Workshop on Developing Communication Skills for Higher Education Institutions in Cambodia

Background

Today's age of information and communication technology (ICT) is characterized by an explosion of knowledge and information. ICTs are part and parcel of everyday life among all ages and different sectors. While it is widely understood that economic development requires access to knowledge and information at all levels, many leaders and managers in academic institutions in Cambodia have not taken the best advantage of these fast-changing ICTs in advancing their mandates in society. Public communication is an essential ingredient in their success as leaders and more importantly, of their respective organizations.

The proposed five-day training-workshop on developing communication skills for higher education institutions in Cambodia is seen as instrumental in levelling up leadership practices in higher education institutions in the country toward achieving their mandates and thereby contributing to national development.

Course Objectives and Expected Outputs

At the end of this training-workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Articulate the role of public communication in higher education institutions in Cambodia;
2. Describe the concept and elements of public communication;
3. Develop a public communication plan for their respective institutions; and
4. Learn essential skills in public communication.

The expected outputs include:

• Higher education leaders with enhanced knowledge, skills, and attitudes on public communication;
• Draft public communication plans for the participants' institutions; and
• Sample prototype public communication materials that the participants' institutions may use.

Intended Participants

Participants will include higher education leaders accompanied by their senior or mid-level staff whose responsibilities include or will include implementing public communication in their respective organizations. They may be composed of rectors, vice rectors, deans, and research, development, and extension (RDE) directors and/or public relations managers and/or communication staff. Because all workshops will be held in English and outputs will be in English, participants should have good command of the English language.

Modules

• Module 1. Role, Concept, and Elements of Public Communication in Higher Education Institutions in Cambodia
• Module 2. Developing a Public Communication Plan
  Workshop 2 – Developing a public communication plan
• Module 3. Developing Public Communication Materials
  Workshop 3A – Clear and Effective Writing Principles and Formats for Print Communication
  Workshop 3B – Basics of Audiovisual Presentation (Digital photography, Graphics, PowerPoint)
  Workshop 3C – Basics of Social Media, Web Tools, and Techniques
• Module 4. Preparation of Re-entry Action Plans (REAP)

Learning Approach and Plan

The training-workshop will include two parts: an introduction to public communication and its practices for the appreciation of heads of institutions, their relevant executives, and staff; followed by a practicum hands-on guided workshop on public communication planning and essential skills with ICT. Participants will each need to bring their laptops, cameras with video function, and relevant gadgets that they would need in preparing public communication materials during the workshops.

Experts will be invited to discuss concepts and principles in public communication applied in higher education institutions. They will provide exemplars and cases for participants' appreciation of public communication in practice. Workshop outputs will be presented in plenary sessions to enable participants to further internalize concepts and principles, and to promote exchange of knowledge and experiences among them.

Workshops 3A, 3B, and 3C will be parallel, allowing participants to focus on developing their public communication materials they are most interested to use. They may join more than one of the parallel workshops and have different outputs depending on their interest, entry skills, and learning pace.

Each workshop will have a designated tutor. Resource persons and workshop tutors will present principles, pointers, and guidelines based on practice and real cases.

On Day 5, participants will present their workshop outputs and allow shared learning with their fellow participants as they critique and provide suggestions on the outputs for further improvement.

A pre-test and post-test exercise will be undertaken to gauge improvement in individual knowledge on public communication. A re-entry action plan (REAP) will be required to get the commitment of participants in the application of learning from this training-workshop.