Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives
Publication Date
12-31-2017
Abstract
This paper discusses the importance and benefits for students of an outside the classroom learning experience, attending an event presentation and workshop organized as part of a class assignment with the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) and industry guest speakers. This study showcases MEPRA’s outreach attempts to students of public relations and communications, which turned into a learning process for the students where not only was the learning outcome of the course achieved, but also the engagement with the MEPRA empowered the students. Data was obtained from an exploratory questionnaire sent to all students who attended the event. The sample included 75 surveys, of which 57 were deemed usable. The results of the survey indicate that the greatest gain for the students was related to awareness and knowledge (information and cognition) about the subject matter gained from the presentation by industry guest speakers at the event. This paper provides insights into the importance of fostering collaborations between a professional association and students of a federal government university in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The study suggests that future activities driven by students, the professional association and faculty can contribute to developing professionalism in a growing profession in the UAE, ultimately leading to an effective learning environment. This study also emphasizes the importance of experiential learning in an environment where students come from conservative, close-knit families.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Emerald
Volume
14
Issue
2
First Page
24
Last Page
36
Disciplines
Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Michael, Noela and Gorpe, T. Serra, "Public relations for the next generation: Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA)'s engagement with students" (2017). All Works. 2847.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/2847
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series
