Tag Archives: Zayed University

Zayed University and its Importance to the National Communications Industry

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Zayed University has graduated thousands of communications graduates. The current College of Communication and Media Sciences is headed up by Dean Dwight Brooks (left)

If I was to name one university I’d want to study communications at, it would be Zayed University. For sure, the media landscape is not as free or as mature as what you would find in the UK or the USA. And there are issues you cannot touch upon. What makes Zayed University’s College of Communication and Media Sciences so special is its people, in particular the faculty.

For the past couple of years I had the honor of supporting the College as a member of and chair its National Advisory Council. I saw first hand how passionate the faculty were, the quality of their research, and how they kept at their mission of ensuring that every student had the opportunity to learn what communications was, how it should be practiced, and the difference that the function has on an organization and its people.

During that time the College graduated thousands of graduates; the University also began to offer post-graduate courses for communications professionals in the country, with an excellent set of courses for young people, mainly Emiratis, to learn advanced communications theories, so they’d be ready to become industry leaders. If you look around the government communications sector, where many ZU graduates end up, and often those who have the best understanding of communications and are able to execute on plans have been to the College of Communication and Media Sciences.

I won’t stop there. Many ZU CCMS faculty members have contributed significantly to the industry. Take for example the first UAE edition of the Global Capability Framework, which was led by Professors Gaelle Duthler and Ganga Dhanesh. Or the research on gender perceptions, which was undertaken by Dr Zoe Hurley for the Advertising Business Group. We literally have a research gem in our midst, which the industry does not tap into enough.

The Future of CCMS

I have seen all the good that the College of Communication and Media Sciences has done. I am less certain about its future. The University’s leadership is embarking on a program with an organization called Minerva, which is “aimed at ensuring students have cross-disciplinary skills that are relevant in a fast-changing global job market”. This agreement will impact the entire university, including CCMS, and this is despite Minerva not having any prior experience in teaching communications.

While there is not too much I can say about the tie-up, I will say this – I have spent two decades in communications, and I have seen the function evolve at a frantic pace. And the CCMS Faculty can both understand and explain these changes in a way that best prepares their students for success. I’d argue that the greatest barrier to success is not listening to the CCMS faculty and leadership – they know teaching, they know the subject, and they know the industry. They should be the ones who are able to shape the future of the college in a way that will both improve learning and ensure that students remain passionate about a subject which means such much to the country and the region.

Communicators aren’t just people who write notes, take pictures, or create videos. We tell stories, we tap into people’s emotions and we shape reputations. The country needs that, more than ever, if it is to be seen in the way that the country’s leadership desire. And I hope that Zayed University continues to lead the way here, thanks to the people at the College of Communication and Media Sciences.

A Work-In-Progress – What the first capabilities study says about PR in the UAE (and your role too)

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Anne Gregory co-lead the Global Capability Framework, and she was in Dubai last week to talk about the first ever study in communication capabilities in the UAE

We had a VVIP in Dubai this week (I was going to say VIP, but everyone is a VIP in this town). Someone who, for me at least, is a public relations rockstar. And a person who has done a great deal to promote the function and its development, globally. Anne Gregory is a name you’ve got to remember. She’s been the chair of the CIPR and the Global Alliance. And, along with Johanna Fawkes, she created the Global Capability Framework (GCF).

I’ve reference the GCF before, and why it should matter to anyone who works in or wants to work in communications. Anne was in Dubai to talk about the UAE GCF research; this piece of work, which is being led by Ganga Dhanesh and Gaelle Duthler from Zayed University, is the first ever study to identify the most (and least) important capabilities of public relations and communication management in the country.

Well, the initial results are in. Anne, Gaelle, and Ganga spoke at an open event this Thursday about the initial findings from the study, to uncover which capabilities matter most to UAE practitioners. The results may surprise you.

These are the top ten capabilities required of communicators in the UAE as defined by the industry here

At the top by a mile is reputation, which makes a good deal of sense given we’re reputation builders. However, what I’m not showing here is what’s at the bottom. Among that group is ethics. Given what’s happening globally (think fake news, distrust of the media and PR), as well as regionally (social media manipulation, political disagreements, a lack of media/communications transparency), I’m partly surprised, partly understanding of the irony of communicators not linking these two capabilities more closely.

To ask a simple question, which I’ve asked before of others, would you trust someone who you don’t think is ethical? Clearly, we’ve got to do more on raising the need for the industry to view ethics as something which is important, and bodies such as the PRCA and MEPRA have got to play their part.

At number two, strategy was another standout. Conversely, measurement didn’t make it into the top ten, and was also near to the bottom of capabilities listed. While there’s a realization among many senior communicators on the need to align the function with their organization’s goals, measurement of outcomes matters, especially to our organizational leaders. It’s how we prove our worth.

Out of the top ten, what I also found interesting was the focus on crisis communications (is this driven by social media, I wonder), as well as environment (this means a contextual understand of all the factors we’re dealing with regarding our functions and organizations), and digital (I’d assume this reflects how quickly we’ve become a connected society).

How can you use the Global Capabilities Framework?

Now, what Anne and the University of Huddersfield/the Global Alliance have also done is make available a brilliant tool that lets communicators assess themselves and their teams against the framework. It’ll allow you to look at your skills, see your strengths and weaknesses, and understand where you need to develop and then re-assess yourself to see how you’re progressing.

There’s two assessment levels: the Core capability assessment is comprised of 11 questions, and the Full assessment has a total of 37 questions.

Once you’ve done your assessment, you’ll be shown a simple spider chart like the below.

This tool is free for any organization that is part of the Global Alliance (for example, CIPR). It also feeds into various professional development programs. You can check out the GCF tool here.

That’s all from me today. Do you agree with this list? Or do you disagree? As always, drop me a note, share your views and get engaged!

A Capability Framework for the UAE’s Communicators – Why does this project matter?

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This time last year, the Global Alliance released the Global Capabilities Framework for Public Relations and Communication Management, the fruit of a two-year research project led by the University of Huddersfield (UK).

This research asked practitioners, educators and employers in eight countries across six continents what they thought public relations is capable of, and how it can best fulfill its potential.  The combined outcome, the Global Capability Framework (GCF), can be used by communicators to both assess their own capability and potential, and set their own goals for their own development. The GCF should be also used by employers to understand how to improve their team’s strengths through training. Third, educators should look to the GCF as a basis for their curriculum’s development.

What matters most to me is the country frameworks, specifically tailored to large markets where there’s a substantial communications function. There are country frameworks for Australia, Argentina, Canada, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

To date, there’s not been a country framework for anywhere in the Middle East, but this will change. Zayed University’s College of Communication and Media Sciences is undertaking an initiative, in partnership with the University of Huddersfield (UK), to build a capability framework for communicators and students in the UAE.

For the first time, we will have a practical aid that will help individuals, teams, employers and educators understand what are the key skills that we must focus on to both grow as a profession, and become more influential with our stakeholders. A UAE framework will reflect the cultural and regional variations in public relations as it is practiced in the UAE, and it’ll act as a guide for our future development. It will help us understand where we must improve as a nation if we’re going to become a global leader in communications.

I’m excited about a UAE framework, in terms of what is means for communicators, employers and educators in the country. I’m also excited about how this country framework can become the first of many national frameworks across the wider Middle East. We’re still in our infancy as a function, and we have much more to achieve. National capability frameworks will help us become better communicators in a shorter space of time. Thank you in advance for everyone who will take part in this ambitious project, especially Zayed University’s CCMS.

The Gulf’s Communications Sector and the Challenge for Authenticity

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Is the communications industry in the Gulf authentic enough?

Is the communications industry in the Gulf authentic enough?

I am, sometimes, allowed to get out by my better half. And this month has been replete with communications events. Two in particular come to mind. The first was an anniversary for a well-known communications consultancy firm which was celebrating a milestone for its UAE-based operations. The second was for a social media network which was talking about the largest advertising period in the region, namely Ramadan.

Both events struck me, but probably for the reasons that the organizers hadn’t intended for. At the first event, for the consultancy anniversary, I’d have expected to have seen a couple of nationals. After all, a number of the company’s clients were government bodies and we were in the capital where the ratio of nationals is much higher than in Dubai. But, unfortunately, there was only one national. Instead, the audience was western, English-speaking and middle-aged.

The second event was just as perplexing. Despite Ramadan being a part of Islam (Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting), I didn’t see a single Arab or Muslim talk about the event. At both events I was left asking myself, where are the personal insights, where’s the local understanding which I can either learn from or relate to?

In truth, these occasions are a microcosm of the communications and marketing industry in the Gulf region. We’re facing an issue with sustainability – there are far too few nationals and Arabic-language speakers in the industry, especially in high-level positions. To me this essentially means that, as we don’t accurately represent the audience we are trying to communicate with, that we’re not able to do our jobs properly.

I often get asked if I can suggest or recommend good talent, both by agencies and clients. Instead, let me offer a different suggestion. Let’s go straight to the source. Do you know how many young, talented nationals and children of expats who have grown up in the UAE are studying communications? We’re talking about at least 3,000 communications students between institutions such as Zayed University, Canadian University in Dubai, Abu Dhabi University, the American University of Sharjah, the American University of Dubai and Middlesex University. And then there’s the Saudis, the Bahrainis and others in the Gulf.

There’s enough talent out there, particularly Arabic-speaking youth, who want to get into the industry. However, we need to engage with them. The below are just a couple of ideas to get us all engaged on making the communications industry sustainable:

1) Get on campus! There are so many on-site events at universities and both agencies and companies need to step in, to both understand how much talent is out there as well as to educate students on what career opportunities are out there for them, especially for nationals who prefer a government job.

2) Mentor, mentor, mentor – the second option is to engage with students over a longer period. Mentoring allows students to learn from middle to senior-level professionals in the industry and for both to exchange their views. In a time where social media dominates, mentors can also learn a great deal from Arab youth on digital trends.

3) Bring in the interns – the longest-lasting and the most meaningful of the three engagements, an internship will allow students to get on-the-job experience with, hopefully, a view to joining the organization they’re interning with. An internship is the closest thing a student will get to a real-life job and will enable them to complement their in-class learnings with hands-on experience.

Organizations such as the Middle East Public Relations Association are promoting all of the above, in the hope that the industry becomes more representative of the communities in which we live. If we’re hoping to communicate as well as we can to all of the audiences that make up the Gulf, we have to take a different approach to hiring and promoting talent. Bringing in the expat with no local experience or understanding is no longer the right thing to do. We have to be authentic if we are going to be relevant. Are you up to the challenge?

Are you in need of a CreativeMorning? Dubai’s latest addition to the media industry

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Creative Mornings Dubai is the latest (and greatest) addition to the creative industry in the city

Creative Mornings Dubai is the latest (and greatest) addition to the creative industry in the city

I just love meetups and networking, especially when there’s someone different and engaging out in front and talking about an issue I care about. While there often seems to be an excess of events in Dubai, there’s few that offer a real chance for us to learn something new, understand different perspectives, and engage in a meaningful conversation.

Supported by TECOM, the good people at Digital Ape and Dubai Eye Radio’s/Zayed University’s very own James Piecowye have come together to bring a global phenomenon to the region. Creative Mornings is a simple idea; you bring in an engaging speaker to talk to the local creative community in the morning. There’s lots of coffee and some great talks followed by fascinating question and answer sessions with the audience.

The Creative Morning formula is simple. There’s one every month and they’re held on the third Thursday of every month from 8am to 9am in the CNN building in Dubai Media City. So far, we’ve had four Creative Mornings in Dubai, each of whom has shared their particular insights on issues such as the climate of creativity, the challenges of success and following your own dreams (the session was imaginatively called It Might Get Ugly), the links between education & art, and taking chances & finding your passion.

As you’d imagine from a radio host, James is a wonderful MC (if you don’t know him, go and search Google for Hawaiian shirts in Dubai). The team at Digital Age, including Haifa, Paul, Alia’a and Maria are the people behind the cameras, who make everything happen in terms of supporting with speakers, with the on-site arrangements and the production work – they also work on the social media including the Facebook page. You can also follow their Twitter feed which is @CM_Dubai.

If you’re free on a Thursday morning next month, why don’t you come down and check out Creative Morning. Here’s to great conversations, thanks to James, Digital Ape, and Creative Morning.