SJSU students visit UNESCO during their international public relations trip in Paris. Photo courtesy of Mathew Cabot.
By Sarah Kyo, Web Communications Specialist
What do Cisco, KPMG and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have in common?
They all have offices in Paris, and a group of SJSU students have visited them within the last week!
This is part of a faculty-led program by Associate Professor Mathew Cabot of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Cabot has been tweeting photos and using the hashtag #SJSUParis during this trip called “Exploring the World of International Public Relations: Paris, France.”
According to the program’s website, future destinations include Versailles, the Champagne region, Louis Vuitton corporate headquarters and a one-day excursion to Brussels.
“Because the public relations profession has gone global, our public relations, advertising and marketing students need to ‘go global’ as well,” according to the program description. “This course is designed to introduce students to the world of international strategic communications, give them a first-hand experience of overseas work and expose them to the challenges and opportunities in intercultural communication.”
Another aspect of the program is learning more about corporate social responsibility. The students experienced what some Cisco employees are doing on their office rooftops: urban beekeeping! They donned protective clothing and learned about efforts to support the endangered bee population. Sales from the honey support Man and the Environment, a non-governmental organization based in Madagascar that specializes in “sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.”