Professor Jody Kleinberg-Biehl from the University at Buffalo in the United States of America has partnered with the Durban University of Technology’s Department of Public Relations Management to enrol students in the Collaborative Online International Learning Programme (COIL).

The Acting HOD of the Department of Public Relations Management, Nisha Ramlutchman, explained how this partnership came about.

“The DUT Department of International Relations requested for a nomination from the Faculty of Management Sciences, Executive Dean, Professor Rishidaw Balkaran, to participate in the COIL programme. Professor Balkaran then nominated me.  I completed an online SUNY Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course, after which I partnered with Prof Jody Kleinberg-Biehl to design a joint online project with students from DUT and University at Buffalo in the USA,” she said.

The SUNY Centre for Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an international organisation focused on the emerging field of Globally Networked Learning (GNL) and provides -student interaction with peers abroad through co-taught multicultural online and blended learning environments emphasizing experiential student collaboration.

Prof Klienberg-Biehl, who is also an ethics in journalism lecturer, recently delivered a seminar to the DUT students who will be engaging in the course at DUT’s ML Sultan Campus.

“The seminar was mainly about introducing myself, my students, showing them what our campus (University at Buffalo) looks like and I spoke to them about my class and the assignment that they’ll be working on. I am an Ethics in Journalism lecturer, so that’s mostly what we spoke about. Incidents like photo shopping pictures, stealing information, all these things that come into consideration when it comes to ethics in journalism,” said Prof Biehl.

Ramlutchman explained the nature of the projects that DUT students will undertake during this programme. “The DUT Public Relations and Communication Management Students and the Buffalo University students will work on an online project. Approximately 60 students will be involved in the programme from DUT and about 30 students from Buffalo University (USA),”she said.

The Coil programme for both DUT and those at Buffalo University begins this August and will run for the next three weeks.

Pictured: Professor Jody Kleinberg-Biehl from the University at Buffalo speaking to DUT students.

Thembela Makhuba