Led by Prof. Joep Cornelissen, Professor of Corporate Communication and Management at RSM and Academic Director of the Executive MSc in Corporate Communication programme, this year’s curriculum has more emphasis on corporate communication from a strategic perspective, to help participants enhance their strategic thinking. New workshops will explore managing a corporate brand and strategic messaging strategies.
Intertwining theory and practice
One of the speakers at the course is Prof. Ansgar Zerfass, who was the lead researcher of the European Communication Monitor 2017, which surveys trends in strategic communication. Other academics who lead sessions in the Executive Summer Course include Prof. Stefano Puntoni, Prof. Pursey Heugens from RSM and Dr Mignon van Halderen.
Sessions will be led by business practitioners and academics, so professionals can learn first-hand how the latest knowledge can be applied in an organisational setting. The visiting business practitioners include Boudewijn van Uden from a.s.r; Judith Coster from KLM; John-Paul Schuirink from Heineken; Remco Barbier from NN Group; Frank van Ooijen, former director at FrieslandCampina; and Dennis Larsen from ReputationInc.
"In the Summer Course, academic theory and practical knowledge are closely intertwined. It was very valuable for me to get in contact with other professionals," says Karim Ooms, business partner communication at KLM, who completed the course in 2017.
Reputation management
The course is for professionals with an interest in corporate communication, reputation management and related disciplines. Through lectures, business cases and workshops participants will explore five essential themes of corporate communication: organisational identity, corporate branding, strategic reputation management, strategic communication, and complexity and ambiguity in corporate communication.
“I was impressed with the highly qualified professors and visiting business practitioners in the summer course,” says Laurens Ohlenroth, communications manager at NS, who completed the course in 2017. “I got a complete overview of academic and practical thinking in corporate communications.”
The Executive Summer Course is an open course but can also be taken as part of the Executive MSc in Corporate Communication. This year’s summer course takes place 18-22 June 2018 at Golden Tulip Jagershorst hotel in Leende, near Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It will be led by Prof. Joep Cornelissen, professor of corporate communication and management at RSM.
