It’s not every day that a college is given the opportunity to visit the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main building in Whitehall, London and see how the MOD gets its message out to the media. Six NULC Public Services students were given special permission by the MOD to visit the Directorate of Media and Communications (DMC) as part of their Media and the Public Services Foundation degree module.
During the visit they were hosted by Commander Paul Haines Royal Navy who provided a tour of the building, and explained the functions of the DMC. The highlight of the tour was a question and answer session with the Head of Navy Public Relations, Captain Andy Aspden Royal Navy, on his job, DMC’s interaction with the media and how the MOD reacts to defence related breaking news from around the UK and the World.
The visit provided the students with first hand witness research material for their assignments and presentations.
Foundation degree student Ben Jones said: “As far I am aware, no other college has been granted this level of access to the DMC. I felt that Commander Haines and Captain Aspden had a genuine interest in our course and wanted us to know as much about their area of work as the MOD rules would allow”.
Public Services Foundation degree Lecturer Paul Morris who organised the visit said: “The students really appreciated this visit and I for one was proud of them in the way they approached the visit and had carried out significant research in preparation for the trip.”
The Foundation degree course is a 2 year part-time vocational programme, accredited by Staffordshire University. On successful completion of the Foundation degree students may progress on to the final stage (Level 6) of the BA. (Hons) Public Services Management Degree at Staffordshire University. To find out more about the course follow click here.
