RCx-EU Student Research Hub Year 1 “Social Media and Public Diplomacy: The EU-NZ perspectives” (2018-2019)
The Student Research Hub in Year 1 brings together under- and post-graduate students enrolled in the JM Chair’s courses — advanced and motivated students of European Integration — with the Jean Monnet Chair, NCRE early career researchers and the EU leading experts.
In Year 1, this cross-generational Research Hub undertakes pilot research project “Social Media and Public Diplomacy: The EU-NZ perspectives” testing novel methods and innovative theoretical synergiesin the case-study focused on the digital diplomacy and its potential to public diplomacy between the EU and NZ. In 2018-2019, the Hub has monitored social media communications of NZ Embassies to the EU and EU member states (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). Monitoring followed discussions and signing of the EU-NZ FTA, visits of EU high-profile politicians to NZ (Commissioner Malmstrom, and HR Federica Morgherini) as well as NZ PM Jacinda Arden’s visit to Europe in 2018.
Under-graduate students:
Eleni Gibbs, Adam Griffin (in 2018), Finlay Palmer, Sree Nair, Rhiannon Jones, Regan Harding
Post-Graduate Students:
Rebecca Frankum, Natalija Petrovic, Megan Wakefield, Adam Griffin (in 2019)
NCRE researcher:
Dr Serena Kelly
JM Chair Student Hub Leader:
Prof Natalia Chaban
Hub Activities (Year 1, 2018-2019):
- Research work in cross-level small groups
- Regular research meeting of the Hub
- Work on the Working Paper collection (co-edited by post graduate students Rebecca Frankum and Natalija Petrovic with Prof Chaban and Dr Kelly)
- Attending presentation by a NZ-EU Expert Group member Prof Richard Whitman at the interdisciplinary panel “The future of EU foreign policy studies” (17 January 2019)
- Interview by Adam Griffin and Sree Nair, members of the Student Research Hub 1, of Prof Richard Whitman, member of the RCx-EU NZ-EU Expert Group
- Report of the Hub findings at the NCRE Post-Graduate Conference 2019
Interview with Prof Richard Whitman, member of the RCx-EU NZ-EU Expert Group (January 2019).
Around the table, from left to right:
Mikhail Lopez, Finlay Palmer, Dr Serena Kelly, Prof Natalia Chaban, Natalija Petrovic (on the phone, attending via Skype), Sree Nair, Rhiannon Jones, Eleni Gibbs, Adam Griffin.
Absent: Rebecca Frankum, Regan Harding.
Student Research Hub #1 working papers
The RCx-EU-website is edited by Mona Semek, student at the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigsburg, during an internship at the NCRE.