The University of West London

University of West London welcomes American students as part of a unique cultural exchange programme

Tuesday 31 May 2011

The University of West London welcomed students from two American universities as part of a unique two-day cultural exchange programme between the institutions.

Students from the MSc Corporate Communication course – which is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) -  hosted the international students as part of their 'global public relations' module.

Four students from Fairleigh Dickinson University and five from Rutgers University took part in the exchange.  Both institutions are located in New Jersey and the students are completing various communication studies courses at Masters level.

Andreas Kyriacou, Head of the Business School at the University of West London, welcomed students to the University.  He said: 'This programme underscores our intention to develop and expand our international links'.

The programme consisted of lectures, workshops, seminars and group presentations which looked at:

• Intercultural issues in corporate brands
• Approaches to ethics and knowledge management
• Strategic management during a global crisis

Students were then served a traditional British lunch at the University's award winning student-run restaurant, Pillars.

For the second part of the exchange all students visited Wroxton College in Oxfordshire, where they compared their experiences of Higher Education.  Professor Gary Radford from Fairleigh Dickinson University led an interesting discussion about language and discourse based on ideas from European philosophers, which challenged students’ perceptions of what makes successful communications.

Feedback from the programme was 100% positive from all students and an American student who took part in the exchange is now interested in studying a PhD at the University of West London.

University of West London's MSc Corporate Communication Programme Leader, Dr Cecile Lowe said: 'I am so pleased that students enjoyed the experience, it broadens their horizons and gets them thinking about what communications is really about.  Student feedback shows that it really does open up the conversation of what makes a good corporate communicator and many of the students who complete the course go on to work around the world.'

The University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor / Dean of the Faculty of Professional Studies, Professor David Jones said: 'It was our privilege to give American students a taste of British Higher Education. I want to thank our MSc Corporate Communication students; they were fantastic ambassadors for the University of West London.  Intercultural communication and global public relations are very valuable to businesses and this exchange will put all of the students in good stead for what I am sure will be a very promising future.'

Fairleigh Dickinson University's Professor Gary Radford said: 'The exchange has been excellent for the fourth year running.  Students have been interacting with each other, challenging ideas and really understanding the practical considerations of global environments.  This is very valuable experience that students can talk about in job interviews. This exchange programme at the University of West London is a real selling point for our courses and I look forward to continuing this exchange in future years.'

Comments from students included:

'The exchange programme has given me a world view of communication.' Naveed Mirza, University of West London.
'In America, modules on 'Business Ethics' aren’t compulsory so it was great to learn about it here in this intercultural setting.' Timothy Kauger, Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Notes

MSc Corporate Communication at the University of West London is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).  For more information about the course, see our course pages.