Associate Professor Dr Zulhamri Abdullah (top row, third from left), Keynote Speaker from UPM and Ms Dearna Kee June Chen (second row, third from left), Dean of FCCI, with participants at the Applied Communication & Creativity Symposium 2021 on 15 December 2021.
Associate Professor Dr Zulhamri Abdullah (third row, centre) presents his keynote address entitled “Corporate Reputation Typology through the Lens of Corporate Communication”.
Naandhini Sanggar (top row, right) presents her research entitled, “Effectiveness of Interactive Stickers on Instagram Stories in Influencing Generation Z’s Perception towards Brands”.
Lee Jun Shen (second spot), who is soon to join the industry as an intern, presents his research findings on “Gender Disparities among Public Relations Practitioners”.
Communication students and budding researchers presented their findings and insights about industrial, professional and personal applications of mass communication, traditional, digital and social media, as well as their impacts on societal, work and daily life at an online symposium themed, “Applied Communication and Creativity”. The symposium featuring 14 students was organised by TAR UC’s Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries (‘FCCI’), Centre of Media and Communication Research (‘CMCR’) on 15 December 2021. It is part of the faculty’s annual academic events which include industry forums, practitioners’ sharings, guest speakers and student campaigns.
“TAR UC’s tagline ‘Beyond Education’ entails imparting knowledge and practical skills that go beyond the classroom, whether face-to-face or virtual, to critical and creative applications that are shown in today’s symposium. We provide real-world experiential education that is mindful of the industry, economy and job market,” said Ms Dearna Kee June Chen, the Dean of FCCI, in her opening speech.
The keynote speaker, Associate Professor Dr Zulhamri Abdullah from the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication at Universiti Putra Malaysia (‘UPM’), presented his keynote address entitled “Corporate Reputation Typology through the Lens of Corporate Communication”. He emphasised on cultivating long-term positive stakeholder relationship to strengthen brand and corporate reputation in this post-pandemic environment, digital age and globalised economy.
This one-day symposium was aimed at encouraging final year Bachelor degree in Advertising, Broadcasting, Public Relations, Journalism and Media Studies students to hone their academic know-how and research capabilities in discussing their findings in the various contexts of communication, media and their impacts on humans and the world.
“The research symposium’s process helps us build curiosity in our field of study, craft our research framework and find answers to our questions,” said Naandhini a/p Sanggar, a Bachelor of Communication (Hons) in Advertising student. She added: “I have learned more about my field of research in advertising and it has definitely shaped my thought process and the work I produce, which is helpful in preparing myself for the real world.”
“This symposium provides an academic research platform that allows our students to showcase their communication and media research findings, while also grasping the essentials of critical thinking, analytical writing and presentation skills,” said Dr Tang Mui Joo, Chairperson of the symposium committee.
Bachelor of Public Relations (Hons) student, Lee Jun Shen, who presented his study on gender disparities among PR practitioners, said: “Many perceive completing final-year research as an ‘impossible’ mission, but I firmly believe this symposium has provided both academicians and students who may pursue a higher level of education an understanding of current trends in the communication industry and new directions to conduct future research.”
According to Associate Dean Dr Syamsul Zahri Subir, Department of Communication at TAR UC Penang Branch Campus, he said: “This is a very good initiative by FCCI in providing a great opportunity to showcase the academic effort and research contributions of final year students and their supervisors through their research projects.”
