JM Reactik in the post-graduate course COMS 420 Public Diplomacy: Teaching-Research-Practice Nexus
Ensuring a regular link between teaching, research and practice, Professor Natalia Chaban,leader of the NZ chapter of the Jean Monnet Network Reactik and Director of the Public Diplomacy and Political Communication Forum,introduced innovative formats into the teaching of the post-graduate course COMS420 Public Diplomacy within the programme Masters of Strategic Communication at the Department of Media and Communication applying findings and networks of the Jean Monnet Network Reactik. Since 2020, Professor Chaban has been creating an online archive of the interviews with international experts in cultural and public diplomacy used as didactic materials used in the course since then. All interviews are now posted on the ҕl’s e-platform LEARN used by the students.
In 2021, Professor Chaban assigned students of the Public Diplomacy course to research, design and present a cultural diplomacy campaign, informed by research frameworks developed in the course the Reactik project. In preparation to this major assignment, Professor Chaban invited the EU diplomats to attend the course and present to the students.Kevin O’Connell, Counsellor (Political)/ Deputy Head of Delegation of the EU to New Zealand delivered a guest lecture. He alsoengaged with the panel of academics from the Department of Global, Cultural and Language studies invited to present at the course. They are actively involved in cultural diplomacy as local stakeholders and leaders. The panel included Dr Antonio Viselli (French Programme at the ҕl), Dr Victoria Escaip (Spanish Programme at the ҕl), Assoc Prof Alistair Swale (Japanese Programme at the ҕl) and Dr Chia-Rong Wu (Chinese Programme at the ҕl).
Students of the Public Diplomacy course presented their final reports on cultural diplomacy to the class as well as to the invited panel of diplomatic jurors -- H.E. Peter Ryan, Ambassador of Ireland to New Zealand, and Dr Simon Mark, Massey University. Two projects were selected by the jury as winners.