General Programme How to apply? What is Creative Communication? The world is changing fast and so is the way we communicate. We now live in a digital world and digital natives are increasingly the main target group. If you want to stand out, creativity is key. Combine it with to-the-point communication, sound English, online skills, an international mindset and a fair amount of guts and nothing can stop you from becoming a creative communication professional who’s ready for whatever the future brings. Only when we succeed in combining communication knowledge with excellent writing and great visual content can we stand out and beat the competition. NB: This programme requires students to register for 21 ECTS-credits. This English-taught semester is organised by our Bachelor of Communication (CM). Only available in English! What makes this semester unique? its focus on digital skills vital to today’s communication context its focus on creative, innovative communication management the collaboration between Belgian and international students from Europe and beyond a challenging, integrated project in which you will be coached to take up the role of the communication expert in a multidisciplinary team the exclusive use of English as the working language the focus on the international dimension in various course units Prerequisites Prerequisites for Exchange Students Minimum 2 successfully completed semesters or an equivalent of 60 ECTS in a Bachelor programme. This will need to be confirmed by means of an official certificate, a survey of completed courses, or a signed letter from the sending university. Exchange students are required to register for 21 ECTS-credits. Prerequisites for All Students All students should bring their own laptop. The laptop must have a minimum i5 intel processor and minimum 6Gb RAM. Howest is focused on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Explicit respect for intellectual property is the logical consequence. Howest requires every student to work with legal software. For the required software Howest has an agreement for all its students with Academic Software. You will benefit from the Howest discount on the license fee. During the first classes, an English version of MS Office (required MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, MS Outlook) and Adobe CC14 will be installed on your laptop. There is no need to install the software beforehand. Click here for Howest language expectations. Course overview Find the course unit descriptions for this programme (course catalogue) here. Marketing communication (6ECTS) Your company will only survive can if you sell enough. You’ll learn how and why consumers choose and how you can respond to this in order to ultimately realize the sale. You’ll learn to manage customer relationships and how to take digital disruption into account in developing a marketing communication strategy. By the end of this module, students will have developed a methodology to set up and implement a marketing strategy based on the consumer's world of experience by studying and working with real-life cases. Corporate communication (6ECTS) Reputation is everything. You’ll learn how organizations build and manage a reputation based on their identity. You’ll learn to define the important issues for an organization and how to map the most important stakeholders. You’ll learn how to develop and maintain meaningful relationships as an organization. You’ll learn how an organization can prepare for possible crises and how it can respond to social issues. By the end of this module students will have developed a methodology to manage the public relations of organizations by studying and working with real-life cases. Blogging and Vlogging (6ECTS) In this module, you’ll study the importance of personal branding. You’ll apply what you have learned in you own blog. By using a Content Management System (Wordpress) on your own webspace, you will build a platform for your own personal branding. You will also translate a content strategy into a content marketing plan, learn how to improve the user experience, how to optimize your blog for search engines and how to use appropriate content (both text and video) and social media channels to activate the blog and diffuse it to the target groups. Copywriting (3ECTS) Students will be introduced into the art of writing texts, slogans, headlines, television or radio commercial scripts, leaflets, brochures, internet content and other written material incorporated into advertising material. Applied Creativity Project (6ECTS) In this module we focus heavily on creativity: what is it, how can we use it and various techniques to handle any problem you come across. Later in the semester, you tackle a real-life communication project. By applying creativity techniques and your newly acquired skills and communication knowledge, you will deliver a qualitative, creative and deadline-driven result that satisfies the customer. You will learn to handle communication challenges, group dynamics, feedback and self-reflection, all which go hand-in-hand with project management. Cross-cultural communication (3ECTS) In this module we explore intercultural communication. What are the differences and resemblances between different cultures? What challenges does this pose for an effective communication? What difficulties can we expect when we work in international teams? How can we achieve a truly cross-cultural collaboration? After developing a framework, students will form cross-cultural teams and organize an event. After the event, they reflect on their experience in working cross-culturally. English for Exchange Students (3ECTS) This English course provides students with training in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, all focused on their ongoing or upcoming academic experience. The lecturer will take the diversity of academic areas of the participants into account by addressing a range of topics and choosing subjects that are relevant to the attending students wherever possible. The course aims at the B2 proficiency level. We strongly recommended it to all exchange students who have not fully achieved the B2-level in English at the moment of application for their mobility project. For the more proficient students, we see the course as an interesting immersion experience. This course is optional. Classes take place in the evening. Basic Dutch (optional) (3ECTS) Through short and lively lessons, you will learn basic Dutch grammar along with typical expressions and introductory vocabulary to help you during your stay in Kortrijk and Flanders. This language course gives additional insights into Flemish and Belgian society and culture. Welcome international students! Discover everything you need to know about Howest. Read more How to apply Procedures, deadlines and tuitions: you will find all the information here. Read more Programme in pictures Register now! Have you decided? We look forward to welcoming you to our Howest community! You can find all information about registering via the link below. Apply now FAQ Lieselot Vandamme International Coordinator Contact What laptop and other hardware do I need? In the case you buy a laptop through Howest, you can look here which laptop is recommended by your course. In the case you already own a laptop or wish to buy a new one yourself, it needs to qualify to the same specifications. Can I study abroad in this program? Would you like to study abroad for a semester? Or are you interested in an international internship? You can! You will discover all the opportunities to go abroad within Howest on this page. During your studies, we will work together to make your international adventure a reality! I didn't have a lot of languages and general subjects in secondary school. Will I be able to communicate well? The communication and creative subjects are new to all students. So you don't need any prior knowledge. As far as languages are concerned, we aim to get everyone to the same level for French, Dutch and English in the first year. Our language teachers closely monitor both strong and less strong students. Strong students are also given additional challenges. We work according to the needs of the student, but the exams are the same for everyone. My French/English is not very good. What should I expect in regard to the level of those languages in the Communication programme? Students who invest enough time and energy in French and/or English can succeed. We know from experience that commitment and motivation play a major role. As a study programme, we are therefore always looking for methods to motivate and support each student as well as possible. We aim for all students to graduate with the necessary level B2 for oral and written skills. What is the difference with communication courses at other universities of applied sciences? At Howest we focus on integration between different module contents and a lot of project work. And this from the start of the training. In this way you will have built up a nice portfolio at the end of your studies. You will end up in a school where students and teachers know each other, where we can really work one-on-one, guide you personally and offer more diversified education. Not a fan of large auditoriums and crowds, but like it a little smaller? Then the Communication course at Howest is a very good choice. Which personal choices can I make during the course? You can often make choices based on your interests. This can be done, for example, at the level of the theme of your podcast or your blogs and vlogs. In the third year you choose a workshop: Content Creator, Digital Marketing & Sales Manager, PR & Media Specialist, Creative Business Developer or Event Creator. In The Collective module, you work together with specialists from other courses, and you choose your own client. But you can also choose your specialization domain for the two internships. In this way you give a personal touch to your education.