Next time when you boondoggle-folks give another guest lecture: please do declic us.

Dominique ik doe binnenkort HogeSchool Gent binnen, en heb in november Ma3 gedaan. Eens afstemmen en ervoor zorgen dat er binnenkort terug wat overschot aan talent op de markt ligt?

Deze studenten krijgen teminste nog gastsprekers met interessante onderwerpen. Bij ons (Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg, richting informatica) gaat het bij gastsprekers enkel over SQL, testing, SAP, ITIL en Oracle...
informaticastudenten die in de reclame- / webdesignwereld terechtkomen zijn met uitsterven bedreigd!

Good intentions brought into practice, Dominique. Especially the Boondoggle cases you presented yestarday were excellent inspiration. Thanks again from the Erasmushogeschool crew!

My pleasure. Glad to see that your students showed a keen interest in the matter and did everything to counter the fact that they were accused of being "1.0" ;)

Ik vrees wel dat je grotendeels gelijk hebt met dat 1.0 zijn (ttz: studenten gebruiken het web 2.0 nog niet echt op een 2.0-manier), en dat het aan de teachers ligt die hen onvoldoende wijzen op de 2.0 mogelijkheden klopt heel vaak ook. Die teachers zijn immers net iets té oud om digital natives te zijn en/of de (r)evolutie naar 2.0 (en straks 3.0?) meegemaakt te hebben in de praktijk (want in onze opleiding zitten ze alvast, de (ex-)praktijkmensen). Niet dat dit een excuus is, wel een realiteit. Daarom ook dat we maar al te graag een beroep doen op het werkveld zoals dat heet. En dat we zitten te wachten op jongere collega's die het curriculum en de ontwikkelaars ervan de stap richting 2.0 kunnen helpen zetten. Mocht je interesse hebben... :-)

PS: probeer anderzijds DE communicatiebranche niet enkel vanuit een Boondoggle-standpunt te bekijken. "2.0" en "social" zijn niet alleenzaligmakend, ze zijn hoogstens een (belangrijk) deel van het geheel. Ik heb zo'n vermoeden dat veel collega's én studenten allang blij zijn dat ze de rest al gezien krijgen :-).
PPS: hier op de Arteveldehogeschool zijn we ook altijd nog op zoek naar leden voor de Opleidingsadviesraad, het klankbord vanuit het werkveld zeg maar. Ook dààr welkom!

Here a comment from a bachelor student Commercial Engineer from the KUL university. I would like to give my opinion about the view of the current student on the world of communication and marketing.
First of all, I would like to give the remark that I experience lessons as too theoretical. In a world where experience is one of the most important aspects of a employee, I think universities should change this theoretical approach to a more practical approach. Especially for courses like Marketing. In my opinion, Marketing becomes interesting, understandable and ‘touchable’ only once you are confronted with it in real life. When marketing is given as a theoretical course, students don’t often see the ‘passion’ of this industry. This is why I experience an often disparaging view on marketing of my fellow students. Additionally, students also miss the current new approaches in Marketing. For example, students don’t get the opportunity to see the marketing applications of new media and as a result, they will keep considering these media only as ‘fun’.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t say that students aren’t interested in Marketing anymore. I still notice some fellow students are really passionate about communication and marketing. This view of these students is never taught at school, but it is their own developed character. And as they experience that their wish to really meet this sector in real life will not be fulfilled by their studies, they always find ways to do it themselves. This can be seen as a benefit for Marketing : the sector attracts passionate people!
In conclusion I wouldn’t say that students of today aren’t interested anymore in communication/marketing. The only problem is the lack of stimulation of these interests by their studies.
Stephanie Delanote, a student who IS passionate about marketing.

The main problem with students thinking 1.0 is that they don't feel the social vibe when they're talking about the web. Compare it with videogames.. that used to be a thing for boys/guys only too, but recent evolutions (Nintendo Wii, etc.) have completely changed the way we look at videogames. Well, the thing with thinking web 2.0 is that we always need to be confronted with the new stuff before we start to think like it. Personally I feel like web 3.0 is already starting to emerge. I'm a student Marketing communication at the Erasmus Hogeschool Brussels and I have to say that even though we got good lecturers, the topics are mostly handled in a way that isn't appealing to most students. They don't have a lot of interests to start exploring the realms of the web or communication on the internet in general. It feels like they lack the interests after which communication agencies like yourself are looking for. This is only my point of view though. I'm a centipede when it comes to the internet, music, movies or advertising.. whereas my fellow students don't often give me the idea that they're alike me somehow.

I don't think that encouraging students to use the computer more and more is actually a positive thing. There are already problems with people who do not socialize as much as they should. Japan has youngsters locked in their homes who work only at home over the Internet. Those people rarely leave their homes. So being 1.0 is maybe something positive.

The internet is a part of our lives, but I have to agree with the above comment and say that some people over do it. The Internet is a very useful tool, but let's not forget to take a vacation, a walk in the park and many other activities that are related to relaxation.

Remember personal info?

When it comes to internet marketing and advertising, there aren't any schools that can actually teach you up to day techniques. This environment is changing to fast and it can't be theorized. Students can learn to use the communication tools and find out on their own what opportunities the internet has to offer when it comes to advertising.

It's true that students today are more interested on using the internet for fun and resources rather than business opportunities but at the same time, they are better equipped to use communication tools and software applications than the previous generation. I'm sure that, with the proper guidance, today's students can easily become tomorrow's top marketers and advertisers.

It's almost impossible to ask a student to have a realistic view about a future job in advertising or marketing when this is such an unpredictable field of work. Employers can hope at best that the graduates they hire know the basic concepts and are familiar with the resources the internet has to offer. They can be later lead and shaped into the next generation of advertisers.

It is true that so many students are not using the internet for learning purpose s but mainly just for fun. Maybe they should find a way of making learning fun so that students use the internet for educative purposes.

It's quite difficult for most teachers to help advertising students realize the potential of online advertising, since most of them were brought up in very different times, back when the internet wasn't around. I think just as TV took over the radio, in terms of ads revenue, soon enough the internet will be the most profitable medium in the advertising industry.

Dominique, I like your ideas and your perspective on advertising, I think you're right about the glorious future of online advertising, and yes, nobody seems to be taking it seriously, not the agencies at least. This is why I think we're going to see in the next 5-10 years the rise of some young self-made internet startup millionaires.