Business Communication Concentration
Belgium is the business gateway to Europe giving Vesalius College students excellent opportunities to prepare for a business career or graduate school. Brussels ranks as the 11th largest commercial power worldwide and the 8th largest trading partner of the U.S. While Antwerp is the world diamond industry capital of the world and its port the second-largest in Europe, Brussels is the “Capital of Europe” and home to European Union institutions and the representations of every single European industry. At the same time, some 2,000 international corporations—1,300 of them American—have based their European affairs office and headquarters operations in Brussels.
With Brussels being such a large hub of international business, Vesalius College students get excellent opportunities to attend a wide variety of business conferences, meet representatives and take an internship through the Vesalius College Internship Programme to provide them with valuable work experience to help get a head start on their career.
Specialised Courses
In addition to the Major Requirement courses Introduction to Organisational Communication, Media Management, and Marketing Communication and Advertising, students who choose to take a concentration on Business Communication should take the following three CMM Major Electives:
Corporate Communication & Public Relations - CMM 242E
Examines the specificity and characteristics of the various mechanisms that have arisen under the cover of corporate communications. Particular attention is paid to strategy development and evaluation in corporate communications, with students researching and assessing the quality and nature of the communication flow within an organisation or company of their choice. Public relations are discussed by evaluating numerous cases (from corporations to media empires) that call for a number of possible PR strategic responses. Includes practicals.
Business Writing - CMM301E
This project-based course covers the complete process of business communication writing from the development of print and graphic materials (long reports, grant proposals, business plans, correspondence), through the management of information as text and/or images, to participation in meetings and the preparation and presentation of oral arguments. In addition, the course is designed to instill a sense of professionalism through prompt, accurate, and conscientious fulfillment of assignments, and ensure that students develop ethical standards relevant to professional communication.
Lobbying in the EU - CMM 346E
With Brussels the home of 1,400 lobbying organisations employing 15,000 public affairs specialists whose task is to facilitate dialogue between private or public organisations and the decision-makers of the European Union, this course focuses on the methods lobbyists use within these organisations to follow, analyse and even influence the decisions of the European Union.
Students also choose one course from the following list:
- BUS 111E: Business Law
- BUS 211E: Human Resource Management
- BUS 213E: Management of Innovation and Technical Change
- BUS 231E: Marketing
- BUS 251E: Information Systems
- BUS 302E: International Business Negotiations