International Communication
Year 1, block 3:
Media & Entrepreneurship
School of Communication, Media & IT
The third block of the programme introduces you to entrepreneurship. During this block you will
independently develop a media concept: the means of communication to reach audiences/stakeholders.
You will develop this concept based upon your own entrepreneurial idea and by researching trends and
developments in the communication field.
You will learn how to create an entrepreneurial plan and the basics on how to set up your own
communications consultancy. You will also get to know the basic concepts of visual communication and
media strategies. You will enhance your skills to think outside the box and to network as an entrepreneur.
Media & Entrepreneurship consists of the following three modules:
- Project: Media Concept & Pitch – 5 credits
- Entrepreneurship and Media – 5 credits
- Professional Skills 3 – 5 credits
TOTAL: 15 credits
V
Module
Credits
Content
Project: Media Concept & Pitch
5
The current communication market requires entrepreneurial communication
consultants. How to become an entrepreneur and where lies your area of expertise?
In your role as a start-up freelance communication advisor you first have to develop
an entrepreneurial idea based on self-knowledge and your own expertise in
communication and market research. Your first assignment is about exploring your
own qualities as an entrepreneur in communication and the beginning of your own
personal branding. You will design a media product based on your own
entrepreneurial ideas by learning how to develop and implement a media concept.
You will learn how to:
- use your imagination creatively, develop your idea and convert it into a media
concept.
- apply storytelling principals and how to convey an original idea.
- use creative designs and creative writing to develop your media concept.
- convert your media concept into a 1-minute film outlining your entrepreneurial idea,
following pre-set quality standards in text, visuals and sound.
- formulate your ideas and research results in a written business plan.
A start-up consultant is always looking for investors into their communication agency.
This entails you being able to convincingly (re)present yourself and persuade potential
investors to invest in you. You will therefore pitch your own entrepreneurial idea and
film to your colleague start-up consultants. The class will select the best pitches based
on criteria described in an assessment form. As a result, the best pitches and ideas will
have the opportunity to be showcased in a professional setting, and receive feedback
and follow up advice from real life, experienced communication experts.
While developing the individual media products, you will have the opportunity to
exchange knowledge and receive feedback from your own consultancy work group.
At the end of this collaboration, you will be assessed by your peers by means of an
assessment form.
Learning
Outcomes
You will independently develop a media concept and product based on your own
individual entrepreneurial (innovative) ideas resulting from your own research on
trends and developments pertaining the international communication market.
You will individually pitch your product concept to peers.
In your role as a start-up consultant, you collaborate with other start-up consultants in
a constructive manner by peer consultancy.
V
Module
Credits
Content
Entrepreneurship and Media
5
Entrepreneurship deals with self-exploration of your own entrepreneurial consultancy
qualities. This means you will be developing your own entrepreneurial idea and test it
in the communication market. As a start-up consultant, you will learn how to make
basic strategic, marketing and financial decisions that are involved in setting up a
communication consultancy from scratch.
Using guest- and flipped-classroom lectures you will be learning how to write a
structured and effective business plan. Since all students are in the role of start-up
consultants, you will have the opportunity of having discussions about your
entrepreneurial ideas during consultancy sessions under the supervision of a senior
consultant (teacher). You will start networking and testing your ideas with other
international consultants.
Your business plan should include the following components:
- analysis of your own strengths and weaknesses based on a self-test; self-knowledge
is also an essential part of personal branding.
- developing your own entrepreneurial idea and subsequently conduct international
market research.
- learning and applying strategic marketing tools to analyse the international
communication market and monitor trends.
- applying the basic 4P or 7P marketing mix concepts in the business plan.
- applying basic financial models (Costs evaluation, Budgeting and Pricing).
You will also learn how to apply basic visual communication concepts and media
strategies. Acquired knowledge is applied and incorporated in the development for
the media concept and pitch.
After the series of lectures and working sessions (seminars), acquired knowledge is
assessed in an exam.
The following topics will be covered:
Semiotics, roles of visuals in communication, rhetoric and ‘gestaltism’ (Gestalt
psychology), basic knowledge in the fields of cross-and-trans media strategies, media
channels, concepting and storytelling
Learning
Outcomes
You will learn about- and apply basic business plan components: e.g. who are you,
vision/mission, market research, promotion, organization, finance.
You will learn about- and apply basic visual communication concepts and media
strategies, including visual functions, semiotics, rhetorics, Gestalt, cross and media
strategies, channels, concepting and storytelling.
V
Module
Credits
Content
Professional Skills 3
5
A true entrepreneur is proactive, creative and is able to use imagination. You will need
these skills to discover your own entrepreneurial qualities, develop your own
entrepreneurial ideas and test them in an international market setting. You will learn
techniques which will help you to think creatively about your own cognitive
framework, how to conceptualize, and how to network in a result oriented way in an
international context.
Business, and creative writing skills are practiced and reflected in a portfolio,
consisting of the following assignments:
- A business plan ( business writing); your plan should be concise, logically structured,
using professional vocabulary in line with banking and investor requirements and
expectations.
- Story scenario (story telling); needed for media concept.
- Online branding portfolio (creative writing); business plan contents needs to be
translated to online personal branding web texts.
In addition you will learn how to pitch, which means speaking in a persuasive manner,
using powerful verbal, and non-verbal skills and visual aids. Camera training is offered
as well, so you will learn hot wo convert images into a film.
In your role as a start-up, internationally oriented, creative, networking consultant,
you will be gaining more insight into your own personality and become much more
aware of your qualities as an internationally oriented entrepreneur in communication.
Based on peer assessments, personal profile, and entrepreneurial and IDI tests, you
will be able to describe your own personal profile. In conclusion, you will be making
pertinent choices for further educational and career development by submitting a
report.
Learning
Outcomes
You will develop an individual professional portfolio based on peer assessments,
personal profile, intercultural development inventory (IDI) and entrepreneurial test,
and assess the results of your role as a start-up and networking consultant.
You will be able to apply techniques enabling you to self-reflect and develop concepts
in a creative manner, and are able to network in a result oriented way as a start-up
consultant.
You will be able to write in a businesslike and creative manner, focusing on target
groups in business plans, a structured story scenario, and online branding portfolio. In
addition you will be able to (re)present yourself convincingly during a pitch.