October 2020
Featured Article
The Future is How We're Communicating
By: Charles Hall, North Carolina State University
As news rapidly unfolded with the arrival of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in North America that which, for many, was just a never-ending series of news articles suddenly became a looming reality. Faculty across the universities started weighing their teaching curricula and wracking their minds on how they’d translate their classrooms to the cloud, and what the effect would be if that too became a necessary reality for the rest of the semester—or longer.
Yet, at the same time, the role of communicators within ECE departments suddenly encompassed new challenges, new opportunities, and an array of questions. With so many communicators within ECE departments operating as one or two-person bands, monthly discussions amongst the ECEDHA Communicators Group tracked the shifting tides of their vital roles. What started as exasperation—and shared uncertainty of the breadth and immediate effects of the new reality—gradually morphed into a necessity of idea-sharing, successes and failures, and a source for community among a group whose unique roles in their department were taking on new meanings.
“[We] have had to up our game in terms of how we communicate actions and thought positions to students, faculty, and staff, notes Catharine June, the ECE Communications and Marketing Manager at the University of Michigan. “It is challenging to balance the desire to respond quickly, which students appreciate, yet wait for key messaging from the College and University. Both are important.”
The burden undertaken by the Universities and Colleges in the communicators’ roles throughout this year was not-at-all insignificant and underlined the importance of having strong communication roles and leadership at all levels of institutions. Across the board, ECE communicators note that much of their pandemic-related role was to amplify the institution’s messaging, leaving them free support and explore the future of engagement in a pandemic and post-pandemic world.
While the shift to online-first strategies was a necessary knee-jerk reaction, it has not been showing to remain temporary. The ubiquitous usage of Zoom (in addition to other platforms) as a primary replacement for in-person meetings, lectures, and social engagement has come with challenges, but, as expressed by Harry Monkhorst, the ECE Communications & Marketing Specialist at the University of Florida, “In the end, we found that participation and engagement was up and the format worked well. Probably not having to go to a place physically, and being able to just tune in from wherever was a big advantage. So, we may continue in this format, regardless.”
For its part, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s ECE department launched a digital marketing campaign focusing on efforts that transformed the Illinois ECE building’s learning spaces for in-person classes. The intention was to communicate effectively with students, parents, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders their massive efforts to offer safe in-person learning for the fall semester.
Between limited resources and finite time, ECE communicators were quick to embrace student organizations as drivers of engagement. Organizations created virtual game nights, Zoom coffee hours, follow-along recipe demonstrations, and guest speaker series—all seeking to keep the sense of community together that would normally be found within the walls of campus buildings.
Geeling Chau, 2019-2020 Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) President at the University of California San Diego, shared her experience, explaining, “The impact of COVID-19 really forced us to think of new ways to create the community we had been comfortable fostering in person... We were able to drive a sense of community by creating new platforms for students to interact and more events to celebrate the year that had passed.”
At NC State University, the ECE department with active support and participation from students took the opportunity to explore new methods for engaging prospective students and showcasing research, academics, and the varied topics of electrical and computer engineering. Quickly deploying a virtual tour encompassing all the content of a traditional open house, and combining that with virtual student, faculty, alumni, and industry panels has created an experience that serves not-only to replace traditional visits for the short-term, but provides a long-term tool to bolster in-person activities and opportunities.
While many of these kinds of initiatives will persist in a post-pandemic semester, it is not solely a story of positivity. The face-to-face physical interactions of which our civilization has revolved around loses much from purely digital replacement. “There’s no replacement for in-person communication,” notes Catharine June. “Students are losing out on making connections...”
“While we have learned that we are capable of conducting business remotely, I think people are overloaded with digital communications and fatigued from online meetings,” explains Andrea Leland, the ECE Communications and Advancement Manager at Colorado State University. “As communicators, we have to work harder to build connections and garner attention. I believe authentic storytelling will help us connect with and inspire action of our audiences – messaging that appeals to the mind and touches the heart. Simply put: We have to be real.”
With storytelling becoming an increasingly integral part of effectively communicating the breadth of electrical and computer engineering, we, as departments, institutions, and communicators must rapidly embrace digital communications. As noted by Ryann Monahan, the ECE Communications Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “The “communicator” position has become a much bigger job and will remain paramount in a larger capacity to the future of engineering communications and marketing. This is especially true as people’s behaviors and habits consuming information digitally and connecting virtually becomes increasingly engrained and amplified in our culture and everyday lives.”
However, just as ECE embraces the mantra of “The Future is What We Do,” so-too comes the burden of understanding that the pace and breadth of communicating and marketing moves at an extraordinary rate, with technologies and mediums shifting at blazing speeds, while attention spans shrink inexorably. The societal impact of engineering work requires stories be disseminated around the world with a variety of formats and audiences, allowing for collaboration, understanding, and continuous advancement.
Yet, as Monahan adds, “This will only be successful if communicated in a medium that is consistent with people’s information consumption habits and behaviors- digital communications. Virtual and digital communications will remain after COVID-19 passes and it is safe to connect in-person once again.” No longer do simple press releases serve to fit the bill, rather creativity and out-of-the-box thinking are the essential hallmarks of the modern age of information and message dissemination.