Whispers: Dividends from SUSI 2013 Program

By: Kelly Fisher
IIJ Assistant, Ambassador



Nearly eight months after departing for their home countries, the scholars of the 2013 Study of the U.S. Institute program on journalism and media have shared some of the most important things they learned from SUSI, and how they have incorporated them into their work.

•Sharon Wilson, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia

Dr. Jacqueline has incorporated the material from the SUSI lectures and consultations in her lectures, such as upgrading to new technology and utilizing social media — Skype, YouTube, blogs, and others — to use in the classroom, as recommended by Scripps School of Journalism Associate Professor Mary Rogus and the college dean, Dr. Scott Titsworth.

“I used to be a very conservative teacher before,” she said. “Now I am more laid back and practice lots of flexibility, and this is well received by my students.”

Aside from teaching, Dr. Wilson has been working on several projects; she has spoken with her SUSI colleagues about a research manuscript, which 2013 SUSI scholar, Sleiman El Bsswmai said Professor Bill Reader is actively helping them to produce.  Dr. prepared to serve as a panelist or a forum in Mynmar next month on Journalists’ challenges and problems as well as working on visual framing and e-learning for UTAR.

•Egidio Vaz Raposo, CEC, Mozambique

Thanks to the SUSI program, SUSI 2013 alumnus Egidio Vaz Raposo said he learned to effectively incorporate multiple tools into the classroom, such as video, photo and audio, in addition to what he had used before.

Vaz Raposo focuses on multimedia, web and editorial journalism, and uses materials from Scripps professors Bill Reader, Jatin Sirvastrava and Mary Rogus. He is also conducting research on media and conflict in Mozambique, for which he uses materials provided by Dr. Yusuf Kalyango, IIJ Director.



•Sibongile Mpofu, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe

SUSI scholar Mpofu has filled her time researching the representation of women in politics in light of the Zimbabwean election in 2013. Although she is still in the process of gathering data amidst her busy schedule at the university, she checks in with Dr. Sirvastrava for assistance in writing the paper.

“The sessions we had at Ohio on advertising and PR and visits to Google and AT&T Park were good for me because I have an advertising class this semester, and I am using a lot of examples from the U.S.,” she said of her experience with SUSI.

She added that the AEMJC conference in Washington D.C. inspired her to pursue research on social media and public sphere in Zimbabwe.

•Anand Pradhan, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, India

Dr. Pradhan is working on two books, which he hopes to have completed by the middle of this year. He also attended a session in an international conference organized by Ohio University’s Instiotute for International Journalism and Padmawati Womens University in Tirupati, India.

He, Prof. Rogus and a few other scholars submitted a panel proposal for the next Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference, which was accepted for presentation in Montreal, Canada in August 2014.

Pradhan expressed his gratitude for those involved in the SUSI program, and indicated that he plans to work with the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, again in the future.

“The SUSI experience was a life changing experience — I really mean it,” he said.

•Consuelo Aguirre, Universidad de los Hemisferios, Ecuador

SUSI scholar Aguirre said that the Director of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Dr. Bob Stewart, was key to providing help in research on digital content consumption, which Aguirre has been working on in Ecuador.

He also stressed the importance of staying in touch with the other SUSI scholars:

“The SUSI program is a great opportunity to create networks of scholars around the world,” he said. “Dr. Kalyango, Mary Rogus and the whole team [at] Ohio University [is doing] a great job and I am very thankful.”