Communication matters - a course for mid-career engineers

This is a one-day practice-oriented course designed for mid-career engineers. It introduces techniques for effective interactions with government, business, professions, media channels, and the public.

Internationally recognised experts from the University of Canterbury's Department of Media and Communication, together with local media practitioners and community leaders, will guide you to navigate complex media environments and enhance your skills in listening to, understanding and informing others: in professional life, presentations, and answering media questions.

The course will advance your professional training and competence as a mid-career engineer, supporting you as a future leader in the engineering profession.

The course covers:
Personal communication styles: How do you communicate?
Audiences and publics: Who are you communicating with?
Working with journalists: How do you answer questions?

For more information contact: zita.joyce@canterbury.ac.nz

About the Speakers:

Professor Natalia Chaban: focuses her interdisciplinary research and teaching on cognitive and semiotic aspects of political and media discourses, image and perceptions studies within domestic and International Relations contexts, public and science diplomacy, and political communication.  She consults and trains practitioners of international strategic communication.

Professor Donald Matheson: researches journalism and social media, including the changing nature of public communication. He is an expert on communication ethics and was a journalist before becoming an academic. He is the 2023 winner of the Student Choice Award for Lecturer of the Year in the Faculty of Arts.

Dr Zita Joyce: teaches and researches about audiences, technologies, media policy, and science diplomacy. She is a member of SCANZ, the Science Communicators Association of New Zealand. She received a UC Outstanding Teaching and Learning Transformation Award in 2022.

Conan Young:  is Journalism Coordinator in the department of Media and Communication after working for 20 years as a journalist. Since returning to Christchurch in 2011 he has reported for RNZ on major stories for including Pike River, the Christchurch quakes the cities rebuild, and the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission. He has received several national and international media awards including his coverage of the 2019 terror attacks in Christchurch.

Feedback from previous training includes:

‘(I learnt that)…effective communication in verbal, written and drawn form is

…. as valuable as my engineering skill’

‘I thought a lot about the challenges and frustrations I face in communicating in my professional life’

‘The course helped me understand the objectives and motivators of the various media entities and how to ensure that critical information comes across in any dealings with them’

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This course is an initiative of the Class of 69: a group of civil engineers who completed their UC studies in 1969. This is their contribution to the future of the engineering profession in New Zealand, developed with the UC Department of Media and Communication.