and bringing about change from the point of view of the grassroots, i.e. activist communities.

    These two tracks are divided into 4 modules, Brand activism and the PR professional (BAPR), Inspire the PR professional (IPR), Changing the Game (CG) and Skills.   

    Modules 

    • During the BAPR module you focus on doing research into the PR professional and his knowledge about brand activism. What is a PR professional exactly, what do they know about brand activism and what knowledge do they want to gain? Based on the insights you make a choice for a medium you want to create. This can be an eMagazine, a podcast, a platform, or something alike, that’s up to you.
    • During the IPR module you start creating content which is based onarticles about topics related to brand activism. Needless to say that this content aligns with the needs of the PR professional you determined in the BAPR module. Your goal is to inspire the PR professional!
    • The module Changing the Game (CG) consitst of three parts. Part one is about analysing an activist community (NGO) or organization (a real client) on how it engages its’ members and how it tries to change the behaviour of the target audience. Based on the analysis you create an advice for the community/client that focusses on how to support the behavioural change based on the Behaviour Change Wheel model. This is part two. The third part is all about developing a serious game, through which the desired behaviour change can be achieved. This can be a board- or online game. On Game Day, at the end of the programme, you are going to play each other’s games.
    • Last but not least the ‘Skills’ module will teach you how to execute a convincing pitch and  how intercultural awareness can support you when working in international teams.

     

    Method

    A general working method we use at our Communication programme is the 3 Cs. Context, Concept, Content. All assignments should be approached according to these three steps. You analyse the context of the problem, based on the outcomes you develop a fitting concept and finally you create the content needed to translate the concept to the target audience.

    Brand Activism and the PR professional 
    This module encompasses the context and concept phase for the IPR module. During six weeks you and your publishing team will conduct research on what brand activism contains, why organisations should or should not commit themselves to an issue, and in what way brand activism can be implemented. At the same time you will talk to PR professionals to assess what they are interested in regarding the topic and in which way they prefer to be informed. The module ends with a presentation of the insights of your context analysis and the concept of your chosen medium. You conduct research according to our research design model. A visit to a PR agency and guest lectures about related topics is part of the module. 

    This is a team assignment.

    Inspire the PR professional
    With your publishing team (3/4 students) you will work together intensively to conduct extensive desk research and unravel the central topic of the week. When it comes to the content part, we do not use traditional lectures. You will study relevant articles by yourself and discuss them with your group and present the key messages in class during peer lectures. After the peer lectures you will start creating the content for your medium. On Thursdays during consult you will receive feedback on the content.

    Changing the Game
    You will analyse an activist community or an organisation’s target audience. The focus lies on how the community or organization could improve the way they try to change the target audience’s behaviour. You will explore this behavioural change based on the Behaviour Change Wheel model. For the last step you develop a board- or online game that supports the intended behaviour change. The necessary knowledge and skills for the gamification part you will gain through (guest)lectures and workshops from professionals and workshops in our City- and/or Fablab.  These are one team and two individual assignments.

    Skills
    As for Pitching and Intercultural Awareness you will be offered different (guest)lectures and workshops.  You will also organise a live podcast for second year Dutch students during which you explain an Intercultural Awareness theory. These are two individual assignments.

    Study trip
    Part of the programme is a four day study trip to an interesting European city (London and Berlin were previous but maybe not future destinations). The trip is not mandatory, if you stay in Rotterdam, you will be expected to attend a substitute programme.

    Type of assessment

    • Presentations
    • Group assignments
    • Individual assignments

    For more information, see the separate module descriptions on this page.


      

    Learning outcomes

    There are no overall learning outcomes for this exchange programme. Please find the learning outcomes for each module under the section Modules on this page.

    Calendar

     

    Awarding

    After completing your exchange programme at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, you will receive a:

    • Transcript of records

    Modules

    An indication of the modules you can expect

    Block 1 and 2

    • Brand Activism and the PR professional – The Network Society (6 ECTS)
      Brand Activism and the PR professional – The Network Society (6 ECTS)

      Topics

      Week  BAPR - topic lectures
      1  Formation of Publishing Teams (PTs)  
      2  Introduction Brand Activism and the assignment  
      3  Introduction Brand Activism and the assignment  
      4  Workshops: eMagazine & Podcast  
      5  Concept and formats  
      6  Presentation: insights context analysis and concept of chosen medium  

       

      Learning materials

      Slides

      Learning outcomes

      At the end of this module you can:

      • Conduct valid and reliable desk and field research to find out the behaviour, needs and motives of PR professionals regarding Brand Activism.
      • Formulate conclusions and insights based on your research relevant for choosing your medium and creating its concept and formats.
      • Create a relevant concept and formats for your medium based on the insights of your research.
      • Explain how your concept creates interaction and connection with the PR professional and between the PR professional and his/her stakeholders.
      • Convince the PR professional of your chosen medium, concept and formats during the presentation. You enlighten and refute criticism of the PR professional during a Q&A.

      Type of assessment

      Group assessement of context PR professional and concept for chosen medium

      Module code

      CMIGET01T1

    • Inspire the PR professional – Interactive Communication in Networks (6 ECTS)
      Inspire the PR professional – Interactive Communication in Networks (6 ECTS)

      Topics 

      • PR and Brand Activism
      • Polarisation
      • Activism and civic Engagement
      • What’s next?

      Learning materials

      Academic articles

       

      Learning outcomes

      At the end of this module you can:

      • You create a medium with a clear lay-out, attractive design/structure and cohesive content for the target audience.

         

         

      • You select relevant and topical theories and best practices which you convert into in-depth and informative content for the chosen medium (eMagazine, podcast, platform, etc.).

         

      • You implement the main takeaways in your content that add value for the PR professional.

      Type of assessment

      Group assessment of content for PR professional

      Module code

      CMIGET01T2

    • Changing the Game – The Connecting Consultant (15 ECTS)
      Changing the Game – The Connecting Consultant (15 ECTS)

      Topics

      • Communities
      • Behaviour Change
      • Gamification

      Learning materials

      Slides

      Learning outcomes

      At the end of this module you:

      • Can select and apply relevant communication theories/models to analyse the client and assigned themes linked to climate change.

         

      • Can design and execute reliable and valid research that fits the research questions for the context analysis

         

      • Can define a target audience and determine a subtheme based on the  conclusions and insights of your research.

         

      • Can conduct valid and reliable desk research to find out all relevant elements for behavioural change according to the Behaviour Change Wheel model

         

      • Can formulate conclusions and insights based on your research relevant for choosing interventions and creating a game in which you incorporate ethical deliberations.

         

      • Based on the insights of your research you create a relevant concept for a game as an intervention to change the behaviour of the target audience

         

      • Can create a fitting and attractive game for the target audience and indicate how it can be adapted into an online version.

      • You argue based on relevant theory how the game concept and content realise interaction and engagement within the target audience.

         

      • You design and conduct reliable and valid research to test and improve the efficacy of your game

         

      • You explain how the game can influence or change the chosen behaviour

         

      • You ignite enthusiasm and positive response about your game and its desired behavioural change among its players and thus add value.

      Type of assessment

      Individual (community analysis and behaviour change wheel model) and group assessment (game development)

      Module code

      CMIGET02P1

    • Skills (3 ECTS)
      Skills (3 ECTS)

      Topics 

      • English
      • Research
      • Intercultural awareness

      Learning materials

      Slides

       

      Learning outcomes

      At the end of this module you:

      • Are able to deliver an attractive and persuasive presentation/pitch by implementing an array of presentation skills

      •  

        You are able to analyse intercultural cooperation in projects and reflect on the required knowledge and skills needed for working in an intercultural team to create cohesion

      Type of assessment

      • Individual assessment
      • Pitching: deliver a pitch
      • Intercultural Awareness: Reflection report, peer lecture and presentation  

      Module code

      CMIGET02V1

    Practical matters

    What you need to know

    Location

    Where you can find us

    Wijnhaven 107

    Wijnhaven 107 3011 WN Rotterdam
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