Educating Global Communicators Symposium

The symposium will bring together leading academic researchers and industry practitioners to explore communication study in universities and its impact on the practices of communication professionals internationally.  

The value of communication is recognised implicitly: being a ‘good communicator’ and possessing ‘excellent communication skills’ are essential criteria in many job advertisements, on par with problem solving and teamwork. Also, the versatility that contemporary workplaces require for success always entails communication strategies. However, university communication courses are losing prestige in many contexts internationally. In some contexts, communication courses are seen as ‘service’ to other disciplines; in others, scholarships or government subsidies are reduced for these courses thereby undervaluing them; in yet others, communication academics are seen as teachers only with no support for research. Communication practices in the workplace are also rapidly changing with developments in technology, corporatization of the media industry and the intercultural skills required by globalised business.