Steering Committee Enquete: Laure Schönenberger

Laure Schönenberger, Université de Fribourg

Work title and academic title:
Responsable marketing & promotion - Titles : Dr, MBA

Duties in the SC:
Member of Steering Committee from Switzerland
Secretary
Since I am the newly appointed secretary there is not much I can say about this work in the SC. So far I have taken part in various committees and task forces and tried to contribute concretely to the projects.

Why did you get engaged in the SC, why do you think it is important?
Marketing and Communications are vital for any institution today. Universities, because of competition, have come to realize that this is also the case for them. Yet they are still looking for ways of professionalizing their structures. It is part of our job to try and help them achieve this challenge and communicate and promote their competitive advantages in the best possible way. Being active in the committee of the European association of communications professionals is my contribution to this big picture.

Describe the situation for your country for university communications:
Very few institutions on the continent understand the strategic importance of communications.They understand it intellectually without giving the means (human structural and financial)to function and therefore perform properly. Rectors still think that press services are their own propaganda organ. However, situation varies considerably from one university to the other, be it in terms of position or in terms of finance.

What are the biggest challenges for university communication in your country? And in Europe?
Help the rectors understand that communications and marketing are one and the same in an institution like ours and that professionals in the field need to be listened to and integrated in the global reflexion of the Universities.