DIGITAL COMMUNICATION INTERNSHIP @ ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE

HOST ORGANISATION

This spring, I had an opportunity to work in a company whose main topics are sustainability, architecture and design. Nothing to do with communication at the first glance, does it? However, this organisation is a magazine issued quarterly in 6 Balkan countries, whereas the company is Serbian, located in the capital – Belgrade. The first issue was published in 2011, when the architect Vladimir Lovric, the editor-in-chief, came up with an idea of connecting the architects in region around the idea of sustainability in their field. Being the first magazine to put sustainable and eco-friendly solutions in architecture and later adding, culture, design and lifestyle, this magazine received positive critics from its beginnings and thus, early success. Although the editorial offices consist of only 7 permanent employees, the magazine collaborates with numerous guest writers from the whole Europe.

Doing an internship in the magazine organisation was especially exciting or me, as my favourite domain of Communication Science is Journalism, as well as generally the world of media. Additionally, the topics of sustainability and arts and design were always in the spectre of my interests. However, being an intern during the times of the global pandemic shifted this experience in a slightly different direction and posed some challenges.

REMOTE WORK & MY TASKS

Although one of my planned tasks was to participate in the creation of the June issue by writing and editing articles, that part was unfortunately very limited, as my supervisor had to limit the supervision due to the additional work caused by the coronavirus crisis. However, I still had a chance to participate in the curation and editing of some articles. The second thing that represented an obstacle for realising this part of my internship was the physical distance, due the pandemic as well.

Nevertheless, remote work allowed me to approach work from a completely different perspective and learn some new skills. Communication with my team had to be more concise, but clearer and effective. New digital platforms that the team started working on in order to successfully adapt to a new working environment gave me a unique experience of functioning solely online, which I believe will be especially useful in future.

Digital environment where I performed my internship influenced my tasks as well. I was, namely, much more involved in the digital marketing, recruiting and social media management. Therefore, theoretical knowledge gained in the Persuasive communication and Media landscape courses was of a primary use for me. This was quite a positive aspect of my internship experience overall, as I was able to directly see the application of academic knowledge in the practical environment.

Next, I had a chance to connect with various experts from the fields of architecture, design and culture, as one of the tasks I had a chance to manage was reaching out to the business partners and other collaborators which were featured in the newest issue. This gave me a unique insight in the corporate communication side and the way the production of a journal and its content is established.

Lastly, the social media campaigns were the most creative part of my internship, although I was not as keen on this part of digital marketing before. I was given a chance to apply my creativity, but research skills as well, as I had to create diverse and effective content, yet well supported by the latest trends in the sustainable architecture field. Therefore, the experience from the numerous research assignments done in all the courses came very practical as well.

ALL IN ALL…

Summing up my internship experience, I could say that not only am I richer for one more work experience in the field of Communication Science, but also for creating much closer idea on how companies and especially communication within companies function. More importantly, as tough as the majority of people felt it in different areas of life, doing an internship during the biggest global pandemic in recent times taught me a lot about managing tasks during crisis and adapting to new, challenging conditions within a professional environment.