EMLV students attended the Social Media & Community Management course at Media University in Berlin during their third-year exchange semester. Working in English, they addressed real communication challenges faced by Berlin-based cultural institutions, despite linguistic and cultural differences.
This field-based project aligns with the Programme Grande École’s international pathway, which combines academic mobility with professional exposure and intercultural learning.
A third-year exchange semester built around real briefs
During their semester in Berlin, EMLV students participated in an intensive course on social media strategy and community engagement at Media University, taught by Dr. Wilfried Zoungrana, the CEO and co-founder of Jivo Group.
The course format centred on concrete deliverables: analysing existing communication practices, understanding audience expectations, and designing campaigns aligned with institutional constraints.
The working language was English throughout, creating a shared framework for collaboration within a multicultural environment. This dimension added a practical layer to the course by proposing strategies that remain clear, relevant, and actionable across cultural contexts.
Project partners from Berlin’s cultural ecosystem
Several organisations provided project briefs and direct input on their needs and priorities:
- Alliiertenmuseum Berlin
- Stiftung Flight, Expulsion, Reconciliation
- Pamplona Concerts
- Neuköllner Oper
Each partner shared challenges linked to platform choices, content formats, engagement objectives and calendar-driven communication.
Campaign concepts developed for specific cultural milestones
Students worked on creative proposals designed for identifiable occasions, with an emphasis on audience targeting and platform-native formats.
One brief focused on Pamplona Concerts and the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death in 2027. The proposed strategy included audience segmentation—such as Urban Cultural Explorers (28–45) and Digital Cultural Youth (18–27)—and content formats adapted to each segment: Instagram carousels presenting Beethoven through a human lens, TikTok POV videos, and quiz-based stories.
Another project explored a Mozart campaign with Rolando Villazón tied to the composer’s 270th anniversary, with ideas ranging from modern Instagram comics to TikTok clips and multilingual content designed for an international audience spanning 18 to 65.
Across projects, several elements stood out: precise audits of existing channels, the use of interactive storytelling (POV videos, quizzes, carousel-based cultural mediation), and strategic combinations of Instagram, TikTok and Facebook depending on the campaign objective.
The course also relied on hands-on guidance to help students move from strategy to production. Toni Freiberg supported the cohort with a practical approach and creative input, particularly around content development and format execution.
International learning as a professional skill set
Within the Programme Grande École, the third year is designed as a fully international sequence: a semester at a partner university followed by an internship abroad.
Beyond academic content, this format helps students develop autonomy, navigate cultural differences and build international networks that can influence future career choices.
This international dimension extends across EMLV programmes:
- Programme Grande École: 100% of students complete a semester and an internship abroad
- Bachelor’s: up to 100% mobility possible in the third year, depending on the track
- MSc: international students can study at EMLV or through double-degree pathways
This Berlin project shows how an exchange semester can combine academic learning with real institutional challenges.
While working in English on briefs from cultural organisations, EMLV students developed social media campaigns grounded in audience insight, platform strategy and intercultural collaboration—skills aligned with management careers shaped by international environments and evolving communication practices.
