Transcript: Postgraduate Strategic Communication

session devoted to our post-graduate offerings in the discipline of strategic communication. My name is Dr. Susie Khamis,

and I am pleased to welcome you to this evening session. I’m the course coordinator for the discipline of strategic communication

within the school of communication within the faculty of arts and sciences.

Um, I very much look forward to, um, explaining some of our offerings in the post-graduate space in strategic

communication. And I’m delighted to be joined by, um, very dear colleague, Jackie Polson,

one of our lecturers in strategic communication, as well as Jabin de Keizer, um,

a student who has completed one of our master’s courses in strategic communication. Um,

and we’re here tonight to talk about the programs on offer and why we think they’re, um, important, interesting and engaging. Um,

but also really importantly, to answer any questions that you might have. So please, any questions that come up, if they’re not answered in,

in the session in our delivery, please pop them into the Q and A box and we’ll make every effort

to answer the questions. Um, hopefully within the session this evening, if not, we’ll make every effort to get the right answer to you speedily.

So

the first thing I would like to do, which is customary at, um, UTS is an acknowledgement of country.

I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation upon whose ancestral lands our city campus now stands.

I pay respect to the elders both past and present acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for this land.

And as people of great ingenuity and innovation.

And just by way of, um, courtesy and housekeeping, um, I would like to advise you that this session will now be recorded. Uh,

we will record audio screen-share and our presenters. Um, but we will not be recording any video or audio from you.

Any further information that you provide during this session is optional and it will be captured by UTS, for those reasons stated there.

So please be advised that the session will be recorded, but no recording of you, neither video,

nor audio will be recorded.

I’m super proud to teach, um, in the discipline of strategic communication at UTS.

And I could talk for days about the wonderful innovations and changes that we’ve made just in the past few years to make sure that the content

that we deliver is as future focused, industry oriented and engaging as possible.

And we really rest our claims to this excellence on three main points or pillars.

One is that everything that we offer within strategic communication points to a high degree of transdisciplinary innovation.

And what that means is we are always consulting with, um, the school and the faculty industry advisory board,

and constantly integrating this suggestions and feedback into course offerings that we know will cultivate graduates that are fit not just for jobs of

today, but for the jobs of the future. And one of the ways that we develop and cultivate those kinds of graduates is

with a high degree of transdisciplinary disciplinary innovation, which means for example,

that many of our subjects actually fold in a presence and input from other faculties, including for example, the UTS business school.

So if you haven’t stepped foot on our campus, um, and you’ve yet to do a campus tour, that first image

there is all of our very famous, um, beautifully designed business building. And, you know,

we draw a lot on the expertise and colleagues and, and, um, input from, from colleagues from other faculties.

So what we hopefully develop are courses which are holistic and which draw on as many facets of

expertise and research and innovation as required for cutting edge strategic communication professionals.

The other thing that we take immense pride in is the caliber of our distinguished academics and industry leaders, um,

that we don’t just consult with, but actually put in the classroom virtually or on campus. So, you know,

that the people that designed your subjects are at the forefront of both research and also, um, industry, um, you know,

innovation and consulting. The image in the middle there is of our wonderful Professor Maureen Taylor, who,

as we speak is consulting, um, with the World Health Organization about you know, um,

strategic communication responses to the COVID pandemic. And you know, in terms of, top shelf, uh,

research leadership, it doesn’t get much more prestigious or important or compelling than consulting

with the World Health Organization about appropriate communication responses to the COVID pandemic. Um,

and she designs and teaches several of our subjects in, um, in post-graduate strategic communication. And we take immense pride in,

you know, the, the, the insights and the amazing, um, you know, research and also industry project credentials that she brings to our

discipline. The other thing that we take immense pride in is that throughout your course,

you can expect, um, a really seamless integration of theory and practice, or to put it another way, the academic and the applied. The third image

there is all of our Distinguished Professor Jim McNamara, who, you know, spent decades carving out, um, uh, a role of,

uh, in innovation and leadership in industry, and has brought that amazing insight and expertise, um,

to UTS where he is now helming a major research center and looking at health communication.

And many of my colleagues in strategic communication feed into that research and that growing area of influence and expertise. Um, and again, you know,

Jim McNamara like, like, um, Maureen Taylor, designs subjects, and, you know, literally authors

the textbooks that we use and we take immense pride in this really robust and, and kind of, you know, um,

unapologetically ambitious integration of theory and practice. Uh, we want to make sure that our graduates leave our courses, um, not,

not only, uh, equipped for the, the job skills and the skillsets needed for now,

but with trans disciplinary mobile, um, skillsets and, and, and, you know,

a knowledge base which will serve you well for years, if not decades to come.

And that’s how we do it with this direct integration of research and industry and transdisciplinary and integration.

So there are three main ways that you can undertake a postgraduate study program in strategic communication, uh, at UTS.

Um, and the first one that I’ll speak to is the master of strategic communication, which is very popular, um, highly inclusive.

And for a lot of applicants, probably one of the more, you know, accessible and open, um, you know,

post-graduate options in strategic communication. Um, and I teach this program with one of my subjects.

So the master of strategic communication, um, comprises of nine subjects in total,

six of these are what we call core subjects. And these are foundational, you know,

essential baseline subjects that all students do, and they really open your eyes up. Um, and, and, you know,

your critical faculties to all the most pressing phenomena, that intersects with strategic communication, um, in the 21st century.

And in addition to these six core subjects, you choose three electives. So generally speaking,

a full-time student will complete a masters of strategic communication in about one and a half years, uh, with around three subjects per session.

Or you can undertake this in 2-5 years, part-time with one or two subjects each session. And, you know,

we’re mindful that a lot of our postgraduate students are balancing postgraduate study with life commitments, family commitments,

and often full-time work. Um, so we understand that this will most likely represent

one important component in what is already a busy life. Um, and so we will, you know, package and deliver our subjects and our,

our delivery in ways that, um, are quite – if not flexible – amenable to those busy lifestyles.

So I spoke earlier of the core subjects that have acquired. Um, and these are those six subjects.

And hopefully you can tell by how they named that. We actually canvas that the spectrum of issues, opportunities,

challenges, which are most pressing in contemporary work of strategic communication professionals, exploring human communication, understanding,

and engaging audiences, strategic communication integration, influence in the digital world.,

that’s my baby, intercultural and international communication, and managing public communication. And, you know, these subjects will give you a lovely,

deep dive into the world of contemporary strategic communication. And it will equip you with this really strong insight into both the

theory and the practice of strategic communication. So to advance your careers and to refine your professional skillset, um,

we will take you across the essentials. Um, it’s like in the central toolkit of contemporary strategic communication.

Um, and in addition to those core subjects, you will choose three from this bank of electives,

emergent media practices, corporate and marketing communication, contemporary advertising practices, organizational communication, and culture,

stakeholder engagement, or professional practice. And what we’ve tried to do with those electives is, you know, creates subjects,

which perhaps speak more specifically to your career aspirations or trajectory. So dependent on what you want to develop or you,

where you want to end up, you choose your electives to refine that specific knowledge base.

Um, so it’s, it’s, you know, it’s speaks very much to contemporary phenomena and we canvas the

opportunities, the challenges, um, and you know, the emerging variables of contemporary professional communication.

Uh, so it’s, it’s a deep dive into an exciting and dynamic

world. Another option that we offer is the executive master of strategic

communication, and this is aimed more so at those professionals,

strategic communication, um, you know, practitioners who have probably

worked, you know, in, in, in strategic communication at a fairly senior level for a minimum of say,

three years, and who are looking to really take that next step professionally.

And up-skill in ways that will drive their, their professional development further and higher.

So it’s aimed primarily at those who are already in the STRATCOM space and who want to have a more

sophisticated and robust insight and engagement with, um, these contemporary issues, challenges, and opportunities.

So the exec masters comprises of nine subjects in total,

three of these are core subjects from that bank I mentioned earlier, and there are four stream subjects.

And what we’ve effectively done is kind of divide the exec masters into two main streams, corporate and marketing communication or government communication.

And that division is based on our consultation with industry bodies and advisory boards.

But also what we noticed was the general traffic of postgraduate applicants to postgraduate study in Stratcomm generally.

These applicants tended to come from either the corporate and marketing space or government communication.

And so what we’re trying to do is reflect and serve what we have identified as the two main, I guess, traffic pathways coming into, um,

an executive master in strategic communication, generally a full time load, um,

in the exec masters takes about a year with three subjects per session, including the summer session,

or part-time 2-5 years with one or two subjects per session. Um, so like I mentioned earlier,

there are three of the core subjects that you take and it’s these three, that you undertake in the exec masters understanding and engagement audiences,

STRATCOM, and integration, and exploring human communication and your specialize in one of these two

streams, either corporate and marketing comms or government comms. And before anyone says, oh, Gladys isn’t in charge anymore. Or, you know,

I wanted to represent these, this space with QANTAS and with Gladys Berejiklian our,

until very recently, Premier of New South Wales, just to underscore, I think what the last 18 months have shown us is just how

important, um, strategic communication is to so many stakeholders in society.

And so, you know, for many of us in New South Wales, for example, you know, Dan Andrews in Victoria, that 11 o’clock presser had become, you know,

almost kind of chiseled into our daily routines. And even we know, even though we were seeing, an address from one person,

we know that there was a team of STRATCOM professionals around Premier Berejiklian, um, behind the scenes and, you know,

with an amazing iconic corporation like Qantas, we knew that that the value of their interventions in this space

what’s Qantas gonna do. Um, and I think what the last 18 months has shown us is that good strategic

communication goes a long way for a lot of stakeholders. And so if you’re already in this space and, you know,

you’re querying maybe the, um, the value of refining your skill set in strategic communication, or, you know,

investing in, in, um, development of your professional skills. I think if nothing else,

the last 18 months of living through and working through a pandemic has only, and it sounds really cynical and opportunistic,

but it’s true has really underscored the value in so many ways,

um, of good strategic communication. So now is the time to find those skillsets. Um,

I should point out that the executive masters requires three years of relevant work experience for admission, and, um,

I’ll be providing very shortly more granular information about the application process for the different offerings. Um, but it’s,

it’s evaluated literally on a case by case basis. Um, and so your application for the exec masters will be supported by a CV,

but also a personal statement that speaks to, um, your background and your interest in the course. Um,

and one of the features of the exec masters is that every student enrolled in the executive masters produces, um, a major project,

which we have very carefully designed with your specific career aspirations and trajectory in mind.

So the major project is tailored for each student’s professional pathway and aspirations, and it’s negotiated directly with the teaching staff.

Um, and it’s also delivered with the UTS business school and with creative intelligence and innovation, another unit at UTS,

speaking to that transdisciplinary, um, involvement that I mentioned earlier, and the students,

each student will produce a major document to inform a strategic communication plan.

And we conceive this as a document that will fit in

like a jewel in your portfolio that you can take back to your professional place,

um, as a demonstration of your excellence in this area and your attainment of a superior outstanding skill set by virtue of having undertaken

the exec masters. So if you’re contemplating that particular, um, pathway, um, you,

you’ve got this beautiful outcome at the end that because it was developed with your career aspirations in mind,

we know we’ll be off strategic value to your career aspirations.

Another option in the post-grad space is a graduate diploma in strategic communication. Um, and this is very much, and those who don’t,

you know, don’t want to necessarily commit to, you know, what’s involved for the masters or the exec masters. This is another option,

which you might find more accessible and convenient. It comprises of six subjects in total,

four of the core subjects and two of the electives. So already it’s a more kind of abridged version of what we offer now, full time.

It’s one and a half years with three subjects per session, or you can take it over,

2-5 years part-time with one or two subjects each session, and you might find that a more workable or manageable, um, you know,

entree into the post-grad world in strategic communication. So, you know, we’ve got, we’ve got several, um, several options there for you.

So now that I have gone through the, the basics if you like, um, the lay of the land,

I would like to invite Jabin de Keizer, who I understand is a freshly minted, um, you know, uh,

student graduate of, um, of a master’s in strategic communication.

Jabin, did you want to jump in and share some of your experiences or

insights studying this? Definitely. Hi folks. Yes. My name’s Jabin, pleasure to be here.

Nice to see you again as well, Susie. Um, yeah, a little bit about myself. So I’ve been, um, across the comms space, I guess,

for about eight years in various, um, kind of capacities. I, um, I started out in financial comms. I worked for, um, a, a, um,

an agency that worked for, um, large real estate companies and investment banks that was kind of a run

of the mill kind of things there, writing media releases and all that, that kind of stuff that juniors do early on. And, uh,

I was loving it and it was going really well. And then, um, yeah, a couple of life circumstances changed for me, uh, including having kids. So,

um, it kind of changed my focus for a couple of years and I ended up moving to a much smaller company in the construction industry,

still working in communications, but, uh, in a much less, um, I guess there was much less scope for growth in that particular, uh,

environment. And, uh, it came to the time when, uh, I was kind of getting track on my life again,

the kids were organized and things were happening again, it’s time to step it up again. And, uh,

one of the ways that I really thought that would be helpful in that, in that quest was to do a master’s in communications. Um,

my undergraduate was actually in business and commerce before that, and I had discovered a love of comms in that, but then, uh, yeah,

I thought communications would really be it for me and masters would be the right thing to do. So I guess I, um, I started, uh,

researching different programs. I was looking at different unis, obviously doing due diligence across those kind of things. It’s a big

investment in time. So I thought I want to pick the right thing. And I think that what really came across to me about, uh,

the UTS strategic comms was a couple of things, just the breadth of, um,

of opportunity here in terms of what you can study from really, uh, beginning stuff like theory of comms,

a couple of those core subjects, their theory of human communications, uh, and then, but also through, in a much broader areas,

stakeholder engagement is one of the subjects that I really enjoyed, influencing the digital world, one of Susie subjects, absolutely brilliant subject,

to be able to really stretch you and go that little bit extra to, um,

stretch, really stretch my knowledge, having even been in comms for a little while, not in very senior positions.

So it was great to be stretched in that way. And so clearly obvious really real world applications,

which was just fantastic. Um, for me to see that and really captivated me.

And I guess the other thing that did captivate me early on was when I was researching strategic comms and, uh, and seeing, uh,

Jim McNamara’s name and Maureen Taylor’s name pop up everywhere. And these guys they’re titans in the field,

but absolutely they are the real deal. And to see them both at one uni, you know, like Maureen Taylor, uh,

with Michael Kent, she developed dialogic engagement? This is a, it’s a pillar of the, of the, um, of the industry.

And same goes for Jim McNamara with things like organizational listening. They’re just absolutely cornerstones of, uh,

of what you do in communications often with the, without even thinking about it. So to delve into the theory behind that was absolutely brilliant.

Um, a couple of my favorite subjects, I think I mentioned there are definitely, um, things that Maureen was working on were absolutely, uh,

challenging at times and, uh, really stretched me. So things like, uh,

uh, understanding and engaging audiences was really good and her one, uh, managing public communication as well. There was a, uh,

one of my electives as well, but I really loved was creativity and innovation in communication. And,

uh, the stretch in there was really nice to feel that.

And, uh, I would thoroughly recommend that subject if you’ve got space in your electives to pick that one. I think the,

one of the most valuable takeaways for me is to not treat this, uh,

this study as, um, as just work, or not treat it as your undergraduate, this year is an oyster that

you can cite, you can get everything out of it. So I did basically all of my studies online,

but I was still able to develop a really strong network online, uh, of contacts in various fields.

And it actually landed me the job where I’m at now, that network through there. So combining the network with the degree is, is really,

uh, it’s a strong suit to put on your CV when you’re applying that next job. And, uh,

and for me it wouldn’t have happened without the master’s and it wouldn’t have happened without the network. So if you’re gonna do this masters really commit to it and commit to getting to

know your lecturers is getting to know your, um, your colleagues while you’re, while you’re studying with them and, uh,

getting involved with as much things as you can and, and, and having a real crack at it. It’s not something that you could, um, it’s,

it’s, it’s not an easy course. You’ve got to actually commit to it. So, uh, I’d really suggest doing that. So yeah, that’s it from me, I think.

Thanks so much Jabin. And you know what, you, you use this word a few times and it’s a delight to hear,

you talked about stretching yourself, and that’s one of the pillars of the UTS experience. We,

we pride ourselves on developing lifelong learning, and I think it’s amazing that you came from industry with professional

experience and insight, and still leaned into that, the challenge, but also can, you know,

you now speak off having been stretched positively, and that’s what, that’s what we’re trying to do. So thank you so much. Um, and,

and I think we’ll stick around for a little bit, um, I’ll just briefly talk about an, oh, this is,

there’s a lot of text and words on this, on this slide. So I’m not going to go through it verbatim, but just to let you know that the admission requirements vary slightly across

the exec masters, the master’s strategic communication and the grant dip in strategic

communication. And so you’ll see, this kind of, I suppose, um,

kind of reflects what we expect you to bring to each of the various, um, offerings at the, at the, you know,

whether it’s exec or the masters or the grad dip. Um, so if you are contemplating an executive masters, um,

we do ask for three years relevant work experience and, um, you know,

you can also provide your narrative by way of a personal statement, which, um, speaks to how you see the exec masters furthering your career

aspirations, as well as the CV, which sets out quite simply and plainly and truthfully, um,

your relevant work experience, or if you’re considering the master of strategic communication.

We asked for an academic qualification, whether it’s a bachelor’s, a grad cert, a grad dip or a master’s, um, or whether it’s, um,

if you’re considering the grad dip, then the, um, admission requirements are a little bit looser. So, you know,

if you have not completed the bachelor’s, master’s, grad dip or grad cert, um, then you can provide a personal statement of around 500 words and a CV.

So what we’ve done there is provide a kind of a suite of options and also entry points. So depending on your circumstances, um,

and depending on what you have done prior, there are multiple ways that you can access further study in, in, um,

to questions and answers, which will come from myself. And Jackie, is Jackie still with us? And Jabin.

So, I I can’t see anything in the Q and A.

We don’t have any questions yet. If anyone has any questions we’re here for

you. Somebody is asking Jabin,

did you study the course in face-to-face or online mode? Was it difficult to handle studying online? Over to Jabin.

Yeah, it was, uh, we were chatting about this just before the meeting. I spent my first three weeks face-to-face and then there was a week long pause

while the staff of UTS performed a virtual miracle and were able to transform

their subjects. I imagine it was an incredibly stressful time for them, uh, and transformed their subjects into a virtual. We conducted most of our,

uh, all of our learning after that, on Microsoft teams and on zoom together.

And although it was challenging, uh, I definitely, uh, what it is, is it, it, it actually prepared me for the workplace.

I’ve just spent another four months working from home, working on teams and zoom, and it was another opportunity to learn.

And I really couldn’t fault UTS in how that transition occurred and the quality of the learning that,

that happened after I was so impressed that I was still able to get one-on-one time with Maureen to talk about assessments and one-on-one time with,

uh, all of my tutors, if I wanted to be able to chat about things, spend that half an hour on zoom a week, just to talk things through. And I,

and worked through it. It was actually in some senses, I think better for me online. I live out in the Blue Mountains and getting to uni was going to take an hour

and a half each way. So to be able to do it online was actually really beneficial for me and my family in the end. And, uh, I,

I don’t think that my learning experience suffered at all from being online. So I loved it.

That’s great Jabin. And I think your experience also speaks to passionate, passionate teaching staff. Um,

we’ll communicate what we are passionate about, by mime, dance, haiku,

whichever way gets the content across. So when we, how many times did we hear the word pivot last year,

everyone had to pivot and we went there. And I think that also speaks to the professional skills that comms

develops, agility and, being able to kind of work with dynamic conditions. Interestingly,

the second question, how relevant is the course content to the changes brought on by COVID?

So it’s a fantastic question and what I have found both in research and also in teaching is that

if anything, the pandemic has underscored the relevance and importance of effective

strategic communication, um, you know, many of our researchers are experts in things like organizational communication,

crisis communication, stakeholder engagement, and what we’ve learned over the last 18 months is, um, you know,

society’s access to reliable, factual quality information is literally life and death

matter, but also we have become increasingly aware of just how messy and complicated

the media ecosystem is. And so, you know, a lot of organizations and individuals are facing crises of

legitimacy and trust, and it’s now more important than ever to be able to craft effective

messaging that cuts through often the noise and the din of, um, communication, which is no longer tidy and discreet,

but is online and is digital and is often messy. And so a lot of the skills that we are

developing for effective strategic communication, obviously weren’t designed with COVID in mind,

but what COVID has done is just underscored the importance of these skillsets.

And I’ll just add to that Susie, before we get to the next question, the Public Relations Institute of Australia just released research that they in

the industry as a whole had grown fairly significantly in the last 18 months compared to previous periods. Um, but we’ve got another question here as well.

What subjects do we both teach? So I, um, I’ll start there, Susie. Um, so I, I, this year, um,

I have run a stakeholder engagement and organizational communication and culture, and I have also in the past taught, um,

communication, I’m calling it the wrong name, strategies, strategies of communication. I think that’s correct.

We have an undergrad named something very similar, sorry. Um, and I think from my perspective, uh,

so I’m a lecturer and I also work in industry and like a lot of my colleagues do, um, I,

I like how professionally focused a lot of our subjects are. So there’s a really strong integration of theory and practice. And we will,

um, in a lot of subjects integrate, um, either guests or live case studies or other real life, um,

practical examples. So for instance, um, my stakeholder engagement class this year, uh,

had a guest case study presented by the New South Wales Department of Health about a stakeholder engagement plan, um, on a Randwick city hospital upgrade.

So that was a live, large scale project in the specific area we were studying that were

able to be presented on and then do some sort of workshopping activities around. And so as someone who both works in academia and in practice

being able to expose and connect the two together, so expose students to real world examples and connect how theory

and research kind of compliments and further grows that. Um,

really, yeah, I think. Yeah, before I speak to my subject, someone’s asked about, um, accreditation,

we are accredited by the PR Institute of Australia, but I should also stress that we are in constant dialogue and consultation

with our industry advisory board, which has representatives from Google, Facebook, Price Waterhouse Cooper, to name just a few, Screen Australia. Um,

and we, we constantly, you know, let them see what we’re doing and we’re informed by their suggestions about how

we could improve our offerings for the graduates that, that, you know, they, they would want to hire. Um,

I teach a subject called influence in the digital world, um, which is, you know, it’s fascinating, looks at,

it looks at fake news and filter bubbles and echo chambers and, and, you know, Twitter bots and, ah, it’s, it’s fascinating. Um,

but the reason that I’m passionate about teaching strategic communication, and I think I speak for all my colleagues,

Jackie included, is that we have to update our content,

every offering because the world of strategic communication is constantly changing.

And we have to constantly make sure that the research and teaching reflects what’s happening. And, you know, so the content that I,

that I wrote in 2018 is already dated because the world has changed. Communication has changed. Media and technology have changed.

Our stakeholders have changed the way that people share information has changed. And so we meet to make sure that what we teach speaks to the

world as it is now, but also, especially at postgraduate level equips our graduates to,

to deal with emergent changes and challenges. And one of the concepts that we deal with a lot in STRATCOM is emergent media

and what that refers to is not new media, but the weird kind of hybrid forms that are taking shape as we

speak and producing novel challenges for professional communicators.

Um, and I think, you know, in, in this discipline, that’s what excites us all. Um, we cannot rest on our laurels. We, we don’t,

we don’t settle on any one kind of theory or ism for too long because the world changes and we have to change with it.

And we are excited by that. Um, your, your, your teachers are researchers and researchers have to speak to the world as it

changes, and you’ll see that in what we teach. So, you know, um,

that’s what I think excites most STRATCOM, um, teachers. Would you agree, Jackie?

Yep, absolutely. Absolutely. Any other questions, we’re here for you.

We wish that we, we absolutely wish that, you know, we, we could be doing this on campus. We’re humans, we’re designed to

speak to each other like this, um, not like this in, in real life. So hopefully we can welcome you on-campus. Jabin a question for you.

Did you find it difficult to network with fellow students while studying online? Definitely not. There was ample opportunity and I think every single one of

my subjects, at one point in time, we were split up into groups to chat, to talk about the subject and I,

and often to talk about our industry experience or their career. And it was, there was a good opportunity to share what was going on in our,

in our professional lives around that. Uh, and then also the, the group projects together we had,

I think there was one semester where we didn’t have group projects, but the other two, we did have group projects and they were brilliant to be able to bounce ideas

off of each other and to, uh, to work through that. So it was on one of the group projects that I, um, I, yeah,

I started networking with a couple of people and I carried that friendship through my subject. And then through my course, sorry.

And then a job popped up at that person’s company later on and I kind of knocked on the door and they kind of, yeah. Just helped me through it.

And it was brilliant. It all worked really well. So, uh, definitely did not find it difficult at all to network and, uh, can really,

um, say it was great. So I’ve got an, another question here, um, that I can answer.

The question is I’m working full time and I was wondering what the assignments are like, are there exams and what will happen if I have an urgent timeline at

work and I’m unable to meet a deadline. So, um, that’s a really excellent question. Um,

and basically as, as lecturers and as course coordinators,

we understand that the majority of our postgraduate students have busy lives and often busy and full careers. And so, um,

while there are set deadlines and there are set expectations for what will be prepared for class, we’re really flexible around, um, uh,

uncontrollable elements in your life that might impact your ability to do that. Uh, and, and especially when you’re actually in a subject, your,

your liaising every week directly with your lecturer or tutor, so someone like me or Susie, and we get to know you and we,

we can be really flexible around that. So it’s not unusual for someone to send us an email a few minutes before class

saying, you know, a crisis has happened at work or a crisis has happened at home, or, um,

someone needs a bit more time because they’ve just had really big, you know, work deadlines that have competed. So, um,

the course is very flexible around that. And I think the online delivery, a bit to what Jabin was talking about

earlier, I think the, the, the flexible delivery now that was sort of prompted by COVID has made it more

flexible for a lot of busy working people. Um, the travel time is reduced. We are accessible as, as lecturers at,

at other times other than just class times. So it’s definitely something a lot of our students face and that we are really

flexible around working around. Absolutely, and in terms of exams and what have you generally speaking in, you know,

in communications courses, we don’t have like exams per se. We tend to design our assessments in ways that reflect the skill sets and

applications that would be required professionally. Um, and so that said there is a variety of assessment modes, but, you know,

I can tell you that every week I would get emails from students who, you know, who had a deadline, we can respect a deadline, a deadline,

comes up from work or from a client or whatever it happens. Um, and things have to be shifted. And we were highly amenable to that. I mean,

we want to help you succeed and complete. So, you know, I think you’ll find your teaching staff highly amenable to those

conversations. Um, the major project in the exec STRATCOM. So it’s, it’s what you will be working.

And this is, it’s hard to talk about this generally, because it is by definition, bespoke and individual.

So you will be liaising with your, you know, your teaching staff in that subject., the major

project, to design a product which speaks directly to where you are professionally and

what you want to showcase your learnings. I just used a bit of corporate speak there, um, from doing the exec masters.

So it really is something that you design in collaboration with your teaching staff. So I assume if you’re contemplating the executive masters,

I assume that you have carved out a particular place or role professionally, and that you’re contemplating an exec masters to extend yourself

intellectually, but also professionally. And you know, you have in mind a,

an outcome, a product that will showcase or demonstrate back to industry or your, your employer or the world, um,

your kind of your completion of this program. So you literally design in close collaboration and consultation with the

teaching staff. Um, and so it will reflect your career trajectory,

but also aspirations. Um, and, you know, ideally it would be something that would be embedded in your professional

portfolio. Um, and I’m afraid I can’t get them because it is, you know, um, it’s negotiated other case by case basis.

So it would be, you know, it really needs to speak to your specific career aspirations.

Um, so yeah, sorry, I can’t get more. I’ll have to frame it in those generic terms, because it’s,

it’s kind of like a lump of clay that you design, um, with your teaching staff.

Any other questions?

Any other question I think on this next slide? Okay. Um, I’ve got some, you know, email, email addresses there. Look,

I would be delighted to chase up or respond to any questions or queries or concerns that you have, they might come to you later. Um,

I would sincerely like to thank Jackie and Jabin for joining us tonight. I’m delighted to hear that Jackie shares my enthusiasm for STRATCOM,

delighted to hear that Jabin’s experience, um, you know, doing the masters was so positive. There was, I mean,

you got a job out of it Jabin, and as outcomes go that’s pretty, that’s pretty impressive. Um,

but even in those trying, testing COVID conditions, Jabin, was able to have a meaningful, enjoyable, networked process, um,

or experience, um, I would be delighted to see, you know, those of you attending tonight or viewing this, a recording of this.

I’d love to welcome you on campus. You can see us, you know, um, but you know, uh, any questions that pop up later on,

please don’t hesitate to reach out, get them to us. We would be delighted to address them, um, and,

and hopefully welcoming you on campus in 2022. Um, and I think that’s it for this evening. So with that, I’ll say, thank you,

Jackie. Thank you Jabin. Thanks very much and good evening.