Dr. Brigitte Planken (programme coordinator)

Lotte Hobelman, BA (IBC student)

Communication and Information Studies

International Business Communication (IBC)

A specialisation with a broad orientation

Communication & information studies, with insights from: • business & corporate communication• international management• intercultural communication• multilingualism• (socio)linguistics• persuasion theory• social psychology

International Business Communication

Aim of the programme

Graduates are able to independently set up & conduct research to:

• Gather knowledge and research data • As a basis for well-founded recommendations• Aimed at optimizing international / intercultural communication• In profit or non-profit organisations• Operating in an increasingly globalized arena

Programme features

• Focus on current issues affecting communication managers of multinational and international organizations:

• Role of language(s), culture and multilingualism in organizational communication

• Impact of globalization on organizational communication• Insights into cultural diversity in organizations• Strategic communication in all organizational disciplines

(e.g. in Management, Marketing, Recruitment, CSR, PR, Financial reporting)

One-year MA programme

Components ECTS

1. Global Corporate Communication   6

2. Data Collection & Analysis (advanced)   5

3. Corporate Strategy   6

4. Research Seminar (rotating topics) 10

5. Practical Project: communication advice 4 company   8

6. Elective course 5  

7. Master’s Thesis 20

Global Corporate Communication

• Highlights current issues in multinationals' global corporate communication (CC);

• Considers the impact of globalization in different CC disciplines (management, marketing, stakeholder, financial & organizational communication) and what this means for managing CC;

• Applied approach: ‘learning and doing’ through business cases, lecture/discussion sessions, insights from current communication research and communication theory

IBC Research Seminar

• Theory-based research project (rotating topics), for example:

• Language policy: What’s a more effective strategy in international communication contexts (for example, meetings)? English as a lingua franca? Using mutually intelligible (first) languages? Or using multiple languages?

• International advertising: Standardize or localize marketing communication? What are the effects of subtitled vs. dubbed vs. English as a lingua franca in TV commercials on audience comprehension, attitude to product/brand, corporate reputation?

Practice-based research 4 company

• Practice-oriented research project, commissioned by an organization (in small groups or, if feasible, on an internship basis)

• Investigate a real-life communication issue, problem or question relating to stakeholder communication in an international, intercultural or multilingual organizational context;

• Liaise & consult with the client and use insights & skills to analyze the issue/problem formulate usable recommendations for the client

• Past projects: Kema, NXP, Scapino Ballet, International Office Radboud, BeMore, UMC Radboud, MetrixLab, International Bacalaureat, Spanish Embassy, French Embassy, etc.

Elective

• Requirements: MA level course, at least 5 ECTS, fits with IBC

• Options:– elective offered in the Arts Faculty– elective offered by other Radboud faculties (e.g. Management,

Communication Sciences)– elective at another university in the Netherlands

• e.g. Creative Industries, Non-nativeness in Communication (Arts Faculty); Global Marketing (Management Faculty); Non-verbal Communication, Interactive Visualization (Tilburg University); Quantitative Marketing (University of Amsterdam)

Master Thesis

• Thesis track, divided over the academic year (September – August)

– Meet the research staff (Sep ‘15)– Explore potential topics with staff (Nov ‘15)– Establish your research focus (Dec ‘15)– Write the research plan (March ‘16)– Set up & conduct study (April – May ‘16)– Analyze data/ statistics & methodology masterclass (Apr ‘16) – Report study in research article = MA thesis (April – Jun ‘16)

Goal: completion in June or August 2016

Thesis themes: examples

•Multilingualism and intercultural competence as predictors of expatriate success

•Cross-cultural responses to cause-related marketing

•Visual and textual themes in international financial reports

•Politeness strategies in Russian versus English email requests

•Accommodation strategies in lingua franca business meetings

•English as a corporate language: impact on internal communication

•Foreign languages in advertising: comprehensibility & persuasiveness

•Safety on the multilingual workfloor: effects of language choice and leadership

•Language use in social media for international business

•Effect of language choice on narrative persuasion in global advertising

Experiments, survey studies, corpus analysis, qualitative research (or combination)

Kick-off Event

• Two-day programme (last week of August, before lectures start in September);

• Further introduction to the IBC programme & master thesis track, workshops;

• Social and course-related components;

• All IBC students and staff attend;

• Usually abroad…

Requirements: prior education

BA degree in Communication Science, Communication and Information Studies, or in a similar discipline:

Candidate should demonstrate affinity with:

1) communication studies

2) management & marketing (communication)

3) cultural studies/ anthropology/ international studies

4) language(s)/ linguistics

Convince us!

• Why choose THIS programme?

• Affinity with the workings of organizations?

• Do you have an international orientation? Study abroad experience or work experience?

• Experience in doing research and in methodology & statistics?

Sufficient English proficiency?

• If you have a sufficient score on a standardized English test (TOEFL, IELTS, CAE, CPE) – see CIS website for details on the minimum scores required all international students need to meet with this criterion

• If your BA programme was in English

• If you’re a native speaker of English

N.B. If you’re a Dutch applicant and neither of the above apply, you’ll need to take an English test at the Department of CIS as part of the selection procedure. Let us know if you need to take this test, when you apply for selection

Recognized English tests (minimal scores accepted)

• TOEFL: minimal score 580 (paper-based version), 92 (Internet-based version) or 237 (computer-based version);

• IELTS (academic module): minimal score (overall band) 7 and minimal score (writing) 6.5;

• CAE certificate: A or B;

• CPE certificate: A, B or C

How to apply

What do we need from you?• CV (and contact details);• Motivation letter in English; • BA thesis or other recent individual research or project paper

(preferably in English);• validated copy English proficiency certificate (if you have one);• validated copy of your degree certificate (if you have one); • Otherwise, list of courses followed in BA & grades so far

Applying if you’re an international student

• Online, via the universitys Admissions Office• Upload all required documentation to OSIRIS

Application deadlines: • Non-EU/EEA nationals: 1 April 2015 (guaranteed service package:

accommodation and support with visa and residence permit)• EU/EEA nationals: 1 May 2015 (guaranteed accommodation)

• Applications after these dates: still considered , but no guarantee of service package or accommodation

• Turnaround time: ca. 6 weeks

Applying if you’re a Dutch student• Apply for selection by email and send in your portfolio by post: see

instructions on the CIS website http://www.ru.nl/ciw/

Application deadline: • 18 May 2015

• We reserve the right to invite applicants for an interview• If you need an English test as part of the selection procedure – let

us know when you apply!

Outcome: ca. end of June 2015

International Business Communication

From a student’s perspective

Who am I?

• Lotte Hobelman

• 21

• Bachelor Business Communication @ Radboud University Nijmegen

• Language: Spanish!

Why did I choose this master?

• International orientation Content of courses Students from different countries

• Practice English language skills English as a global language

• Small scale Nice atmosphere

• Combi with management Broaden your horizon!

My further experience

• Worked together with Spanish students

• First semester is good preparation for second semester: Master Thesis!

• Elective: new media and society (period 2!)

The Master Thesis

• A lot of initiative is expected

• My topic: narratives in L1 vs. L2

• Data collection in Spain

Why IBC?

• Insights into current issues and developments in IBC, with a strong theoretical grounding

• Practical research skills to investigate, evaluate and offer professional communication advice in IBC contexts

• Combines research and practice• Multi-disciplinary orientation• Strong student community, motivated and inquisitive students

• Well-rounded academic CV• IBC experts and IBC professionals are still in demand

Life after IBC?

• 50% of Communication & Information Studies graduates start work almost immediately; 92% finds a position within 6 months of graduating

• 29% are communication advisors in organizations (profit and non-profit)

• Diverse sectors and disciplines (marketing, HRM, finance, PR, communication, etc.)

• 17% in information and communication sector

Life after university?

Career Service Letteren

Provides career advice, coaching,

orientation on job market

Maintains network of profit/non-profit

organizations and alumni

Career days

IBC graduates• Communication Policy Advisor, Government of Curacao

• Dutch Business Liaison, French Chamber of Commerce (Paris region)

• Sr. Project Manager, Nike (Netherlands office)

• Benelux Market Manager Retail & E-Commerce Services, PostNL

• Divisional Marketing Director, IQPC Middle East (Dubai)

• Assistant Professor, Communication Studies, Free University Amsterdam

• Coordinator Business Analysis & Reporting, Festo (Rabobank)

• Press Officer Swiss Market / PR & Events Int‘l, Swatch Ltd.

• Communications Adviser, Nuon

• Sr. Quality manager, PSA Peugeot Citroën Benelux (based in Amsterdam)

• Sr. Process Engineer/Business Analyst, Nationale Suisse Group

• Staff Specialist CSR/ Quality Management, Randstad International

• Technical Manager Facility Services, Schiphol Group

• Head of Global Corporate Communications, Damco

• Social Media Marketeer, Essent

• For international students

http://www.ru.nl/ Education Master’s programmes

Admissions Office: +31 24 361 23 45 admissionoffice@dsz.ru.nl

• For Dutch students

http://www.ru.nl/ciw/ Master Toelating tot de IBC master

• Contacts

Brigitte Planken (IBC programme coordinator): b.planken@let.ru.nl

Sigrid Bleize-van den Berg (CIS student advisor): s.vandenberg@let.ru.nl

More information?