Vienna International Summer Program

For the first time, AUBG students will have the opportunity to participate in a four-week-long multicultural civic engagement communication program in Vienna, Austria, starting May 20. The program is organized by Prof. Kiril Kirkov and Prof. Rossen Petkov. 20 seats are allocated for students eligible to participate in it.

 

Participants will work in teams to help individuals from minority backgrounds promote their local businesses or non-governmental organizations and build a social media presence. During the program, each team will learn how to create a social media campaign using reels and efficiently spread it across different online platforms.

 

“Students are going to be working hard. Five days a week. Because of the fact that we are offering two classes instead of one, the work is even more. It is a very serious engagement,” said Prof. Kirkov. “It is a typical summer school American program, which means intensive work, we cover a full "half" semester within four weeks.”

 

20 students will work with refugees and migrants selected by EGA: Women in the Center. The program aims to combine digital marketing strategies with audio-visual storytelling techniques that can help participants improve their skills while gaining some practical experience.

 

“We have discussed it [the program] with our Dean and our Provost, that the first installment is mostly about quality. This is a pilot program, and we want to run it in a proper way with an optimal number of students,” said Prof. Petkov.

 

“Students will take six university credits, two classes, and they will be working in teams. They will be developing social media, communication, and marketing campaigns, helping newly established enterprises and small businesses like coffee shops, barbers, shops, social centers, etc. to succeed and become more visible in terms of social media presence,” said Prof. Kirkov.

 

He explained that a typical workday would consist of different tasks for the students who would be separated into groups of four. Two of them will work on creating social media content while the other two have to film the whole content creation process. 

 

The production process will be uploaded to a platform for social media production templates, which will make all the content produced available to a wider audience. AUBG’s Center for Information, Democracy, and Citizenship (CIDC) will manage the platform. The goal is to help teach people in developing countries how to become social media storytellers and marketing providers. 

 

Students will hold their lectures and exhibitions in a at EGA: Women in the Center, located in Vienna downtown. Professors Kirkov and Petkov described the location as “golden” and compared it to Fifth Avenue in New York City. They expressed their high expectations for the program and gratitude to the EGA, which provided them with the space.

 

“The interesting part here is that we can include an element of civic engagement and an international experience. We have some international aspects to campus here with all the international students both full-time and visiting but to do it in another country and have the chance to cooperate with people from all different backgrounds makes it quite interesting,” Prof. Petkov stated. 

 

Prof. Kirkov shared one of the main motives behind the creation of the Vienna summer program. “On a humanitarian level, we are going to be doing good to people that need our expert help. Students will have the opportunity to work as communication and marketing experts, helping people who need this expertise but cannot afford it. We definitely have the civic engagement component at a really high level.”

 

They also explained how the program is funded and what financial support would be provided to students. There is a verbal agreement that is yet to be confirmed between the program leaders and CIDC that students are going to receive a $750 stipend each that would go toward their tuition fees. Another €220 financial aid per student, for helping with airfare will be provided by the student travel fund, managed by the Dean of Students Office.

 

“The university is not covering any expenses, but we have different funds that could be used to support some of the students, but they have to apply for this. We have a student travel fund and CIDC in line with the civic engagement program can also support the students,” Prof. Petkov said. 

 

Despite this being the first attempt at such a program, Prof. Kirkov shared high hopes about its future: “The big picture is to make this program regular. We want to make it run every summer. Make something that is constantly developing and available for students.”

 

Editors: Toma Krumov and David Mitov