September 20, 2007

Students to work with media in Beijing during 2008 Olympics

The Beijing Olympics and the Communication University of China invited Purdue to send 15 to 25 Purdue students to work with the English-speaking media, such as BBC, NBC and CNN, as well as the Associated Press and The New York Times during the Aug. 8-24, 2008 Games in Beijing. Communication faculty member Jane Natt will lead the class, and students will receive course and internship credit in this study abroad experience. Purdue's class will be partially sponsored by the Confucius Institute at Purdue.

"Not only will the Olympic Media Liaison Project provide students with valuable professional skills but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of such a magnificent event," said Howard Sypher, professor and head of the Department of Communication. "We anticipate most students will be communication majors, which is part of our agreement with our Chinese partners, but we will open this up to exceptional students in related majors at Purdue. We are also excited to be working with some of the best journalism and communication programs in the country in supporting this premier international event."

Other participating universities are the University of Missouri, the University of Iowa and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Before leaving for China, the Purdue students will participate in Chinese language and culture sessions provided by Purdue's Confucius Institute. The students will arrive a month before the games for intensive on-site training. Purdue is being assisted by Yang Dong, a professor from the Communication University of China who is a visiting scholar in the Department of Communication during this academic year.

The Communication University of China, which is one of the top-ranked communication programs in China, will provide campus housing and training for the students selected for the program. Purdue students will be responsible for tuition and transportation.

Sypher said the students will write daily blogs about their experiences in China that will be made available to their hometown newspapers and television stations.

"The idea is to make this a local event by sharing these Purdue students' international experiences with Indiana communities and others in the United States," Sypher said.

Students interested in obtaining more information should contact Howard Sypher at (765) 494-3300 or hsypher@purdue.edu  or Jane Natt at (765) 494-3322, natt@purdue.edu.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Howard Sypher, (765) 494-3300, hsypher@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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