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Tribune News Network
Doha
SOME of Qatar's brightest young students last week completed a four-month long project giving them an unparalleled insight and hands-on experience into the communications and public relations industry.
Blue Rubicon LLC one of Qatar's leading strategic communications consultancies has partnered with Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) to lend its experience and expertise in shaping the project and has worked closely with students enrolled in the strategic communications course at the University during this time.
The project is based on real-life scenarios faced by organisations operating in Qatar and gives students a thorough and in-depth understanding of the media landscape, communications challenges and opportunities in a rapidly developing and dynamic market such as Qatar, as well as the thought processes involved in developing communications strategies and plans.
In recent weeks, senior representatives from Blue Rubicon have worked closely with the course instructor to brief and advise students in the development of proposals in response to a real-life client brief from Qatar Museums, a cultural institution dedicated to inspiring the next generation of creative talent through art, heritage and creativity.
The project culminated in a series of presentations by groups of students last Monday afternoon at NU-Q. These were attended by Everette E. Dennis, dean and chief executive officer of NU-Q, Ilhem Allagui, associate professor in residence, Journalism and Strategic Communication Program; and Chris Lauwerys, managing director of Blue Rubicon amongst them.
Working in Qatar since 2007, Blue Rubicon combines an international outlook with local understanding and is one of the country's largest and most successful communications consultancies. It represents a number of Qatar's most important institutions and organisations, as well as international businesses operating in the country.
During the past three years as part of its ongoing commitment to the development of communications professionals, Blue Rubicon has organised a series of opportunities for students from NU-Q including 10-week long internships in the Blue Rubicon office in Doha, as well as offices abroad including London.
NU-Q is Northwestern University's 12th school, established in partnership with Qatar Foundation in 2008.
Commenting on the conclusion of the project, NU-Q Professor Ilhem Allagui said:"A strong component of the strategic communication program at NU-Q is partnerships with practitioners to ensure that we provide our students with experiential learning that adds to the concepts and foundations of the business of public relations, advertising or digital marketing learned in class. The project teaches students to develop comprehensive solutions to a real-life problem and enables them to interact confidently with practitioners. Their project presentations prove that the graduates are ready for the professional world, they are ready for hire."
Chris Lauwerys, managing director of Blue Rubicon, said:"We're enormously proud of our close association and partnership with NU-Q and have welcomed many talented students into our business over the past few years. It is inspiring and humbling to be able to contribute to the professional development of some of the brightest young communicators in the country and the region."
