Lecturing during the International Week at the University of Katowice in Poland

Recently I had the opportunity to lecture at the University of applied sciemces in Katowice in south west Poland. Together with 11 collegueas from different countries we gave lectures centered around the theme Internet Communication Management My topic was "building brands on line". 4 student groups consisting of 4 students each had to choose an interesting consumer product and develop an online marketing communication plan. Considering they were mainly first year students and had no experience with marketing they produced some really good results. The students were surprisingly good at english and worked really hard to achieve the best results. Working in groups and immediately applying the theory in a practical assignment was something completely new to the Polish students. They were really enthousiastic about this form of teaching because it allowed them to work in groups and discuss pro's and con's among each other. The evaluations were really very good; 90% would recommend this course to other students. You can find the results of their work on their blogs and judge for yourself.

Iphone	http://intweekkatowicegroup1iphone.blogspot.com/
Nissan quashqai	http://intweekkatowicegroup2nissanqashqai.blogspot.com/
3D tv Panasonic	http://www.group3panasonic.blogspot.com/
m&m's	http://intweekkkatowicegroup4mms.blogspot.com/

Besides lecturing we had time for a very nice social programm including a visit to the town hall and a meeting with the major. Who gave an impressive presentation of the growth and entrepreneurial spirit of the region around Katowice. Several Western multinationals have a subsidiary in the Silezian region. The unemployment rate is below 3,5%. Which made me realize I had to adjust my perception of this region.

All lecturers and the international team during the visit of the town hall of Katowice.  

I was surprised by the exceptionally good promotional coverage of the international week.
The trailer at the top gives a nice example of how universities can promote important events in a modern way with social media.  Facebook, Youtube picassa all modern media were used to communicate the story of the international week. 
If you are interested check out the following websites.

http://www.intweek.ue.katowice.pl/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Economics-in-Katowice/145274722181780