The future of PR education.

In envisioning the future of public relations education, my focus revolves around three pivotal pillars: forward-looking tactics, interdisciplinary education, and the development of analytical skills. I suggest therefore that we must prepare students not only for their first job but also give them the tools to become leaders in later positions. Fundamentals in internships and skills courses are important, but we also provide a deeper service when our vision extends beyond the first step on the professional ladder.

As I ponder the future of public relations education, three thoughts come to mind: fast-forward thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and analytical prowess.

It is this holistic strategy that makes interdisciplinary learning emerge as one of its keystones. PR professionals alone cannot solve problems with a single hammer. For students to develop better decision-making skills, they need to be able to draw on a rich toolkit that includes business, economics, political science, sociology, and organizational behavior. In this way, interdisciplinary thinking is cultivated so that the next generation can approach problems from all sides. One cannot just delude oneself by throwing money at an issue and ignoring other factors.

The academy might not adapt at full speed, but steps like this CCO Summit's working groups provide actionable recommendations for students to broaden the scope of their education. After all, leadership and ethics are two key elements throughout one's entire career that must be introduced early to the many complexities emerging as people climb up this organizational ladder. This kind of fast-forward thinking means we must give students future-oriented concepts and scenarios. Students exploring such ideas should develop highly impressive abilities for strategic farsighted planning.

Information analysis is the third pillar. A single number cannot suffice, so beyond cold and objective counting must come not only synthesis but filtration and presentation of information as well. It is necessary to encourage students, who at first naturally feel some reservations about the quantitative aspects of communication. The point is to teach them how get powerful insights from data analytics which communication majors often forget. An analytical approach means teaching students how to draw information from different sources and present it in a reasonable, accurate way.

We are educators, at the vanguard of this transformational path. Networking and continual learning are the ways to prepare our students for responsibility. We teach and work with others to ensure that students learn not just from us, but the adaptability needed now more than ever in light of new developments on the public relations frontier. We should equip them with an inner sense of the world, in which their specialty fits perfectly into what industry needs.

Leadership and ethics are important throughout one’s career, but as one rises in organizational stature, these areas increase in complexity in ways that are difficult for an undergraduate to imagine. Nevertheless, fast-forward thinking means presenting students with concepts and scenarios that they may not face for years down the road. 

An analytical mindset goes beyond crunching numbers, however. It involves teaching students to synthesize, filter, and present information in a way that is relevant, accurate, and succinct – and recognizing that information comes from a myriad of sources they encounter on a daily basis. A good place to start is requiring students to draw information from different courses, opinion leaders, and news sources to complete an assignment.

As educators, we need to keep learning – and networking – to prepare our students to lead.