51ĀŅĀ×

It took Marie Schuster all of five days to feel perfectly at home at 51ĀŅĀ×.

Thatā€™s why she and a group of students from Germanyā€™s Leipzig University and Hong Kong Baptist University believe OHIO should work to sell itself as a quintessential American experience when recruiting international students, rather than focusing on factual information about the university.

ā€œIt pretty much feels like home,ā€ the Leipzig University graduate student told a group of 51ĀŅĀ× marketers at a global capstone presentation Sept. 29. ā€œToday, I got up, I went to my coffee shopā€¦ itā€™s already, like, my main coffee shop. Weā€™ve been here for five days. It feels like home. Really comfortable, really safe and really inclusive.ā€

Schuster and 10 other students from all three universities worked together on the global capstone project, the third semester for such a collaboration. Itā€™s an extension of a 25-year partnership between 51ĀŅĀ× and Leipzig University; Hong Kong Baptist joined in a few years ago, said Dr. Robert Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

ā€œOver those 25 years, weā€™ve had a lot of different initiatives, a lot of different faculty involved. Right now, the hot thing that weā€™re working on is this communication management, strategic communication,ā€ Stewart said.

OHIO and Leipzig officially began a partnership in 1992 and signed an agreement in 1994 to help ensure that students and faculty at both universities are well prepared for the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly interconnected world. In 2000, the was created to provide OHIO students the opportunity to connect with Leipzig through an interdisciplinary summer program.

Chuck Borghese, a lecturer in Scripps, has worked with the partnership for the past three semesters on strategic communications and marketing. In the past, students have focused on products like candy bars and Microsoft, but to give a deeper, more authentic experience, this time the team focused on messaging ideas for an entity they could address directly ā€“ 51ĀŅĀ× itself.

The students ā€“ Natalie Butko, Jordan Kelley, Avery Kerns and Hannah Wintucky from OHIO, Schuster, Christopher Golombek, Maximilian Hofmann, Josefine Pohle and Jan Reinholz from Leipzig, and Sam Cho and Angela Cheung from Hong Kong Baptist ā€“ interviewed international students at 51ĀŅĀ× to find out what attracted them here and what they liked about the 51ĀŅĀ× experience. From there they worked on what kind of message would be most likely to attract more students in the future.

Their conclusion was that the current messaging feels more targeted toward parents and the facts of the University, whereas the students are more likely to be attracted to the American experience.

Cheung pointed out that in many international universities, including her own, students arenā€™t particularly close; they go to class, and go home again, without much interaction outside the classroom. 51ĀŅĀ× brings a completely different experience.

ā€œI really feel a sense of community. Students are engaging; they love to ask questions,ā€ she said.

The group suggested 51ĀŅĀ×ā€™s messaging should capitalize on that experience beyond the classroom, to let international students know not just how the university is, but how life is here.

ā€œOur team proposes the implementation of an engaging campaign that shows international students that OHIO provides the quintessential American experience,ā€ Wintucky said. ā€œWhen international students want to come to the United States, theyā€™re not looking for an experience that is like that of their home. They want something that is different; they want something that is new.ā€

Borghese said having international students interviewing other international students lent more authenticity to the results.

ā€œI think the students really took a deep dive into what is actually, truly thought and felt and experienced by the international students,ā€ he said. ā€œItā€™s a positive outcome; we heard some really great things about what the experience is like, and I think some surprising things, where the international student embraces this quintessential American experience, and since thatā€™s true and we get such a positive reaction to that, thatā€™s something we should think about in our messaging.

ā€œThis University is all about community,ā€ Borghese added. ā€œTo a European or international student in general who is used to an experience that is just going to classes and going home and not having this sort of community, this is really a positive possibility.ā€

Schuster and the others said the international students they interviewed all honed in more on the OHIO experience than on strictly academics.

ā€œI think the community is the biggest part. That everybody is really inclusive, that people are open-minded, outgoing and open to meeting new people,ā€ Schuster said. ā€œEverybody noticed right away that people are nice, and that people are welcoming and that you can really find a home away from home, which is really important if youā€™re staying for such a long time.ā€

, honorary professor of corporate communications at Leipzig University who accompanied his students to Athens, said the international communications experience is invaluable for the students involved.

ā€œItā€™s intercultural exchange, intercultural communication skills. Thatā€™s important for any kind of business, what you do in the world, for the future,ā€ he said. ā€œAmerica is right in the middle of the global world.ā€

The Leipzig and Hong Kong Baptist students left town the day after their presentation, but there are more chances for interaction. The three university teams will convene again in Hong Kong over Spring Break, followed by a trip to Leipzig University in June.