We are thrilled to announce our successful virtual exchange event, where students from Shenandoah University, U.S. collaborated with our students in the Division of Communication. The event was conducted in two phases and attracted a total of 90 students from both universities. In the first phase on October 26, 2023, Miss Phoebe Chan, Creative Director of DDB HK, was invited to share her insights and experiences on advertising campaign development. During the sharing, Miss Chan discussed why an advertising campaign that works in one country may not work in other countries. She emphasized that the importance of locating cultural and ideological differences before bringing up ideas. Though creativity is crucial for producing an advertising campaign, it's equally important to be flexible and understand the needs and desires of the targeting brand beforehand. She sees the process challenging but interesting.
In the second phase on November 9, 2023, students from HKBU SCE joined together with students from Shenandoah University, U.S. who were enrolled in the course entitled Intercultural Communication, taught by Dr. Nor Mokhtar. The purpose of this collaboration was to explore the influence of intercultural contexts on creative development. This activity not only allowed students to foster their cross-cultural perspectives but also provided them with valuable knowledge and insights into the subject matter.
Students from SCE and Shenandoah University in the U.S. met at Zoom. Throughout the synchronous exchange students gained a deeper understanding of cultural differences and similarities in campaign development between Hong Kong and the U.S.. The participating SCE students also shared that they cherished the experience and saw it as a nice opportunity to enhance their spoken English skills.
More than 80% of the students shared that they enjoyed the interaction with students from the two Universities and found the Virtual Exchange valuable. Ms. Anna Yuen, the Academic Coordinator of Creative Communication Concentration Studies and the Person-in-Charge of SCE Virtual Exchange Centre, who organized the event, wishes these internationalization experiences could help preparing students to become global citizens in the future.
