07
July
2022
|
08:53
Europe/Amsterdam

The external perspective

Summary

Why 18 journalism students* became social media consultants for a racing team during a visit to Covestro AG and what they discussed with CCO (Chief Commercial Officer) Sucheta Govil. The visit of the 2020 class of the Cologne School of Journalism for Politics and Business in April 2022 was instructive for all participants. A student's perspective.

Written by: Jil Dreimann

A race in the middle of the Australian outback. 3022 kilometers, seven days, one rule: Only solar power is allowed!

Winning this race was the goal of the Sonnenwagen team from RWTH Aachen University and Aachen University of Applied Sciences. We journalism students listened intently as some of the team's students shared their experiences along the route with us.

Every two years, the team of 50 students competes in the world wide competition, the World Solar Challenge. In addition to the adventure, the aim is to further research and develop sustainable mobility. Covestro, the team's main sponsor, also sees these future technologies as answers to global challenges. Economical cars made of lightweight materials - a common basis.

After the presentation, we student journalists were in demand. Team Sonnenwagen Aachen wanted hints from us for their social media channels. Their questions: How can we fill the off-season with exciting content? How do we get more media coverage? "Get your passion for your project across online," was our consensus advice. Team Sonnenwagen Aachen conveyed team spirit and a lot of excitement at the races, which needs to be more focused. "Take your viewers with you into your everyday life, let them become a part of your team," that is what we told the students from Aachen, and they invited us to visit their workshop.

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Mutual understanding - right from the start

In the interview with Sucheta Govil, we were allowed to ask the questions. The implementation of the circular economy was the topic of the day, but also the war in Ukraine and its impact on productions in different sectors. Sucheta Govil took a lot of time for the individual questions: "It's extremely important to engage with these young people now, when they are on their way to their future."

Both sides benefit from this exchange, as Felix Heck, a student at the School of Journalism, summarizes: "As journalists, we have the task of explaining the world to our readers. To do that, we have to understand the world from different angles, and companies like Covestro are of course an important part of that."

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