Uwe Steger graduated in political science and media studies. Since 1994 he is Director of Communications at the University of Innsbruck and, in addition to the classic press and public relations work, also responsible for event- and webservices, graphics, student advising, student marketing and science communication. He is chairman of UNI.PR, the network of public relations officers at Austrian universities, and a board member of EUPRIO. Between 2011 and 2013 he was an advisors to the Austrian Minister of Science.
In times of the so-called “knowledge society”, the transfer of knowledge from universities to society, politics and business is becoming increasingly important. The pandemic has shown that we need to improve our transfer of knowledge, and that communication activities and strategies has become more important for institutions. Our communication department must take these needs into account. It is no longer just a media office, taking care of the website, the publications, social media, but must help the university management to fulfil the strategic goals of the university. To do this, we need to better connect our projects, our reporting, and our department with the University Management.
A discussion on how university communication offices will develop in the future and what we need to keep in mind.
A Talk with Julia Wandt and Gian-Andri Casutt
Moderator: Mirjam van Daalen, Switzerland, Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, Head of communication