Student Stephen chosen to organise DIT communications conference
A WICKLOW town student has been selected to organise the first ever DIT PR, Event Management and Communications Conference to take place at the college’s Aungier Street campus.
Journalists, PR professionals, and directors from some of the country’s leading businesses will all be present at the conference with each providing students with their expertise and guidance about their future prospects.
Stephen Hanlon, who is studying for a masters degree in Public Relations, was chosen as the best candidate for the job by fellow classmates and members of the Public Relations and Public Affairs (PRPA) Society committee, which is he also a member of.
Stephen understands that organising the conference will prove quite the challenge.
‘I was really honoured to be chosen to organise the event. I have an excellent team supporting me and we are hard at work making our final prepa- rations for the conference,’ he said.
The aim of the conference is to help postgraduate and final year students manage a better understanding of the options available to them after graduating. They will also get the opportunity to gain important contacts who can help them identify perspective job opportunities that become available.
‘ The sheer volume of young people, many of them students, leaving Ireland is frightening. They graduate from college and struggle to find employment. We want this conference to be a way of showing these students that there is indeed work out there if you can acquire the right contacts and that leaving isn’t always the best option,’ says Stephen.
Among the professionals who will also attend the conference are Irish Independent news editor Liam Collins, PR academic and author Ellen Gunning, and Director of Marketing at Arnotts Louise Conlon.