Member stories: developing communication strategies in international higher education
This next story in our series features one of the EAIE’s newer members, Dominique Da Silva. A part-time Masters student and professional working in higher education marketing, she’s very passionate about developing communication strategies to help her clients recruit students. Find out what she loves most about her job and what she hopes to learn from fellow EAIE members.
Profile
What is your role at your institution?
Here at EDU-CON we work in the field of higher education marketing. With my colleagues I develop and implement holistic communication strategies in order for our clients to become visible in the German market. Our primary goal is to facilitate German students studying abroad. On a day-to-day basis I write text for websites, brochures and other content for our clients. In this sense my job also requires me to be a Social Media editor, maintaining and posting on Studieren in Holland for example, with over 15,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook at the moment. Furthermore, I am responsible for the external and internal corporate communications.
Why did you decide to start working in the field of international higher education?
Education is one of the most important factors for democracy, prosperity and sustainable living. Working in this field is a means of advancing society – maybe it sounds like a cliché, but that is what I want. I also like the international environment and being a part-time student. I am of course also interested in the topic of study abroad, as I studied an Erasmus-semester in Lisbon. I hope that as many students as possible can experience such a great and unforgettable adventure as I did.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
As a part-time Masters student and part-time worker I like being the ‘interface’ between clients and our company. I am able to express my opinion and I am valued for that as I am still a member of our target group. I also love working in an international environment where I can help our clients recruit students and improve their internationalisation. The world is getting more and more connected and so is the higher education sphere.
What words of wisdom do you have for those starting in the higher education field?
Get into the minds of your target group: in my case, mainly students and potential students. Learn want they desire and focus your strategy on it. Is your target group constantly on their smart phones? Look to see what potential this has for your institution! Always be on top of communication trends and don’t ignore future developments.
What do you want to learn from fellow EAIE members?
I would like to know if other EAIE members’ institutions benchmark the quality of their internationalisation strategies in comparison to other higher education institutions on an institutional or programme level. And if so would anyone mind sharing some of their tactics?
