Weber Shandwick Prize for IE University’s Best End of Degree Project in the Master in Corporate Communication

On Wednesday Weber Shandwick took part in the presentation of the end of degree projects of IE School of Communication’s Master in Corporate Communication, in the course of which the Weber Shandwick Prize was presented to the best project, “Echo effect”, commissioned by leading hearing implants firm MED-EL.

Rose de La Pascua, CEO of Weber Shandwick in Spain, and European Vice President of the firm, and Jim Donaldson, the company’s Vice President of Corporate Communication in the EMEA region, examined the different projects presented by the program’s 45 students, who are from 23 countries.

Rose de la Pascua said that it had been very rewarding to see the level of excellence of the next generation of communicators. “They are young, brilliant, and obviously very keen to do things well, as well as being highly creative and very digitally savvy. I would love to see them in action in the workplace, and I am sure I will in the very near future.”

The students were divided into five teams to work on innovative communication projects commissioned by leading companies Diageo España, KLM – Air France, MED-EL, Philips and Zinc Shower. They also addressed key issues in today’s corporate world, such as managing reputation, positioning, working with stakeholders and planning communication strategy. The project teams were coordinated by the heads of communication of the different firms. The projects were presented to an academic judges panel comprised of Manuel Fernández de Villalta, Dean of Postgraduate studies at IE University, Vincent Doyle, Director of the Master in Visual & Digital Media at IE School of Communication, and Eduardo Pedreño, Professor of Social Media and Community Management at IE School of Communication, along with Rose de la Pascua and Jim Donaldson.

"One of the main objectives of IE’s Master in Corporate Communication is to prepare students for professional practice", said Laura Illia, Academic Director of IE University’s Master in Corporate Communication, and project coach. "Our commitment with Weber Shandwick and with firms who commission end of master degree projects forms part of that objective. The challenges the students receive from the companies permit them to develop new and innovative proposals in the field of communication, which in turn enable them to position themselves better in the work market.”

‘Echo Effect’, MED-EL

Dalia Akl, Maria Camila Giraldo, Lili Kfoury, Marc Ponce, Gamze Yuksel, Yamila Schillaci and Laura Castro, students of IE’s Master in Corporate Communication, proposed a strategic plan of action for implantable hearing solutions firm MED-EL which centered on increasing the brand’s visibility in European markets (Spain, Germany, and Benelux). Another of its proposals focused on an informative strategy to create debate on hearing problems for people over 55 years old in these markets.