Eurocampus Experience Part 2: Temiloluwa Paul Adetola

Thinking Back About the Eurocampus: Good and Not so Good Memories

In a diverse learning setting with cross-cultural teaching techniques, connecting and networking and also meeting professors and professionals across the Europe was worth the while for me. Since the Eurocampus exemplifies cross-cultural approach which cuts through language, background, experience, and teaching techniques etc., diversity became inevitable. The programme was rich in diversity and where there is diversity, there is a mixture of culture and knowledge.  We had our cultural and maybe academic differences and backgrounds, but the programme helped to fuse all together and it made sense in the end. All the professors were professionals and they were very good at what they do. The enormity of the programme kept me on my toes, not relenting, but focused. It was intense, but I managed to be positive, even during the learning. I won't forget the overlapping nature of our assignments, researches and projects, it kept me active and helped me to develop speed and accuracy in my assignments and presentations. Just like I mentioned in my first article at the beginning of the programme, I already foresaw that the benefits far outweigh any possible negative experiences as most of them were caused by external factors. One of the negative experiences I had was commuting from London to Cambridge for a month before I finally got an accommodation in Cambridge. It was difficult to get a room in Cambridge and when I eventually got one, it was far from the university and expensive as well, though our landlady compensated for the distance and the transport expenses.

Most Influential Courses

The effect that Linguistic Insecurity: Education and Language Policy had on me was priceless. I have always thought of what the possible solution to the illiteracy of the norther part of Nigeria might be. This course opened my eyes to see the danger that lies in linguistic insecurity and the profiling of lingua franca over mother tongue and also factoring in the roles of the stakeholders, spanning from macro, meso to micro. Though often overlooked, it struck me as a viable solution that’s worth giving a go in the northern Nigeria. The course was taught by Prof. Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman from the University of Utrecht, using new field results as case studies. Highly practical it was. Linguistic Landscape Studies taught by Prof. Anastassia Zabrodskaja from Tallinn University hit me with a different understanding. The concept socio-linguistic landscape made the course more practical and informative. It created more critical thinking, observation and boosted my analytical instinct when it comes to public signage. It expanded my horizon beyond just seeing public signage on the surface, but also knowing the detailed processes involved in public signage production. Following this up with a field work at the Mill Road Winter Fair was a perfect way to sum it up. Intercultural Management was taught by Prof. Marie-Therese Claes, a professional in the business field. Learning the usage of intercultural communication in the business field was enlightening and practical in every sense. It was an eye-opener and game changer for me during the Eurocampus studies. I learnt how organisations make avoidable blunders in their marketing and advertising campaigns and I’m tactfully equipped to manage and avoid such blunders now.

The Eurocampus Programme Accordance with Intercultural Communication Module at Tallinn University

Most of the Eurocampus courses fit into the Intercultural Communication module at Tallinn University: Intercultural Communication Theories, Linguistic Pragmatics, Linguistic Awareness of Cultures (LAC), Migration and Citizenship, Linguistic Insecurities amongst others, with the exception of Crossing Boundaries: (2) Cinematic Case Studies and Grief and Mourning in Literary Texts. These latter two I feel do not have a direct link to the Intercultural Communication module at Tallinn University, which however do not take away from the inherent value of these two courses.

Recommendation

I will strongly recommend the Eurocampus to the current and future Communication Management  students at Tallinn University. Firstly, it is an experience you can’t get in any other exchange programme. Secondly, the Eurocampus is a place to gain deeper insight into intercultural communication. It is like going to a business school for those studying business. The Eurocampus also assumes this position of the professional school where intercultural communication can be studied in depth. Thirdly, it gives you the opportunity to network yourself with professors across Europe and also to create a student network which would fully develop into a professional network in the nearest future. You can’t afford not to network yourself in this globalization age!

Recommendations for the Eurocampus 2016 Organisers

The Eurocampus team has done a great job putting this programme together and keeping it running for the past 14 years now. The consistency in growth, change and proactive update of curriculum with teaching techniques when needed shows the ability of the Eurocampus to remain relevant even for the future generations. First of all, in order to keep the participants focused when they arrive, I recommend that the Eurocampus makes a pre-arranged accommodation in collaboration with the host university in meeting the accommodation needs of the participants, so that they can easily settle in and get set for the Eurocampus learning adventure. Injecting a one-week or 11-day break into the Eurocampus semester would be a great idea. This will help ease out the intensity of the semester on the participants and gives them an opportunity to complete  projects in their to-do list. The organisers can also arrange a 1-day trip within Estonia, in which all students should participate. There are several beautiful locations in Tallinn or outside Tallinn where participants can go. It will help refresh students’ minds and unwind from the rigors of the semester. Finally, I recommend the introduction of souvenirs into the Eurocampus 2016; it will easily help to promote Tallinn University and the Eurocampus. If funds would be made available, I also suggest that a customized hard-cover notebook be provided for free to all the Eurocampus students for 2016. They will be able to use these notebooks during lectures and also take it with them to their home countries when the semester is over. All in all, the Eurocampus is a place to be, enriching and complex, educative, interesting and fun-filled even in its intense nature. I see the Eurocampus becoming a college on its own, an intercultural communication professional body or perhaps a university where intercultural communication is taught at its best! To all my inquisitive readers, don’t think too much; get on board the next Eurocampus and you’ll have a lot more testimonies to give than I gave. Cheers!

Text by Temiloluwa Paul Adetola (Communication Management MA student).  

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