Some of the best rules and practices for holding virtual events

Sharing lessons as we communicate back to the “new normal”

We’ve all had good and bad experiences of continuing to communicate with our students, staff and other stakeholders in the middle of the coronavirus crisis and now is the ideal time to look at lessons learnt since the pandemic shut campuses and forced teaching and virtually everything else online. Now with the focus shifting to the “new normal” that we can expect at the start of the next academic year, EUPRIO has teamed up with its sister association of university communication professionals in France, ARCES, and the specialist higher education agency Campus Com to organise two webinars to help us all prepare for a blended future of both digital and face-to-face activities.

Both webinars will take place on Thursday 18 June: the first Les enjeux de la communication post COVID-19’ (Communication challenges post COVID-19) will be in French and starts at 10.30 CET. See more here http://www.confesr.campuscom.fr/

The second webinar, in English, starts at 14.30 CET and will look at some of the best rules and practices for holding virtual events as universities prepare to welcome new and returning students to the post Covid-19 world of higher education. 

the COVID-19 crisis has allowed communication departments to “shine” because of the key role communications has played in handling the crisis – from social media handling, weekly mails-to-all, thousands of corona-mailbox replies and all the other online activities that have been key to keeping universities going during the health emergency. 

“Within a matter of days many universities were able to switch over to online education and classes, or at least some of their lectures, and probably surprised themselves how fast they could move to a digital environment” says Jan Dries, EUPRIO President.

“We’ve all had to imagine new ways organising everything, from welcome days to graduation ceremonies, and this afternoon webinar will let our members throughout Europe share their experiences on what works and what to avoid doing” explains Christine Legrand EUPRIO’s deputy President

Ludo Koks, public affairs manager at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, will be the webinar moderator. 

He said: “I welcome this initiative for EUPRIANS to share communications experiences of the last two dreadful months, during which we’ve had thousands of students locked in their tiny rooms and many not able to go back home or come back to us; together with growing backlogs in education & research; financial problems and the logistical problems apart from the most important health issues.”

6 speakers will give their input :

• Paolo Pomati : Director of communication of Università di Piemonte Orientale (Italy), past President of EUPRIO
• Régis Faubet :digital strategy consultant for La Haute Société (France)
• Sabine Piccolo : responsible for online event at GEM (Grenoble Ecole de Management France)
• Mascha Arts : communicator at Fontys Hogescholen (The Nederlands)
• Carmen BRANESCU, directrice EUROPE CY Cergy Paris Université
• Armando Uribe-ECHEVERRIA, Dissemination Officer alliance EUTOPIA

-Moderator : Ludo Koks : Manager Public Affairs at Utrecht Universiteit (The Nederlands)

-Chat manager : Marcin Witkowski International and PR specialist - Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań Poland