Reactik as a teaching tool: didactic materials

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 UC’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 also engaged 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 UC), Dr Victoria Escaip (Spanish Programme at the UC), Assoc Prof Alistair Swale (Japanese Programme at the UC) and Dr Chia-Rong Wu (Chinese Programme at the UC).

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.

Interviews with cultural diplomacy experts as course materials for discussion

Team NZ of the JM Network Reactik interviewed experts on cultural diplomacy.  The videos are to be used as a resource in the courses that deal with cultural diplomacy, public diplomacy, cross-cultural issues, global contexts in communication, international relations, EU studies.

Watch the interviews with Public Diplomacy experts

Experts also shared their views on public/cultural diplomacy within the post-graduate course COMS 420 Public Diplomacy (all interviews are available on the UC learning platform LEARN and used in the class)

Final report:  Contributions by students

Creation of the Multi-Level Teams: Under- and Post-graduate students working together, beyond EU studies, creating community of knowledge.

PhD students Alexander Malkov (NCRE, UC) and Daniela Grimberg (Media and Communication, UC) and Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr Suvo Bandopadhyaya have collaborated within the JM Reactik project as Research Assistants as well as in their outreach to post- and under-graduate students. 

These three early-career researchers collaborated in their work on Reactik Final Report, Resource Centre, Website, Symposium and production of the Didactic Materials sharing expertise, methods, approaches.

PhD candidate Alexander Malkov collaborated with under-graduate students in EURO 104 “Languages of Europe and beyond” in their study of digital cultural diplomacy by the EU and EU member states, in cooperation with the MEURO student Adam Griffin. Alexander Malkov also collaborated with Prof Chaban and Dr Kelly on writing final report and developing and co-presenting a research paper based on the final report findings.

Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr Suvo Bandopadhyaya consulted and supervised the design of the cultural diplomacy initiatives developed by the post-graduate students in COMS 402 “Public Diplomacy” at the Department of Media and Communication. Dr Bandopadhyaya also collaborated with Prof Chaban in developing and co-writing a research paper on cultural diplomacy.