Head of the week: The e-rector
As SPRI director, Markus Berger wants to strengthen the school's profile, achieve a turnaround and also offer e-learning for all courses.
As SPRI director, Markus Berger wants to strengthen the school's profile, achieve a turnaround and also offer e-learning for all courses.
Sometimes life runs in an almost perfect circle. After graduating from high school, Markus Berger was supposed to study at his parents' request. But the son rather succumbed to the attraction of a longer trip to America. After a bit of fun and sun after graduation, he was tempted by a "summer course in public relations" at the University of Arizona. The flyer promised that students would also visit radio and TV stations. "It not only sounded good, but was a very competent and compact introduction to all aspects of PR," Berger recalls today. In any case, his new career goal was set.
Still from overseas, he sent applications to all sorts of agencies in Switzerland. At BPR Communications AG in St. Gallen, they wanted to give him a chance. After a detour to the competition, he was later able to buy the agency in a management buyout. Since then, he has worked in his own business for 15 years and will continue to lead the company strategically even after his election as the new director of the SPRI. And why has the entrepreneur now become principal?
Here again, the circle closes perfectly. Berger himself graduated from SPRI as a federally certified PR consultant, then lectured for years on "PR at all kinds of schools" and acted as the person responsible for educational issues on the central board of the Swiss PR Society. In this function he was delegated to the foundation board of the SPRI two years ago and was thus involved in the search for a new director. And in the process, he asked himself the question, "Why don't you apply for the job yourself?"
SPRI is an SME with twelve permanent employees and many freelance lecturers. The educational institute generates annual sales of around four million. Managing this multifaceted company is ostensibly Berger's most important task. "I have to ensure the operation of the training." As the SPRI's professional figurehead, the new director also acts as the director of studies for various courses. He must "ensure that the quality of the lecturers is guaranteed and that the curriculum of the courses is right." All these operational obligations leave little time, at least in the current phase, to also "develop new ideas for the future of an education at SPRI beyond the daily routine." Berger is already thinking, however. Where is the institute going? Where is communications as a whole headed? What role will PR play in the future?
Currently, Berger is already very busy with the topic of networking and web communication. At first, the director and his instructors thought they would have to present a special "Writing on the Internet" course, for example. But in the meantime, they've come to the realization at SPRI that "Web communication needs to be integrated into each of our disciplines, because it plays a role everywhere." And just as with this adaptation to the latest practice, Berger wants to "not only act reactively, but proactively make a difference himself" with other programs in the future.
The increasingly rapid changes in the media landscape have not visibly led to different students. Instead, there are two other defining factors. One is shared by SPRI with almost all educational institutions. "That is the increasing attitude of entitlement among participants." People want to have a big title by the time they're 25, to do it in the shortest possible way - and to contribute as little as possible to it, either financially or in terms of time. More and more lecturers are complaining that "you just sit in the classroom and consume," he says. Where students used to learn with curiosity and interest, many today lack that "feu sacré" that Berger himself used to experience as a student at SPRI. "Today, everything in class has to be more and more colorful and even more interactive. The attention span is constantly getting shorter. As a result, seriousness and reflection on topics are lost." Schools are having a hard time with this. However, they can only influence the social trend to a limited extent. Moreover, the SPRI can hardly turn away students for the above reasons. "We are not subsidized by the state, so like everyone we have to give in to the trend to some extent. However, we try to make the best of it by correcting appropriate deficits when putting together learning groups. The students who are interested can pick up the others."
A second trend led to an increase in the number of participants. "There is much more awareness of communications. Many dream of a job in this supposedly glamorous industry." Whereas in the past it was mainly people with longer work experience who still wanted to document their expertise with a diploma, today the desire for such a diploma is usually already at the beginning of a career. But those who follow the classic dual path and also gain practical experience before earning a federal degree have greater opportunities. The SPRI increases these even more, because on the basis of its training plans and also its 40-year track record, it is "in the privileged situation that the approximately 600 graduates per year usually find a good job quickly".
The fact that competitors are springing up almost like mushrooms around the SPRI does not worry the new director. "The many course providers are stimulating the market. Berger wants to pay more attention to developments at the (technical) universities. These, too, are now offering training courses in PR and "produce new people for the job market every semester." Berger knows the situation from "numerous blind applications" that constantly land on the desk of his own agency. But he believes he agrees with other agency heads that these university graduates usually lack the necessary practice. Nevertheless, of course, the SPRI now also has to offer course modules where you can earn points toward a master's degree at a university. For these certificate courses, they work in partnership with the HWZ of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
E-learning will also play an important role at SPRI in the future. Students learn at home, where they sit in front of their computers at fixed times and "chat" with the lecturer. In addition, students regularly travel to Zurich to deepen what they have learned together in a class. The new system is particularly popular with part-time students. Berger is also convinced of its success. "When teaching on the computer, no one can be passive. You have to answer every question when the lecturer clicks on you." The SPRI therefore plans to communicate soon that the option of e-learning will now be offered for all courses from basic training to diploma courses. This means that SPRI is once again a trendsetter.
Within this "dynamic development" in the education market, Markus Berger sees it as one of his most important tasks to "further sharpen the profile of the SPRI". To this end, he wants to strengthen the "vocational training track" and show that a federal degree has its value. Even if it no longer seems so sexy to be "federally certified" and "master" sounds more worldly to many, Markus Berger is convinced that graduates of the PR consultant course still "enjoy the best PR training" and are correspondingly highly welcome in the Swiss economy.
Andreas Panzeri
Sometimes life runs in an almost perfect circle. After graduating from high school, Markus Berger was supposed to study at his parents' request. But the son rather succumbed to the attraction of a longer trip to America. After a bit of fun and sun after graduation, he was tempted by a "summer course in public relations" at the University of Arizona. The flyer promised that students would also visit radio and TV stations. "It not only sounded good, but was a very competent and compact introduction to all aspects of PR," Berger recalls today. In any case, his new career goal was set.
Still from overseas, he sent applications to all sorts of agencies in Switzerland. At BPR Communications AG in St. Gallen, they wanted to give him a chance. After a detour to the competition, he was later able to buy the agency in a management buyout. Since then, he has worked in his own business for 15 years and will continue to lead the company strategically even after his election as the new director of the SPRI. And why has the entrepreneur now become principal?
Here again, the circle closes perfectly. Berger himself graduated from SPRI as a federally certified PR consultant, then lectured for years on "PR at all kinds of schools" and acted as the person responsible for educational issues on the central board of the Swiss PR Society. In this function he was delegated to the foundation board of the SPRI two years ago and was thus involved in the search for a new director. And in the process, he asked himself the question, "Why don't you apply for the job yourself?"
SPRI is an SME with twelve permanent employees and many freelance lecturers. The educational institute generates annual sales of around four million. Managing this multifaceted company is ostensibly Berger's most important task. "I have to ensure the operation of the training." As the SPRI's professional figurehead, the new director also acts as the director of studies for various courses. He must "ensure that the quality of the lecturers is guaranteed and that the curriculum of the courses is right." All these operational obligations leave little time, at least in the current phase, to also "develop new ideas for the future of an education at SPRI beyond the daily routine." Berger is already thinking, however. Where is the institute going? Where is communications as a whole headed? What role will PR play in the future?
Currently, Berger is already very busy with the topic of networking and web communication. At first, the director and his instructors thought they would have to present a special "Writing on the Internet" course, for example. But in the meantime, they've come to the realization at SPRI that "Web communication needs to be integrated into each of our disciplines, because it plays a role everywhere." And just as with this adaptation to the latest practice, Berger wants to "not only act reactively, but proactively make a difference himself" with other programs in the future.
The increasingly rapid changes in the media landscape have not visibly led to different students. Instead, there are two other defining factors. One is shared by SPRI with almost all educational institutions. "That is the increasing attitude of entitlement among participants." People want to have a big title by the time they're 25, to do it in the shortest possible way - and to contribute as little as possible to it, either financially or in terms of time. More and more lecturers are complaining that "you just sit in the classroom and consume," he says. Where students used to learn with curiosity and interest, many today lack that "feu sacré" that Berger himself used to experience as a student at SPRI. "Today, everything in class has to be more and more colorful and even more interactive. The attention span is constantly getting shorter. As a result, seriousness and reflection on topics are lost." Schools are having a hard time with this. However, they can only influence the social trend to a limited extent. Moreover, the SPRI can hardly turn away students for the above reasons. "We are not subsidized by the state, so like everyone we have to give in to the trend to some extent. However, we try to make the best of it by correcting appropriate deficits when putting together learning groups. The students who are interested can pick up the others."
A second trend led to an increase in the number of participants. "There is much more awareness of communications. Many dream of a job in this supposedly glamorous industry." Whereas in the past it was mainly people with longer work experience who still wanted to document their expertise with a diploma, today the desire for such a diploma is usually already at the beginning of a career. But those who follow the classic dual path and also gain practical experience before earning a federal degree have greater opportunities. The SPRI increases these even more, because on the basis of its training plans and also its 40-year track record, it is "in the privileged situation that the approximately 600 graduates per year usually find a good job quickly".
The fact that competitors are springing up almost like mushrooms around the SPRI does not worry the new director. "The many course providers are stimulating the market. Berger wants to pay more attention to developments at the (technical) universities. These, too, are now offering training courses in PR and "produce new people for the job market every semester." Berger knows the situation from "numerous blind applications" that constantly land on the desk of his own agency. But he believes he agrees with other agency heads that these university graduates usually lack the necessary practice. Nevertheless, of course, the SPRI now also has to offer course modules where you can earn points toward a master's degree at a university. For these certificate courses, they work in partnership with the HWZ of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
E-learning will also play an important role at SPRI in the future. Students learn at home, where they sit in front of their computers at fixed times and "chat" with the lecturer. In addition, students regularly travel to Zurich to deepen what they have learned together in a class. The new system is particularly popular with part-time students. Berger is also convinced of its success. "When teaching on the computer, no one can be passive. You have to answer every question when the lecturer clicks on you." The SPRI therefore plans to communicate soon that the option of e-learning will now be offered for all courses from basic training to diploma courses. This means that SPRI is once again a trendsetter.
Within this "dynamic development" in the education market, Markus Berger sees it as one of his most important tasks to "further sharpen the profile of the SPRI". To this end, he wants to strengthen the "vocational training track" and show that a federal degree has its value. Even if it no longer seems so sexy to be "federally certified" and "master" sounds more worldly to many, Markus Berger is convinced that graduates of the PR consultant course still "enjoy the best PR training" and are correspondingly highly welcome in the Swiss economy.
Andreas Panzeri
