Education Conference in Milan

On November 16^th 2007 the IAA held the European Education Conference in Milan. The conference was in collaboration with The Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Milan. It was held with the goal of verifying whether or not the courses offered by Universities in Europe were adequate in meeting the needs and requirements of the current business communications market throughout the world. Both members of the academic community and top industry leaders attended this conference too see how the education system is preparing students for work and suggest ways to improve educations current state. After stating the fact that the goal of education in the field of business communication will be to train students to become professionals in total business communication, the conference was split up into two parts. First, “Communication and Employment: which roles and competences for communicators in the companies?” Second was “Changing Environment & New Professional Skills in the Market for Communication Services.” The conference closed with a presentation on education models that were suggested.

This article makes me think about how I am being prepared for the business and marketing world at Ithaca College. Whether or not my education here is teaching me enough of what I need to know about business and marketing communications to begin a successful career in the field. I will be working at an advertising/marketing firm this summer so I suppose after working there I will be able to get an idea of whether or not I have been trained properly to perform in he marketing communications world. I am not sure if this is happening here; but I hope that similar conferences to this one are being held in the United States to see if our education system is meeting the needs of the business communications market in the U.S. and abroad.

-Alec G.