Media students at Technische Universtität Ilmenau have developed professional communication concepts for the Thuringian Agency for the Recruitment of Skilled Workers this winter semester. Six young "PR agencies" competed with each other in a seminar on international public relations. After presenting their concepts today (February 2) in a realistic pitch, a jury selected the winning campaign, which may now be put into practice.
Medium-sized companies in Thuringia are desperately looking for skilled workers. Attracting more skilled workers to the state and raising awareness of the problems faced by companies are core tasks of the Thuringian Agency for the Recruitment of Skilled Workers (ThAFF). This is how ThAFF and the students at TU Ilmenau came together: In their seminar on international public relations, 30 students developed campaigns "on behalf of" ThAFF to draw companies' attention to the potential of international graduates. and Thuringian universities. In turn, Thuringian graduates from abroad should be made aware of the career opportunities in Thuringia's SMEs and thus be kept in the state.
Like professional PR agencies, the six student teams presented their ideas in a realistic 20-minute pitcha jury made up of members of the university and the ThAFF in a realistic 20-minute pitch on the premises of the Thuringian Agency for the Recruitment ofcommunication concepts. The winners were the agencies "Sustainable Impact Communication" and "The A-Z Company", whose concepts focus on dialog between all interest groups such as companies, international students and politics and can thus stimulate change in Thuringia.
The seminar on international public relations is offered every winter semester in the Master's degree courses in Media and Communication Science and International Business Economics, with new organizations and companies constantly appearing as "clients" for the PR concepts. Based on the latest scientific findings, the media students work like professionals on specific practical issues with regional institutions, for example with the KI Bundesverband, the largest network for artificial intelligence in Germany, the species and animal protection organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Plan International, an independent organization for humanitarian aid for children.
A win-win collaboration for both sides. Dr. Andreas Schwarz, communication scientist at the Group for Research in Public Relations and Communication of Technology , led the current seminar: "For the students, this seminar is the best preparation for working in the increasingly internationalized communication industry, including in Thuringia. The cooperation with regional partners such as the ThAFF is also an excellent opportunity to network our future graduates from Thuringia and the world regionally". Sabine Wosche, Managing Director of Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Thüringen, where ThAFF is based, also sees the cooperation as a good example of profitable collaboration between business development and teaching: "We are delighted that we are receiving impetus from the students for our work in the field of recruiting skilled workers. In addition, most of the participants are international students who we would like to keep in Thuringia - and the current project is helping us to get to know each other and deepen our contacts."
Contact
Dr. Andras Schwarz
Head of the Group for Research in Public Relations and Communication of Technology
+49 3677 69-4694
andreas.schwarz@tu-ilmenau.de
