Diverse Paths of Communication Management

I am Dr. Anastassia Zabrodskaja, the Head of the Communication Management MA programme at Tallinn University. When I was recently asked to write about the Communication Management programme for the Tallinn University blog, I decided to approach the task not top-down, i.e. providing a professor’s views on the programme, but bottom-up, from the current programme students’ perspective. I organised an informal meeting with my master’s students and discussed the issues in detail. The results of our brain-storming session are presented below. We tried to describe both the sophisticated and exciting aspects of the programme, while staying reader-friendly.

Please describe the programme

Our programme offers different subjects focusing on diverse paths of communication management. It offers systematic knowledge of modern communication theories, methods and applications. The programme creates opportunities not only to design and manage communication, and not only to solve problems innovatively by using analytical thinking, scientific knowledge and the best international practice, but also to conduct research and find applications for research results in various fields of communication. The international staff members share their experiences and bring students closer to the real experience of jobs.

How is the programme distinctive?

In a globalised and diverse society, our programme supports cultural and ethical values; its special focus is on Intercultural Communication, not only dealing with people with diverse cultural backgrounds, but also with people of different ages, genders, social classes etc. Yet the programme involves more than mere communicating with people. It analyses, in depth, the fundamental role of communication and helps to explain the process of communication. The subjects offered show that there are different perspectives, modes and means of communication.

What kinds of courses are offered to students?

The curriculum is aimed at preparing students for competent professional interaction at the international level by teaching the necessary knowledge and language skills. The objective of the core courses is to offer opportunities at the highest levels of academic studies, while understanding the necessity of lifelong learning, and developing the skills to cope successfully with particular tasks. The specialisation module includes courses that prepare the individual for leadership in any corporate multinational or transnational organisation through a deep knowledge of the relationship between globalisation, identity, society and culture.

What kinds of students, with what kinds of backgrounds, might be interested in this programme?

Students who desire to become creative thinkers, able to produce innovative solutions in the field of communication management. Covering a wide range of different but interconnected subjects, this programme best suits the needs of those interested in communication, marketing, sociology, intercultural communication and general humanities. Young people who wish to live abroad or to work in community development projects might also find that this programme suits their needs.

What are the practical skills that students acquire during their studies?

A number of practical skills, such as competency in design and management, corporate communications and professional interaction at an international level, are acquired. Students also develop the ability to be innovative and to handle specific professional tasks in the wider context of culture and society, to deal with complicated situations in accordance with the norms and values of society, to conduct research in the field of communication management and to apply research results to real life challenges.

What jobs will students be prepared for after they graduate?

Having systematic knowledge and competence in communication management in general, and more specifically in public relations, organisational communication and intercultural communication, graduates will be ready to fill positions that demand high communication management competence in multicultural and quickly developing environments, and will work as skilled specialists in communication management in ministries and other governmental organizations at both the national and EU levels, at all levels of educational organisations, in research and science institutions, in international networks, in interdisciplinary expert groups and in cooperation projects. Some students will continue their education on the PhD level in the vastly expanding academic field of communication and communication management in general, and in intercultural communication in particular.

What in your view is most exciting about this programme?

My happy students and me: 2015 EMICC graduates, Temiloluwa Paul Adetola, Folakemi Blessing Awoyo and Melvis Fozoung Alemazung, with Diplomas in Intercultural Communication awarded by Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

The most exciting aspect is the fact that students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds come to study together during a two-year master’s programme. Tallinn University provides a unique opportunity to choose elective subjects offered by different schools on all levels. Students can create individual programmes that correspond to their needs and preferences. It is also important to mention that the Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School is a part of European Masters in Intercultural Communication (EMICC), a teaching and research network of ten European universities: Universität Bayreuth (Bayreuth, Germany), Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge, United Kingdom), University of Jyväskylä (Jyväskylä, Finland), Universidade Aberta (Lisbon & Coimbra, Portugal), Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Paris, France), Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznan, Poland), Tallinn University (Tallinn, Estonia), Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo (Urbino, Italy) and Utrecht University (Utrecht, The Netherlands). The core of EMICC is the yearly EUROCAMPUS, a four-month intensive programme taught by professors from the network universities, in which up to five students from each partner university can take part of. During this intensive programme, students learn about intercultural communication theories, consider intercultural communication from the perspective of different academic disciplines, and have a chance to acquire advanced intercultural competencies and skills useful in both professional and social life. EUROCAMPUS has been held in Jyväskylä (2002), Bayreuth (2003), Brussels (2004), Cambridge (2005), Lisbon (2006), Lugano (2007), Tartu (2008), Lugano (2009), Utrecht (2010), Castellón, Spain (2011), Coimbra, Portugal (2012), Jyväskylä (2013), Paris (2014) and Cambridge (2015). The 2016 EUROCAMPUS will take place in autumn 2016 at the Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School. It is difficult to cover all of the features that the guided Communication Management programme offers. I hope this overview has provided a useful description of a few of them. I am certainly open to any further queries about its contents, goals and developments. Feel free to contact me: anastassia.zabrodskaja@tlu.ee.

Text by Prof. Anastassia Zabrodskaja (the Head of the Communication Management programme).

Read more about the programme and admission requirements from our webpage.

Ask our student ambassadors what they think about the programme: tlu.ee/ambassadors.