News

Lecturer visit to the University of Central Florida

Elisabeth Wagner-Olfermann visited the Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in early March as a guest lecturer. She held two seminars, participated in a panel discussion, and exchanged ideas with doctoral students on site.

(private photo)

Paneltalk on the topic "Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: International Perspective" (private photo)

Our partner university in Florida is the largest university in the U.S. with nearly 70,000 students. The Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) itself offers more than ten programs for bachelor's and master's students as well as a program for doctoral students. 

During her stay, Elisabeth Wagner-Olfermann, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in the field of public relations and technology communication, got to know colleagues on site and gained an insight into teaching and the doctoral program. In a seminar, she talked to first-semester doctoral students about the theoretical model she developed for her dissertation. In another lecture, she presented the science system in Germany and, in this context, also addressed gender equality policy challenges. She also sat on a panel with professors from Switzerland, Norway and the USA on the topic of "Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility" and explained the German perspective. 

The visit to the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, which is also located at the NSCM and which is very successful in training designers, programmers and producers for the gaming industry, was also particularly exciting. 

The stay was funded by the Erasmus+ program for lecturer mobility.

Research

We research various structural, content-related and social dimensions of strategic communication, including in the context of technology-oriented organizations. Our focus is on public relations & organizational communication, risk and crisis communication, communication with and about technologies, and international strategic communication.

ResearchTU Ilmenau
TeachingTU Ilmenau

Teaching

In the area of teaching, we deal as a field of expertise with the areas of public relations, crisis communication, international communication, communicator research as well as media change and social media.

PublicationsiStockphoto
  • Schwarz, A., Seeger, M., & Auer, C. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of international crisis communication research. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
    Schwarz, A., Schleicher, K., Srugies, A., & Rothenberger, L. (2017). Crisis communication of youth welfare offices in Germany: Findings on media coverage and strategic communication especially in the context of severe cases of child welfare endangerment. Ilmenau: Ilmenau University Press. 
    Schwarz, A. (2010). Crisis PR from a stakeholder perspective: The influence of attributions of cause and responsibility on organizational reputation. Wiesbaden: VS Verl. for the Social Sciences.

The research group for Public Relations and Communication of Technology has been led on an interim basis since 04/2023 by Prof. Dr. Martin Löffelholz. The team consists of Dr. Andreas SchwarzFrancis Alpers, Elisabeth U. Wagner-Olfermann, and Tatjana Faj. Melanie Waltinger currently supports as team assistant.

 
TeamAnLi Fotografie