Edition 2 of the case study competition RiseUp PR + for 2024 has been launched with 6 national colleges, this is an initiative of PRmoment and Hill and Knowlton in India. These include IIMC Delhi, St Joseph's College Bangalore and Jagran Lakecity University Bhopal.
Speaking at the formal launch in December, Bashar AlKadhi, chief executive officer, of Hill & Knowlton EMEAx (Continental Europe, Nordics, Middle East, Turkey, India, Africa), announced that the prize money is being doubled this year to Rs. 150,000 from Edition 1.
AlKadhi added, "People always ask me what keeps you awake at night, and it's talent. And it's the right talent coming into the industry. Earlier we talked about being energised by young talent. They are very different from when we grew up. They are purpose-led and digitally savvy. And that's, that's amazing that they bring this. But also you've got to mix that with the right attitude. Especially in our business, we always talk about PR as a team game. So how can you be a team player, but also with a winning mentality? So combining all this, to bring in that type of talent through initiatives like this, it's amazing. And we're so happy to be involved with it."
Abhishek Gulyani, CEO, of Hill and Knowlton in India said, "RiseUp PR + Edition 2 will give communication students the chance to explore and apply the latest thinking and tools in PR, equipping them with practical skills and knowledge to excel in the field of public relations. The PR profession is evolving very rapidly and through RiseUp we hope to be able to empower communication students to gain a hands-on understanding of what their work will be like once they enter the job market."
Paarul Chand, editor, of PRmoment India felt that "RiseUp will empower PR students to establish a solid foundation for their future work. By creating case studies, they will have the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills to solve real-world brand challenges, preparing them for the demands of the PR industry."
RiseUp Edition 2 formal launch
The launch event was attended by winners of RiseUp+ Edition 1, mentors and jury for Edition 2, and professors and directors from participating colleges.
The competition has a unique two-step process. The participants received hands-on guidance about how to construct a campaign plan (in response to a case study) from a stellar list of mentors drawn from inside and outside the communications industry.
Snapshot of the launch, December 2023
The RiseUp+ Edition 2 Colleges, Mentor Panel and Jury
One 3-member team from each of the following 6 national participating colleges are taking part in the first edition of RiseUP PR + 2024.
Participating Colleges
| IIMC Delhi, Delhi |
| School of COmmunications & REputation, Mumbai |
| Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University |
| Jagran Lakecity University Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
St. Joseph's College, Bangalore |
| Christ University, Bangalore |
The RiseUp PR + 2024 mentors are:
Heena Kanal, Sr. vice president & head corporate communications & archives, Cipla
Aditee Dutta, manager of communications and policy, Azure Power
Amrita Sarna, communications lead, Unilever International
Varghese Thomas, chief communications officer, Greaves Cotton Limited
Seema Siddiqui, director of communications, Microsoft India
Diksha Verma, PR and communications specialist, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Bhavya Sharma, director - communications & ESG, Urban Company
Shubhangi Mehta, Global Channels marketing leader, Soroco
Bhavna Imran, communications leader - South Asia, Corteva Agriscience
Jasrita Dhir, director of marketing and communications, Karkinos Healthcare
Mrinall Dey, vice president & head - PR & Corporate Communications, MobiKwik
Apeksha Mishra, head of corporate communications & content at Policybazaar.com
The RiseUp PR+ Jury
Jury co-chair: Nandini Chatterjee, chief marketing & communications Officer, PwC India
Jury co-chair: Abhishek Gulyani, CEO, Hill and Knowlton Strategies India
Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, chief creative office, Acko
Sujit Patil, vice president and head - corporate brand and communications, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies
Gayatri Rath, international markets communications, GE Aerospace
Rohit Dubey, vice president - corporate communications & advocacy, Jio
Roopa Nagaraju, head of marketing and public relations, Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions
Deepa Dey, head communication & sustainability, nutrition and special projects, Hindustan Unilever Limited
Neeta Linz, general manager, LG Electronics
Multi-stakeholder PR talent programme
The jury will pick the top 3 winners, with the top winning team
receiving Rs. 150,000/- in prize money.
Moushumi Dutt, RiseUP PR+2024 director said, "RiseUP PR+, as the title conveys, is a step taken in the right direction to raise and give the next gen of communication professionals, a close and unique opportunity to experience the real world of practices in PR. The support from the best and the brightest PR and comms professionals as mentors and jury, adds serious credibility to the program".
Dutt added, "This initiative from PRmoment and Hill and Knowlton will, I hope, give all the new and fresh upcoming PR professionals a taste of what makes this space an exciting function which has good career prospects. This is why the role of our mentors and our jury is very important and all their guidance tips and a few tricks will indeed be the biggest takeaway for all our participants who have come on board for the first edition of this contest. It is about time that we raise the participation of our very diverse and hugely talented PR resources, RiseUP PR+ is the very first step taken in the right direction."
The final winners will be announced in early March.
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