Syllabus

Title
5841 Applied Research Project in Language in Business Contexts (Cohort 1)
Instructors
ao.Univ.Prof. Dr. Alexander Beer, Dr. Andreas Enzminger, Ass.Prof. M.A.Dr. Regina Göke
Type
PI
Weekly hours
3
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
02/01/24 to 03/01/24
Anmeldung durch das Institut
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Master Programs
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Monday 03/04/24 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM Extern
Tuesday 03/05/24 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM D2.0.030
Monday 03/11/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 03/12/24 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM D2.3.245
Monday 03/18/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 03/19/24 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM Extern
Wednesday 03/20/24 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM D2.2.228
Monday 04/08/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 04/09/24 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM D2.3.245
Monday 04/29/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 04/30/24 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM D2.3.245
Monday 05/27/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 05/28/24 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM D2.3.245
Monday 06/10/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 06/11/24 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM D2.3.245
Monday 06/17/24 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM D2.3.245
Tuesday 06/18/24 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM Extern
Thursday 06/20/24 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Extern
Contents

The core objective of higher education in the field of business communication is to educate students to become capable and reflective decision-makers. While scientific literature has much to say about the management of communication in language, cultural, and organizational contexts, the crucial point of any study program is to provide the transfer between scientific knowledge and practical application. The research project is designed to give participants the opportunity to apply their theoretical insights from previous courses in a practical context. In cooperation with business partners, students have the opportunity to work on a project with real-life implications. Linking academia and practice, the goal is to apply scientific methods of research and problem-solving to real-world problems in all sorts of business communication contexts. Being supervised by faculty and communication professionals, the students will engage in an applied research project at the intersection of research and business to explore how theoretical insights help to solve practical problems.

Learning outcomes

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
  • experience 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
Attendance requirements

Attendance is mandatory during all the meetings with the project partners, especially during the kick-off, the project pitch, and the concluding presentation of the results. In between these fixed events, students can miss a maximum of two project sessions with the advisers during the semester. Since this is partly a self-organized seminar, students have to manage their internal meetings together as a group.

Teaching/learning method(s)

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.

Assessment

Assessment will comprise the following elements:

Individual parts:

Initial Pitch delivery: 10%
Ongoing contributions, as observed by lecturers: 10%
Peer assessment of ongoing contributions: 10%
Final Pitch delivery: 20%

Joint parts:

Initial Pitch – structure/slides/content 10%
Final Pitch – structure/slides/content 10%
Final report: 30%


 

 

 

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Last edited: 2024-02-26



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