The Institute of Cognitive Modeling launches «The Press Secretary School»

The Institute of Cognitive Modeling has started recruiting students for its own training course «The Press Secretary School». Among the lecturers of this project are the most successful practitioners in the field of communication technologies, well-known politicians and public officials, top journalists, as well as press secretaries and speakers of Ukrainian ministries.

The training starts on September 18, and the program will last 8 weeks in absolute offline mode with maximum immersion in current practices and effective strategies for the work of a modern press secretary.

The recruitment process has already started, and future students can apply on the website. 

Only 15 people will be enrolled in the training based on the results of the entrance task, and at the end of the course, the best graduates of the «The Press Secretary School» will have the opportunity to complete an internship in the press services of Ukrainian state authorities.

Among the speakers will be top specialists of specialized industries: social technologists, sociologists, journalists, media managers, rhetoricians, stylists, psychologists, communicators, and press secretaries, statesmen, as well as star guests who will share practical knowledge, reveal some secrets of their work and show the real behind-the-scenes work of the press secretary with the client. Lectures for students of the course will be given by Viktor Berezenko, Dmytro Tsarenko, Svitlana Paveletska, Pavlo Orlov, Roman Kravets, Georgy Tikhy, Regina Huseynova, Vladyslav Gruzinsky, Oksana Bogdanova, Anna Tkachenko, Yulia Vernigor, Spartak Subbota, and others.

Viktor Berezenko, founder of ICM: «In our long-term work in the field of Public Communications, we constantly face the problem of selecting qualified personnel for our clients. And the position of the press officer is always extremely difficult to close. A candidate for this position must instantly meet all the requirements since there is no time to study and get up to speed and dive into the specifics of the work. Actually, the market is sorely lacking in professional personnel. This course will definitely be easy neither for us, the organizers and lecturers nor for students. Our task is to systematize all the necessary knowledge needed for a modern press secretary, and actually turn our students into specialists in 2 months, so after that they will be hunted by famous clients. Therefore, this course is not a place for «random people». We select students even before enrollment so that they are absolutely aware of the choice and further serious systematic work.»

The course program discloses the tools of the press secretary; students will learn how to form information flows and manage them; how to use external newsbreaks to push through their agenda; work with media representatives and bloggers «for love», and not for money. Speakers will pay special attention to stage speech and public speaking skills, etc.

After completing the course, graduates of the «The Press Secretary School» will be able to:

  • confidently build and implement a communication strategy for the client,
  • manage the information field and work effectively with the media and bloggers,
  • prepare the client to communicate with media representatives and the public,
  • work with the client’s image,
  • write simple and clear texts,
  • be an influencer itself and avoid being manipulated and provoked by others.

The course plan is rich in the analysis of real cases of the world and domestic politics and tools for working out crises, which will allow students to prepare for professional activities as a press secretary of a politician or any state body or institution immediately after receiving a diploma.

The course is curated by Roman Kravets, a political commentator and interviewer for the online media «Ukrainska Pravda», author of a video blog on the YouTube channel «Kravets blog» and winner of the Kyiv Post top 30 Under 30 award. Between journalists and press secretaries, there are often problems in communication and assessment of the situation. Therefore, it is the media representative who can talk about the real needs of journalists and how to build a truly winning relationship between both sides. 

Information:

The Institute of Cognitive Modeling is a research company that deals with social technologies and works in the field of Social Communications.

ICM experts provide advice on strategic image formation, public positioning, and digital technologies.

ICM also conducts sociological research and research in the field of social psychology, develops educational and psychotherapeutic products in corporate psychology, conducts individual therapy sessions, and organizes author’s lectures.

ICM cooperates with organizations, parties, foundations, companies, and institutions: the Red Cross of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, TV channels Kyiv.Live and Odesa.Live, political parties «Sluga Narodu» and «Holos», charity foundations Caritas Kyiv, Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, brands Tsum Kyiv, Uber, SOCAR, GAPCHINSKA.

Cases of ICM:

  • communication support for the Ministry of Health of Ukraine during the COVID-19 pandemic,
  • Pro bono community project «Coronavirus_info» in Viber and Telegram,
  • online psychological support platform «Tell me»,
  • online platform for victims of domestic violence «It seems»,
  • Viber community «School_info»,
  • non-public cases protected by the NDA.