Menu
Nederlands

#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.

Facts and figures

The programme at a glance
number of ECTS
30
period
September - December or February - June
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.   

The modules ‘Brand Activism and the PR professional’ and ‘Inspire the PR professional’ are the two theoretical modules. You form a publishing team with two or three other students and you choose a medium through which you are going to inform PR professionals about brand activism related topics. This can be an eMagazine, a podcast, a platform, or something alike, that’s up to you. The content of the medium is based on articles about topics related to brand activism. The focus in the first module is mainly on context and concept; who exactly is your target audience? The focus in the second module is on content, through the medium you have chosen, you are going to inspire the PR professional.

The module ‘Changing the Game’ consist of three separate assignments that are clearly linked to each other. The first assignment is about analysing an activist community (NGO) 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 that focusses on how to support the behavioural change desired by the NGO or community, which is the second assignment. And finally you develop a board- or online game that supports the NGO in changing the behaviour of the target audience. 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 design and conduct thorough research, how to write in correct English 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. 

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 based on theory about community building. The focus lies on how the community 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 in our City- and/or Fablab.  

Skills
As for Research, English and Intercultural Awareness you will be offered different (guest)lectures and workshops.  

Study trip
Part of the programme is a four day study trip to London (fall semester) and Berlin (spring semester). 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
  • MC test

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:

    • Conduct valid and reliable desk research to create substantiated content for the chosen medium (eMagazine, podcast, platform, etc.)
    • Select relevant and topical theories and best practices which you convert into in-depth and informative content.
    • Create a medium with a clear lay-out, attractive design/structure and cohesive content for the target audience.
    • Convert the insights into applicable and comprehensible content for the PR professional based on their needs.

    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:

    • Make a substantiated choice for relevant theory to analyse the target audience in which you incorporate ethical theory.
    • Conduct valid and reliable desk research according to the steps of our Research Design Model to find out all relevant elements for behavioural change according to the Behaviour Change Wheel model
    • Formulate conclusions and insights based on your research relevant for choosing interventions and creating a game in which you incorporate ethical deliberations.
    • Create a relevant concept, based on the insights of your research, for a game as an intervention to change the behaviour of the NGO’s target audience.

    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 can:

    • Create content in correct English and an attractive and right tone of voice.
    • Conduct appropriate and reliable research based on our research design model.
    • 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 (written tekst for English, MC test for Research and Reflection report for Intercultural Awareness)

    Module code

    CMIGET02V1

Practical matters

What you need to know

Location

Where you can find us
Foto van locatie Location

Wijnhaven 107

Wijnhaven 107 3011 WN Rotterdam
  1. Home
  2. Programmes
  3. Exchange
  4. #GetConnected - Media, Culture and Society
🍪

We use analytics and marketing cookies to improve the website.
Settings

HINT

HINT is the intranet for students and staff.

My RUAS

Check your enrolment status through my.rotterdamuas.com. Students can check their calendar, results and more on my.rotterdamuas.com.

InTouch

Do you have an internship/placement​, thesis or research project? Publish it in InTouch.