The course will enable students to do the following things:

• apply theoretical knowledge to practical problems
• use research methods to solve problems in business communication
• engage with the practice of business communication
• design, organize and conduct an applied research project at the intersection between academia and practice
• self-organize as a team
• pitch a concept to business representatives

This is an applied research project that will progress in four phases:

1. The first phase will begin with the project kick-off where students will be introduced to the business partner and the task they are going to work on during the semester. In this initial phase, students are asked to develop a comprehensive understanding of the problem, do research on the matter, and organize themselves as a project team.
2. The second stage consists of the development of a research concept which is going to be pitched to the business partner. Students need to apply their insights from stage one to present their thoughts on how to tackle the problem at hand. At the end of this stage, the group will have developed a sustainable concept and research design to work on the project.
3. Stage three is the main stage, where students conduct the applied research project and develop a concept to solve the stated task on the basis of their insights from their own research.
4. In the final stage, the participants will work on their reporting, i.e. to develop a presentation of their results and the concept they have produced for the practical problem, and a written report.

During all the stages, students will be supervised by the business partners and the faculty to guide them in the application of their research methods towards the practical task they are given. The whole seminar is largely self-organized, apart from fixed counseling sessions provided by the business partners and the faculty.