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add to favoriteLecturer PhD Kadar Magor Elek
Specialization of "Communication and Public Relations"
Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences
Lecturer PhD Kadar Magor Elek
Trainer, professional communicator, author of two books (entitled A practical guide to media relations and Communication campaigns) and more than 15 studies in communication, Magor Kadar's training is connected with institutions such as the poll of youth trainers of the European Council, Human Rights Youth Education Network (CE affiliated) and the World Bank. He attended training sessions to NGOs such as Oxfam International Australia or Amnesty International Hungary. The idea further developed from here is to introduce methods and techniques of non-formal education in the higher education. It is present in the style of teaching, working with students and developing extracurricular projects.
A practical activity that made an important contribution to the professional development of students was the campaign to promote the specialization of "Communication and Public Relations" in Hungarian at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca in the 2008-2009 academic year. In the context of the global economic crisis, with the number of young people who enrol in college decreasing, he proposed students a mobilization and promotion campaign aimed to draw students towards the communication profile. But the underlying objective was to familiarize students with techniques of communication campaigns, techniques that are rarely used properly on the market and are never disclosed by the specialized companies. The project was undertaken as an advertising campaign, respecting all the criteria and all its stages. Students had a free hand since the evaluation and design phase, then moving from planning, gathering resources, contact and offering to create the media plan, design the activities plan and ensure its development, including the creative design and production of advertising materials, audio and video clips. The project, conducted over a period of six months, included a total of 80 students and was successful on both fronts: as an experience for participants who could be proud of their first professional success, but it also increased by 40% the number of applicants who enrolled in the profile. The project continues in 2009-2010 with a greater momentum and increased involvement of students.
In terms of active involvement in public life through professional projects, Magor Kadar responded in 2009-2010 to the call launched by the City Hall of Cluj Napoca, coordinating a group of 12 students for a brand project of Cluj Napoca. The process lasted six months and included scientific documentation, analysis of case studies on national and international level, analysis of existing projects and of media appearances in this respect, structured interviews with key figures, consulting with experts and key organizations, defining brand pillars, project design, discussion at several public hearings and finally presentation to the public audience of Cluj Napoca City Hall. As it is the most complex project, it follows the development and implementation of work plan items for the City brand. Involving students in the process was aimed at understanding the steps, working methods, and developing the synthesis and negotiating skills at presentations. Achieving considerable experience and recognition for their work, students are challenged to actually demand more from themselves.
Assuming that the theory itself does not lead to performance, Magor Kadar continues his educational activity outside classrooms, undertaking projects that teach students how to use the achieved knowledge and especially how to put into practice proficiently the theories from their textbooks. In this respect he founded in 2008 together with Réka Horváth, the Professional College of Political Marketing, which is aimed at students of communication, political science and marketing, offering a practical introduction to political marketing. Students meet professionals and personalities from public life, participating in workshops and projects. Respecting the academic criteria, image analysis or campaign analysis projects must be presented against their scientific background, and then translated into case studies presented at conferences and published in professional journals.
Professor Kadar Magor adopted a dynamic and interactive teaching method, which allows him to speculate on the potential of students. Together with his students he founded the community radio station for students K-fe radio (www.kferadio.com), developed and maintained by 28 students. They are introduced to journalism work in a project that requires audio production, agent duties, administration management, event organization and fundraising. The project is conducted entirely by students, having a supervisor in the field of radio journalism and Magor Kadar as a guide for the administrative, financial and lobbying aspects.
As a complement to the idea of non-formal tools in formal education, for the preparation for the bachelor level in the 2009-2010 academic year students could participate in more than 20 events and projects designed exclusively for them by the teaching staff of the department: image projects implementation, outdoor trainings, press conferences organization, attending the Advertising Week in Budapest with over 50 students each year, involvement in various activities, etc. Organization and participation in such events is vital for the professional development of students and it often marks their trajectory in their speciality field.
At masters level the first master focused on developing communication skills was conceived, and it has been available beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year. The modular program is focused on one semester of verbal communication, non-verbal communication, self-awareness and image-design. The program is open to all people working with groups of people (e.g. teachers, educators, trainers, journalists, involved in politics, lawyers, pastors, priests, etc.), and these skills will help streamlining communication and learning eminently transferable skills and abilities.
