2020/21 MSc PR Mentorship Programme concludes at Closing Ceremony

This week saw the conclusion of the mentoring programme for the Masters in Public Relations and Strategic Communications (MScPR) class of 2020/221. University President Daire Keogh presented over an online closing ceremony attended by students, mentors and friends of the course. 

The MScPR mentorship scheme was initiated in 2017. It now has a rolling roster of over 60 DCU alumni who participate on a recurring basis. It has proven to be a major feature of the Masters programme with a range of benefits for students. 

The MScPR course Director Martin Molony noted that it now comes up as an attraction of the course when interviewing aspiring applicants. “it gives students an early sense of what the public relations workplace is like. They get to see and hear how experienced professionals approach their work and it helps them prepare for their own entry to the workplace both with realistic expectations and the support of a trusted professional”

Associate Lecturer Padraig McKeon who co-ordinates the mentoring programme noted that the benefit is not just one way. “Every year we get messages from experienced professionals who tell us how much the experience of mentoring a student opens their minds to new ideas and fresh thinking in their own practice. They will also acknowledge that they are getting the first insight on new talent which is vital to any industry” 

The closing ceremony also featured the announcement of the Mentee and the Mentor of the year, a new feature of the programme introduced for the first time last year.

The Mentee of the year this year is Kate O’Brien. A graduate of DCU (BA, History & English) in 2018, Kate recently started her PR career with Jailbird communications and was nominated for the award by her mentor Trudi McDonald (BAJ 2010).

The Mentor of the year is Niamh Stephenson, herself a graduate of the MScPR programme in 2018. Niamh who is Public Relations Manager in Ireland for the RNLI was nominated by her mentee, Aoife Reilly.

While the MScPR 2020/21 students are still hard at work on research dissertations which will be followed by a period of professional placement until the autumn, preparations have begun for the MScPR class of 2021/22 with the application process for the next mentoring programme already open. Anyone interested in participating should apply here.