International semester (30 ECTS)

Transcription

1 International semester (30 ECTS) Multimedia & Communication Management Spring 2013 Howest What is Multimedia & Communication Management? Is this course for me? Course concept & overview Timing and location Academic recognition Prerequisites Tuition Fee? Accommodation Application and deadline Contact and more information Howest, de Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen Howest, University College West Flanders, is a higher education institution in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. Today Howest has an enrolment of about 6000 full-time students pursuing one of our 31 Bachelors and Masters degrees covering a wide range of disciplines. Howest consists of four campuses located in Bruges and Kortrijk. Students will find an open, vibrant, cosmopolitan and friendly environment that offers many educational opportunities, with emphasis on high quality and practice-oriented courses as well as applied research.

2 Howest has a sound international reputation. We offer our students plenty of internationalization opportunities and constantly develop our course offer in English in order to be an attractive academic destination for students from abroad as well. We warmly welcome students from our partner institutions for an (Erasmus) exchange period. At this moment, Howest offers one full degree programme in English, the Bachelor of Digital Arts and Entertainment ( as well as 6 English taught international semesters in 4 different study areas, each of them representing at least 30 ECTS: International Business Management I (Sept-Jan) International Business Management II (Febr-June) Applied Computer Sciences Fall (Sept-Jan) Applied Computer Sciences Spring (Febr-June) Tourism Management (Sept-Jan) Multimedia and Communication Management (Feb-June) Studying in Bruges or Kortrijk includes having a series of very attractive locations within a stone's throw: the Belgian coast as well as our Flemish art cities like Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent... You can also reach famous European places like Paris, London, Amsterdam, Cologne etc. in a one or two hours train journey. What is Multimedia & Communication Management? Every communication project - be it a flyer, billboard, website, educational CD-ROM, video clip, newspaper or magazine - is the result of a wonderful fusion of social craftsmanship and technology. One cannot imagine communication without multimedia. Just as much as multimedia always involves communication. Our Multimedia and Communication Management semester combines both areas into a course offer of 42 ECTS in total. Multimedia and Communication Management is the result of a cooperation between 2 Howest Bachelor courses: Communication Management and Journalism.

3 journalism and foreign language. Whoever needs to communicate with an audience will feel the benefits of being fluent at handling text and image, incorporating sound and movement in the message, adding shape and color, in brief, turning the content into an attractive, creative and effective multimedia product. The MCM semester gives you the opportunity to combine course units which will train you in communication, communication management, media, web development, Students of different study fields can compile an interesting programme which meets their individual needs. Having at least some basic skills and knowledge in these areas is considered part of the general skills, the so-called transversal competencies which employers seek nowadays when hiring new staff, regardless of the sector or specialization area. Another one of these general competencies is the ability to act in an international context. MCM will help you to achieve this, thanks to: o the international mix of students. o the communication project which you will realize in groups. o the constant use of English, being a foreign language for most of the students. o the focus on the international dimension in various course units. Several of the course units are organized jointly for both the international as well as our local students. Is this course for me? This curriculum appeals to students of many different study areas: media studies and journalism, communication, marketing, advertising, public relations, sales or graphic design. Those students can attend Multimedia and Communication Management as an exchange semester abroad to enhance the international dimension of their study. For students with a Journalism background the

4 Communication Project will be a Journalistic assignment and will be coached by staff of our Journalism department. Multimedia and Communication Management also offers a great opportunity for students of other study programmes, such as education, business and management, languages, tourism, social sciences and many more, to expand their communication and multimedia technology skills and constitute a unique added value to their degree and their career opportunities. The MCM semester aims mainly at students who want to do an (Erasmus) exchange abroad in the course of their undergraduate (Bachelor) study. But other students and recent graduates are welcome as well. Course concept & overview Multimedia and Communication Management consists of a common programme and an individual track. We expect students from abroad to enter the first 3 course units as a common part of the semester, for a total of 12 ECTS Of course for students who combine MCM with an other Howest international semester in Fall the SOC1 course unit is not obligatory (since they might have had a similar unit in the previous programme). However they can participate in the cultural excursions and company visits as free students. The 10 optional course units can be combined in an individual track up to a total of 30 ECTS common track included. Course units and codes HTC* n-tc SL ECTS Socio-cultural overview of Belgium SOC Introduction to the Belgian political and social and economical context, including 2/3 field visits. Introduction to the Belgian economical context including 2/3 company visits. Overview of past and present-day Flemish art & culture, including 3 cultural excursions. International project management IPM1 Project management, time management. Intercultural communication. Presentation skills Common path (12 ECTS) International Communication Project ICP Students do a Communication or Journalism project in international teams.

5 Optional Course units 18 ECTS to be chosen out of 30 Course units and codes HTC* n-tc SL ECTS Communication Research and Integrated Project Advertising COM1 Research techniques: qualitative and quantitative SWOT analyses and objectives. Communication mix: advertising, promotion, P.R., fairs,... Media COM Propaganda and the Media (1 ECTS) A model of propaganda and the media from Ancient Times till the Information Society. Media through Film (2 ECTS) Exploring historical and current media-related topics through the lens of films, series, documentaries and video excerpts. Writing for the media COM Why the media matters; What is news?; Man as an informtion processeing energy/matter system; The communication proces: codec; Multiple media - multiple disciplines; Publication planning and design: the basics of typography, design of the lay-out, preparing images for print and for electronic publishin; Editing: The publicist at work; Writing or (multi)media: print, radio, television, internet. Introduction to Event Organization COM International Marketing and SPSS COM International Marketing (2 ECTS) SPSS: Program for Statistical Analysis (1 ECTS) Web and site management WEB In this course you will get insight in how the web is evolving. You will get an overview on the latest webtrends on e-communication. Extra attention will be given to html and css (learn how to use it), wordpress (how to use a Content Management System and update an online website) and social media. We mostly use open source software. Photography MMD camera techniques, digital photography, the sensor, shutter speed, aperture, white balance, light sensitivity, use and characteristics of lenses 2. composition techniques: framing, strong lines and cardinal points, leading lines, diagonals, masses, forms, perspective, colour, black and white, abstract photography Photoshop MMD Manipulating images: basic photo corrections, working with selections, layer basics, masks and channels, retouching, typographic design, vector drawing techniques, save for web and print. Necessary software on your laptop: Adobe CS5.5 Design Premium English communication practice II CME Communication Practice in English with our semester 4 Communications students. Level B2 of the CEFR required as a starting level. English IV media oriented JLE English with our semester 4 Journalism students. Level B2 of the CEFR required as a starting level. *Legend: HTC = Hours of teaching and coaching during the semester n-tc = non-teaching and coaching hours per semester SL = total study load in number of hours

6 Timing and location The course takes place between February 11 th and July 5 th 2013 at Howest Kortrijk. Address: Howest Kortrijk, Renaat de Rudderlaan 6, B-8500 Kortrijk. Kortrijk is located at only a short distance of the historic city of Bruges, Belgium s Mecca of tourist destinations, and at one hour from the Belgian coast. During the 2 weeks Easter Holiday in Belgium, there are no lessons: 01/04 14/04/2013. June is the month for examination and final presentations. The last exams will not be organised after 28/06. The official second chance exam session is between 16 August and 8 September The Howest academic calendar is available in English on Academic recognition This international semester is an integrated part of the Howest Bachelor courses Communications Management or Journalism. Howest fully applies the ECTS grading system and awards credits for the successfully achieved course units. After concluding the semester, all students receive an official ECTS Transcript of Records as well as a Certificate mentioning the gained credits.

7 Prerequisites o Minimum 3 successfully completed semesters in a Bachelor programme or an equivalent of 90 ECTS. This will need to be confirmed by means of an official certificate, a survey of completed courses, transcripts of records or a signed letter from the sending university. o Sufficient command of the English language (both oral and written communication). The minimum level required is the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference. ( Applicants need to provide proof for this in one of the following ways: - An official certificate or score report referring to the European Framework or from one of the recognized language tests (e.g. TOEFL internet based 87/paper based 550 or IETLS - 5.5, no partial results below 5). - A signed confirmation letter from your university, stating that your English language skills reach the B2 level and thus are sufficient to attend courses, participate in classroom and examination activities, present your project and its results. The following applicants are not required to document their English skills: - applicants from countries having English as their national language - applicants attending an English taught degree programme at their home institution - applicants who send proof of having succeeded at least one year of an English taught higher education programme Howest reserves the right to contact the applicant or the sending university to verify this information. Applications without sufficient proof of previous study or language proficiency will not be taken into consideration. o All Howest and exchange students should bring their own laptop, with all necessary and officially licenced software. The course overview above mentions the specific software (if any) necessary for the course unit. o Non exchange students can only attend the international semester as a Postgraduate course and need to have completed at least a full Bachelor degree programme at the time they start the international semester course at Howest.

8 Tuition Fee? For (Erasmus) exchange students this course is tuition free. Non exchange students pay a tuition fee of The fee does not include course or other materials, nor the cost for cultural visits or study excursions (transportation, museum entrance ). Those have to be paid cash on location. Accommodation We recommend the Multimedia and Communication Management students to stay in Kortrijk, where all the classes will take place. A student room in Kortrijk will cost you between 200 and 350 per month. Stuvo Howest, our students services, will assist you in your search for accommodation if you wish. You can also look for accommodation via Application and deadline The application deadline for Multimedia and Communication Management is 30 November The number of places in Multimedia and Communication Management is limited. All applications are subject to approval by the Howest MCM team. The requested proficiency level in English is an important application/selection criterion. You can download the application form at Please also fill out the Learning Agreement with your selection of course units. Contact and more information For information about Multimedia and Communication Management contents do not hesitate to contact [email protected] Send your application to Howest International Office [email protected] Ms. Isabelle Pertry, Howest International Mobility Officer and MCM coordinator. Post address: Marksesteenweg 58, 8500 Kortrijk Belgium. Tel.: Have a look at our Practical information package for incoming students at