PAC Symposium – IBCoMagazine’s Time Capsule Event

The first bit of the afternoon was devoted to the PAC Symposium, where Media & Communication (IBCoM) alumni Anna Le Guennec and Carlijn Oosthoek and current third-year bachelor student and former IBCoMagazine editor-in-chief Cecilia Arroyo spoke about their professional careers and study experiences. The Symposium was led and moderated by Dr. Yijing Wang, chair of the PAC, who asked bright and interesting questions that allowed Anna and Carlijn to open up about their respective expertise, being quite on opposite ends of the professional spectrum. Anna, who is an assistant Marketing Manager at Unilever, and Carlijn, owner of two successful companies and currently founding a third, were able to provide insightful visions on what it is like to enter the professional field of communication and media and its job market. Furthermore, they were able to enlighten all event attendees – varying from current Media & Communication students, Media Master students, and ESHCC staff members – about their own experiences at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Being active in such different areas of the field, with Anna working at a large corporation and Carlijn as an independent entrepreneur, the audience was hooked from the first question.

The event had not been coined ‘IBCoMagazine’s Time Capsule’ for nothing, as the three panel speakers had all studied IBCoM in different points in time and which provided ample room to provide an outline of the bachelor’s programme throughout the years. Additionally, a great aspect was that Anna has been part of IBCoMagazine herself a few years ago. She and Cecilia enveloped into an in-depth conversation emphasising IBCoMagazine’s growth and given they were speaking at IBCoMagazine’s first live event, it soon became clear that the magazine has come a long way.

The panel discussion was concluded with a Q&A session, after which it was time for everyone to start wandering around the room to enjoy the artworks the magazine members had made. All works were connected to IBCoM in one way or another, varying from paintings, graphic designs, poems, drawings, and more. The last bit of the afternoon was spent in a beautifully sunlit room downstairs at the venue, that was catered with drinks and snacks. The get-together, including some networking opportunities and event evaluations, was welcomed with open arms by all participants, of which many had not seen each other for a while because of the pandemic situation. It was great to be able to organise such an enriching ‘corona-proof’ event that may have helped many students gain a sense of certainty regarding their next steps and future careers in the media and communication fields that are increasingly faced with challenges, especially in such insecure times.