ESG Africa Conference 2023: Lecturer Dr Clarissa Muir & 3rd Year Students
“It does not limit graduates to work in one area. The Department allows students to specialise in different areas because our modules cover all forms of communication. We also make sure that we give students practical experiences by getting clients as we work with a lot of industry clients, top brands and NGOs. This is to give students some exposure and to help them solve strategic communication problems,” she said. On what more she would like to see happen in the Department, Morapeli said bridging the gap between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and traditional media is vital. “We are realising that AI can create the content that we are teaching. Ours now, is to navigate how to not necessarily bypass it but work with it. We’ve recently introduced a Short-Learning Programme (SLP) that allows the working class and people who only have a matric certificate to get exposure to digital media. This programme touches on issues of AI and ethics,” she said. In terms of their main qualifications, she said the Department is working on re-curriculising the current Diploma programme, because they have seen that other institutions are working more with AI than they are. “WE FOUND THAT THERE IS A LACK OF TRAINING IN AI, SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN USE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE SURE OUR STUDENTS ARE WELL-PREPARED FOR THE INDUSTRY. WE NEED TO DEVELOP OUR CRITICAL THINKERS FOR THE INDUSTRY AS THAT IS VITAL FOR US AS A DEPARTMENT.”
Headed by Prof Elizabeth Lubinga, this year the Department will focus on a review of the Diploma in Public Relations and Communication Management: “The three-year qualification, which is hosted at APB (Auckland Park Bunting Road Campus) has approximately 650+ students. The intention is to develop a cutting-edge qualification that acknowledges and embeds top trends in the field, as well as industry increasingly being driven by digitisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI),” she said. Prof Lubinga said in terms of teaching and learning, the Department has developed an academic literacy app that will be crucial in ensuring the future success of students, not only within the Department, the Faculty of Humanities, and UJ, but also possibly nationally. The app was developed with their students’ contextual challenges in mind. The Department is building digital pedagogies including gamification. “Furthermore, the Department intends to foster inter- and trans-disciplinary partnerships within the University, with its alumni, as well as industry to provide a holistic learning experience for our students. Such previous partnerships for instance with the highly successful DNA Brand Architects, a Brand and Marketing Consultancy headed by Mr Sylvester Chauke, an alumnus of the Department, have enabled students to attend industry workshops on-site,” she added. According to her, they intend to maintain and build on a longstanding culture of supporting students to win industry awards, such as Assegai by the South African Direct Marketing Association; and New Generation Social and Digital Media Awards. “The Department intends to grow international partnerships with Pan-African and other Universities, ”said Prof Lubinga.
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