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Switzerland’s research universities, colleges of education and universities of applied sciences are key actors in the modern knowledge society. Together, these institutions provide society with a skilled workforce through teaching, generating new knowledge through research and respond to societal needs through outreach and knowledge-transfer.

 

Today in Switzerland as well as internationally, HEIs find themselves amidst times of profound change. On the one hand, they are closer linked to society and confronted with stronger external demands. On the other hand, they are gaining more autonomy to address these demands independently.

 

To navigate the transformation, communication between HEIs and actors from business, politics, culture and the wider society is becoming increasingly important. Nevertheless, very little is currently known about how and with which impact HEIs communicate. The SNFS-funded research project C3H is the first Swiss-wide study dedicate to explore the developments in public communication of HEIs.

The project will not only bring valuable insights for practitioners and researchers in Switzerland, but also contribute to the rather scant international research on public communication of HEIs and its effects.
Runtime

November 2019 - May 2023

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

Project Management

Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer (UZH) & Daniel Vogler (fög)

Europe-wide comparative study

C3H goes international! 

Higher education institutions play a central role in today’s knowledge society. However, little is known about the key actors who communicate scientific knowledge to the public and promote the dialog between science and society: the communicators in the central communication offices of higher education institutions (HEIs). Although there is an increasing body of empirical findings from individual countries on the tasks or structures in HEI communication departments, a cross-national perspective on public communication of HEIs has only recently become established.

 

In collaboration with the European Association of Communication Professionals in Higher Education (EUPRIO), we launch a survey in 2022 aiming at examining the differences and similarities in public communication of HEIs in Europe. This study is a continuation of the project with an international focus.

 

Based on a comparative survey design, the project will examine the communication goals, target groups, channels of communication departments, as well as structural changes in HEI communication following the Covid-19 pandemic. The results will provide the first large-scale empirical insights into the similarities and differences in HEI communication across European countries, as well as across different types of HEIs, such as full research universities or universities of applied sciences.

Runtime

June 2022 - December 2022

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) & European Association of Communication Professionals in Higher Education

Team

Prof. Dr.
Mike S. Schäfer

Professor of
Science Communication

at the Institute for Communication and Media Research (IKMZ), University of Zurich

Dr. Daniel Vogler

Head of Research

at the Public and Society Research Center (fög) of the University of Zurich
Silke Fürst

Dr. Silke Fürst

Postdoctoral scholar

at the Institute for Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) – Division of Science Communication, University of Zurich
Isabel Sörensen

Isabel Sörensen

Research Assistant

at the Institute for Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) – Division of Science Communication, University of Zürich

Dr. Sophia C. Volk

Postdoctoral scholar

at the Institute for Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) – Division of Science Communication, University of Zurich

Project Goals

C3H is the first research project in Switzerland devoted to tracking and comparing nation-wide developments in the external communication of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The aim of C3H is three-fold. The project will

 

  1. Investigate the content, strategies and audiences of HEIs’ communication in Switzerland and the organizational structure in which it is embedded;
  2. Explore the external perception of HEIs through Swiss journalistic and social media during the past 20 years;
  3. Investigate the internal impact of communication of Swiss HEIs.

 

The project focusses its research on four dimensions of analysis: professionalising, intensifying, diversifying and strategic alignment with organisational goals.

Research Design

Advisory Board

The advisory board is composed of experienced practitioners as well as renowned scientists from various disciplines, thus reflecting the trans- and interdisciplinary nature of research on higher education and higher education communication. This multifaceted expertise flows into the C3H research project.

Timeline

The research project C3H is running from November 2019 until May 2023 with the following milestones: