Episode 3: Communicating across Europe

[music] 

Ana: If I may say we are communicating a dream. It’s a huge goal that we have among the higher education in Europe.  

Minna: This is European Connections, a podcast where we have meaningful conversations about European university alliances and how they deepen our collaboration. My name is Minna Kaihovirta. I’m manager of dialogue in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and a member of communication group within U!REKA, European University. So in this episode, we focus on communication in international setting. With me, I have Ana Raposo, head of communications in Polytechnic University of Lisbon in Portugal and also co-leader of communications task group within U!REKA. She’s located in Portugal and soon moving on to other challenges. There are currently 65 university alliances in Europe. All these European universities aim to communicate as effectively as possible and spread the word on what they are doing. The goal is to activate students to make the most out of the opportunities as part of their studies and at the same time to inform a broader audience on how they can participate. But as usual in communications, there is a bit of a struggle to find the right channels and to reach all the right audiences. That’s why today, we focus on communication on a European level with Ana. Welcome, Ana.  

Ana: Hello, good morning, Minna.  

Minna: Good to have you here. So let’s dive into the topic, and I’d start by saying next level Europe. We both work in our universities’ communications departments in our own countries. And I’d love to hear what do you think that is changing when we are trying to bring knowledge to the next level and in this case to apply it to a European level.  

Ana: It’s curious that you choose the word level because indeed, I believe that communication on a European scale requires us to move to a different level. And why, in fact, the principles of strategic communication management are the same. But we need to bear in mind that we are working on a bigger and a more complex setting, because we have more people to reach, because we have different organisational and national cultures and we have different languages. And something that I would also like to highlight, another detail that I believe that really makes the difference here. It’s the nature of the project. We are communicating something that can be seen as something abstract. So it’s more an additional challenge in all the setting.  

Minna: And at least for the first year of the project when everything is new and as a university alliance we are just setting up all the activities. So it’s rather abstract also to us.  

Ana: Yeah, because we are, if I may say, we are communicating a dream. It’s a huge goal that we have among the higher education in Europe. And for some people, for our listeners, for our audience, sometimes it’s not easy to understand. But as you were saying, mainly in the first year where we are setting who we are, the governance model and so on, and we still don’t have concrete outputs. And if I may also add, to explain this level of complexity that is to manage the communication in a European scale, of course that the realities in terms of communication in the different partners are not the same, so are different. For example, taking mine as a reference, we struggle every day to reach all the communities, different communities that we have inside the Polytechnic University of Lisbon because we have eight schools, and it is with quite different realities. So if on a daily and national basis, it’s challenging, reaching all the partners and all the schools and faculties and departments because the languages are different in the different partners, I must say that it’s really to try to communicate in a different level.  

Minna: And also somehow working in between these levels since we still need to reach all our national audiences within our own universities, but at the same time, try to address also European level audiences. So we are not just moving in between levels, but we are tackling all the levels at once, so to say.  

Ana: Indeed. We are just focusing on internal stakeholders. And of course that we have also other external stakeholders to engage. So you need to balance, but you need to bear in mind that of course that first of all, it’s really important to have all the internal stakeholders on board and try to engage them, but also we need to think about the other groups that can be related or that can be interested in this topic of the European universities and of course, also the smart cities and carbon neutral cities. 

Minna: Let’s soon move on to more practical solutions communication, but first I would like to stop for a moment and take a look at the first year that we’ve now passed. You have been leading our group for the first, and I would like to say, critical year. And in my opinion you have succeeded in both organising our work and creating a great bond between us. It seems so easy, but has there been any challenges? Share with us. 

Ana: Thank you for your kind words, Minna. For me, I must say it was an honour and a big challenge at the same time. Because besides the ten nationalities, we have ten professionals with different backgrounds, experiences, ages, but this mix was completely wonderful because of course, some questions raised due to the fact that we are in different places and we only have the opportunity to see each other face to face one or two times per year. So we are working on a virtual mode, completely virtual mode. So I believe that having in our minds one of the U!REKA values, the boldness [utters a laugh], I believe that we really embrace and try to express this value and knowing the skills of each member and aligning the expectations and moreover, explaining what was our purpose in this first year and starting to prepare the next years with transparency, with some fun. The team grows in size, confidence and being able to answer to the different needs from the consortium.  

Minna: And I’d like to stop for a moment to the team changes. I feel like at least in every second of our meetings, we were introducing new people to the group and doing rounds of introductions [laughing] of who we are and what our role is. How do you feel about that constant change that was part of working as a group?  

Ana: Yeah, I think it became a routine to have someone new. On one side, it was good because it was more knowledge and more hands joining the group. But of course, it was always challenging and I think that the words that we will repeat more during our conversation, it will be challenge and challenging. So it was challenging in terms of onboarding because as we were explaining for some of the stakeholders, the content that we were communicating was quite abstract.  

Minna: And still is. 

Ana: The first task was to explain to that person that was joining the group, first step to understand what we are communicating, what is the U!REKA European University, what are the focus, who are the partners, how do we use to work, how will we divide the tasks and so on. But in fact, it was curious because before we got the funding from the European Commission, we used to work together. Some of us used to work together, because we were working as a network.  

Minna: I remember those days, and I think it helped us to move on with the project group as… 

Ana: It did. 

Minna: …when we got the funding. So some of us knew each other on a bit deeper level, knew something about our strengths and professional abilities that we were bringing into the group. 

Ana: Even though in that specific moment when we got the funding, some of the members needed to leave their organisations. So we needed to start again, to restart. I think it was crucial to have those members that used to work together before, and I think they were a huge help to the group setting, what were our values, our way of working, how we used to work and what in previous experience went well or no. So I think it was an interesting journey where everyone could learn. Also the different backgrounds, I think it was a strength that we had to have people from different backgrounds with different experiences.  

Minna: Also everybody representing different partner, different country and that country’s culture. So I feel like I have gained a huge amount of understanding of how things should be communicated in different parts of Europe, which are the things that we all share and agreed upon and which are the angles or the topics that we find that we are in different places and we look at it from different perspectives. So I as a member of the group feel like I’ve been through a massive learning curve already.  

Ana: Indeed, indeed, indeed. And it was also interesting. We promoted a meeting with all the communication managers from the consortium partners, and it was interesting because in the end of the meeting, the feeling and the problems and the challenges were more or less the same, even though knowing that we have different contexts, different realities and different cultures. I believe that in size we are quite similar with exception of one or two partners that they are bigger. But even though different cultures, different organisational cultures that I believe that it’s also something important to highlight when we are talking about communication, in the end, we are all in the same boat, struggling with the same realities and the same challenges.  

Minna: And that kind of moments, in my opinion, are moments to cherish and then when the more difficult day or more difficult decision comes our way, then it’s good to sort of relate back to that feeling that we are all in the same boat, we share the same challenges and let’s try to figure out how to get further away from this one that we are stuck with currently. So I think it was a great idea to invite all the heads of communications, and it was a great thing that we succeeded to create the same feeling or to share the same feeling with them that we are all in the same boat, from different angles but people going to one direction together.  

Ana: It’s true. And it was also interesting for me to realise that when you read the goals from the European universities, I believe that one of the intentions from the European Commission was to put European higher education organisations working together and learning from each other. I really believe that this project is a huge opportunity to professionals, teachers, staff, students to get out from their comfort zones and to get to know other realities and to have the opportunity to contact with good practices. I believe that in our group and in this consortium, we have been trying to identify those good practices and trying to implement those ways of working inside the consortium. So I think it’s one of the goals from the whole project, from the commission and I really see this happening, at least in the communication group and I believe it will happen the same in other areas. It can be human resources, it can be IT. We also promoted a meeting among the IT experts. So I think we are going on the right way even though this is a project, those kind of projects that we don’t like to call it a project but somehow and in the sense that we are dealing with this funding, with this round of funding, is a project that really, really challenges to be patient, because sometimes we need to wait and to trust [utters a laugh] that we want to go that way. In the end, I think we slowly start to see some results.  

Minna: I agree with you. I also share the feeling of going to the right direction and sort of living through the high goals of these European universities. So it’s visible already in our group. And glimpses can be seen with others as well. I recall that meeting when we invited the IT experts from all the partner universities together, and first they were sort of bit reserved and maybe taking a look around like what’s going to happen. We had all the chairs organised in a circle, and they had no place to put their laptop in front of them, and they had to face each other. The further we got along in that workshop, the more enthusiastic and energetic they got. And towards the end there was really high energy levels and good ideas shared and laughter and enthusiasm and that kind of feeling that okay, there are some challenges to tackle but we can make it together. And if we keep on succeeding in organising moments like that, then I think that we are on the right track.  

Ana: Indeed, indeed. We are talking about a long-term process. I think we need to bear in mind this. So these kind of quick wins, I believe that they are really, really important to keep us motivated, to see that we are going on the right way, to keep the pace. So I’m really, really looking forward to see what will happen in the next two years because we really reached our first goal, our first year and let’s see what will happen next.  

Minna: Let’s see. 

[music] 

Minna: So let’s move on to bit more practical solutions, practical level of communication. We both know that this is a long journey but choices need to be made quite soon, early on in the project in order to ensure that we use our resources wisely. And one of the solutions for U!REKA has been focusing on interaction.  

[music] 

Minna: So for example, instead of a bimonthly meeting we have had an interactive Let’s Share meeting which I have had the pleasure to facilitate. And our annual event is called U!REKA Connect. So can you explain a bit what has been the idea behind these choices?  

Ana: So these choices in terms of communication channels, if we can call it like this, we are just having and expressing our values. So we believe in interaction and we believe the importance of cooperation since the submission of the proposal to the European Commission. If we look now to what we have defined as our values, two of our values are inclusion and co-creation. So we really believe that this model of meeting, the Let’s Share meeting that we invite everyone is a way to express that we are welcoming everyone inside the academic community from the different partners and we are inviting everyone, not only the internal but also the external, just to share with everyone everything. So we don’t have anything to hide from our stakeholders. So we really want to have this interactive process that includes everyone, and on top of that, we also have the co-creation approach. So we really want to bring to the project all the stakeholders’ ideas, the suggestions, the different visions. So this Let’s Share meeting and the U!REKA Connect, the way not only that we chose the names to express these moments but also, for example, the way that we planned the programme from U!REKA Connect, we only have these ideas in our minds. This is our goal. And if I may add, it’s really a curiosity. We have Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, so Finland as our leader. I have been working with different European partners and I have the experience to work with other leaders, and I may say [utters a laugh] that we can see the Finnish way to approach management and to approach things.  

Minna: That’s interesting. Could you explain that in a bit more detail? The Finnish way. 

Ana: I can. The Finnish way. When I used to work with other partners from other European countries, the project management approach, it’s quite different from the Finnish project management approach, for example. Having a Teams channel with open access to everything from the top, the steering committee, until the more operational levels from all the working packages, I think it’s not common or so common in project management, at least for example, in Portugal. So I think these kind of details really make the difference in the process. Also, I can remember when we were in Brussels in our first kick-off meeting, we discussed our golden rules, the ten golden rules to follow in the project. Transparency and a way of solving problems in a really rational way, I see it from you, from Finland, coming from Finland, of course, in a project where we have six full partners, five associated partners, higher education institutions, plus more 15 external other partners. In terms of members, I would say that since the beginning, we are growing, but in the beginning, we had 15 to 20 people from each full partner. So we are talking about more than 100 people. Of course, conflicts will raise, problems will appear, and after 12 months, everything was so smooth. I could understand there were some problems, but the Finnish way of dealing [laughs] with the problems, really rational, really practical, really focused on the solution, understanding both sides, but focusing on what we need to deliver. I think it was interesting to see. So we have our values, we have our core U!REKA values that guide us, so the inclusion, the co-creation, and the boldness. But on top of that, it’s really interesting to see the different cultures cooperating and also adjusting and growing and learning and trying to take the best part from the different partners.  

Minna: Really interesting to hear you reflect on how you see things happening. And me representing the Finnish partner, the Metropolitan University of Applied Sciences, I can see the rational way and also the transparency, but I need to add that we wouldn’t be able to make this alone. So each and every partner with their own cultures, with their own approach are needed. I think it’s only what happens when we all are interacting. That’s where the magic happens, and that’s the way, how you use the word dream in the beginning, how we can make the dream to become reality. 

Ana: Yeah. As you were saying, I think we are cooking a great cake with the different ingredients, the best ingredients coming from the different countries, but as I was saying, I really believe that it was the goal from the European Commission. Because in the end, the international cooperation was limited to Erasmus Mobility, going out, coming in, and of course some research projects, some cooperation projects, but this is different. This is a different level, to return to that level. Another small and curious example. Once upon a time, I travelled to Helsinki and the big leader from the project scheduled a meeting with me, and I was prepared to go with my notebook to the meeting. The day before the leader told me, oh, bring comfortable shoes. Okay, I’m traveling, usually I use comfortable shoes, and I was quite surprised when I realised that our meeting was a walking meeting. So we went to the forest [luaghter] in Helsinki and that was our meeting. It was so different for me because I could not have my notebook to take my notes, and the leader was saying, but you can of course memorise what is really relevant and this will be good. And it was, indeed, it was really, really good. And I realised that here in Portugal, maybe we should rethink our way of approaching meetings. For example, I say that I know that in Central Europe it’s quite common to have meetings standing up just for the meetings to be quicker and faster. So I think it’s something from our Mediterranean culture, like our way of dealing with food that we need to sit, that we need to talk, that we need to stay for a long time. I think we tend to have the same approach to meetings and not to be so efficient. So, as you said, the learning curve was, wow, huge, really, really huge, coming from these small details to bigger examples that we could bring and share.  

Minna: Really nice experience and an example of learning to do things in a different way. 

[music] 

Minna: Let’s stop for a moment on the topic of learning outcomes. You summarised already some things that you feel that you have learned. But now after the first year, we’ve been setting up a communication ecosystem for a European University. What has been the biggest learning? 

Ana: I think one of my main takeaways is exactly to learn from all interactions, all challenges, all tasks. Everything is so rich that we can learn every day and in every moment. As I was sharing the example, just the way we approach a meeting or we manage a meeting. So to learn. Being ready to learn every day and every time. Something else that I would like to highlight is that we are dealing within European universities with the future of higher education in Europe. I also learned that there are so many things to discover and there are so many opportunities of collaboration that in the end of the day, I reinforce that if we are willing to get out from our comfort zone and if we accept the challenge to contribute to something bigger, even though, as we explained, sometimes we feel quite lost because it’s really abstract and sometimes we ask ourselves what I’m doing, is this worth it or is it not worth it. I really believe that it’s worth it. It’s a long-term project that we can individually right now realise the advantages, and I really believe that it will grow and grow and grow from individuals to groups, then to organisations until we reach the European level and to of course, in a bigger level to spread to the world the results of this project.  

Minna: Thinking big. I’d say that my biggest learning curve has been moving from thinking that it’s us and them. I can recall that when first starting to work in a multinational European level group, there was my opinions and what they thought. And now if I think about our daily work in communications group, it’s just challenges that we tackle together. Everybody can contribute in solution and everybody can bring in their viewpoints. I don’t even notice or stop to think whose idea was what or who brought into the table what piece of knowledge. It’s just us working together as a group. And that I think has something to do with becoming a European citizen. So losing the national borders or the cultural boundaries and being together, working on something interesting, something that is fascinating for all of us or challenging for all of us and just jointly getting together and working on a shared goal, being in the same boat, as you said. And I think it’s been a really special journey to learn to be there, starting from me to becoming us.  

Ana: You raised an important point that is the European culture and European values and being a European citizen. But I would also like to highlight that after one year, besides those impacts in our European feeling, I may say that we also, at least in Portugal, had positive impacts internally in the Polytechnic University of Lisbon. So this European university challenged us as an institution to cooperate and to work together with some colleagues that we didn’t work before because they are from a different department or from a different school. So we have a quite specific reality where we continue to have different identities from the different schools. So it was interesting to see after one year the positive results at the national level in terms of cooperation.  

[music] 

Ana: So now, of course, that we want to spread the octopus, as I used to say, so we have the different arms of the European University. We are putting people from accounting, cooperating with people from engineering and people from education, cooperating with engineering and communication, and also we are trying to bring the arts to the group. So it’s also relevant to raise those impacts that we are having internally.  

Minna: So learning in many levels. Again, national level, organisational level, national level, European level. 

Ana: Again. Individual group, organisations. 

Minna: The last thing I would like to ask from you, Ana, is do you have any words of encouragement for fellow Alliance professionals within U!REKA or within other alliances?  

Ana: I would say keep the good work and keep the focus. We know what is our purpose and we believe in what we are doing, and it’s something really important. We want to rethink. We want to position Europe as a lighthouse in higher education in the world. So we are working for that. It’s a long way to go. I think we know that. So just keep the good work, keep the focus, keep the good mood that I really believe that it’s also really important. Keep learning with your peers that it’s also part of the game and enjoy the journey.  

Minna: Thank you, Ana, for those words of encouragement, and thank you for joining me today, and thank you for listening to this episode.  

Ana: Thank you, Minna. Thank you for your good work. Thank you for your good work, and thank you for the listeners for being with us.  

Minna: This podcast is produced by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences as part of the U!REKA European University Alliance collaboration.