As part of its EuroBlog investigation into the impact of social media on public relations practice, Euprera will make three awards at its February Symposium at Ghent, in Belgium, February 2010. Each winner will receive a prize of 250€.

The awards are open to anyone connected to a European University or University College – you may be studying now, or have recently graduated.

Candidates must have maintained an online presence equivalent to at least ten weblog posts before the deadline for entries, Friday  January 8, 2010, and the core topic of their content must be connected to communications/ public relations.

One award will be made to a student studying for a first degree (perhaps a BA or BSc), one will be made to a postgraduate and the third will be made at the discretion of the judges and may be the result of a nomination from a person other than the author of the blog. The awards panel is chaired by one of the world’s leading PR bloggers, Neville Hobson (www.neville-hobson.com).

The winning entrants will be invited to make a short presentation on their work at the Euprera Spring Symposium, at Arteveldehogeschool, Ghent, Belgium, February 25-27, 2010. Agreed travel and accommodation expenses will be paid for by the Award organisers (details in the rules).

See How to Enter: The Rules. EUPRERA Spring Symposium: call for papers (pdf).

The survey, by Professor Tench and colleagues from European research universities specialising in public relations and corporate communications, was supported by the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) and provides significant insight into the dynamics of communication management and public relations in Europe. The international research is based on a sample of 1,524 senior professionals from 37 countries.

The European Communication Monitor (ECM) 2008 research has been conducted across Europe and led from the UK. The research team included communications researchers from universities in ten countries, led by Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfass from the University of Leipzig, Germany.

The European Communication Monitor (ECM) 2008 research analyses the changing framework for public relations professionals in communication departments and agencies. It identifies strategic issues, fields of practice and instruments and how they gain or loose importance. Moreover, specific topics like interactive channels, corporate social responsibility, intercultural challenges, influence on management decisions, cooperation with agencies and future budgets are questioned and discussed in detail. The report includes qualitative and quantitative data which was collected during the summer and autumn of 2008.

Some of the summary findings from the 37 country’s research are that three out of four PR professionals in Europe are involved in Corporate Social Responsibility and strategy and measurement are highlighted as major issues for the future.

The research was sponsored by Cision and the Communication Director magazine.  The full report with discussion of results and findings and visual charts is available online at www.communicationmonitor.eu.