The winners
Bachelor
In the Bachelor category, Jessie van Balkom, a student from Breda University of Applied Sciences won with her thesis 'The influence of style and motivation on the consumption of videos on the intranet of Stedin.'
"When I wrote my bachelor’s I never thought about using it for a competition. My thesis was accompanied by an internship where I also produced 50 videos for their internal and external corporate communication channels. The research of my thesis was therefore immediately of value for my own work. But to have my work recognised and appreciated on an international level in the Edcom Graduation Competition is truly amazing. I am currently taking a master’s and this is a great boost of confidence. Thank you very much!"
Jassie Van Balkom, Breda University of Applied Sciences, 2023 Winner
"Jessie is an outstanding student who exemplifies the best qualities of our graduates: applying her hard-earned knowledge and experience to making a positive impact in the world. Jessie brought great energy, determination and focus to her studies and truly deserves this wonderful accolade. Congratulations!"
Mark McInnis, Breda University of Applied Sciences
Master
In the Master's category Rebecca Daul from FH WIEN won the first prize with her work 'The Influence of Digital Storytelling on the Customer Journey for Vacation Trips of the Austrian Generation Y.'
“Everyone always told me that I should choose a Master thesis topic that interests me deeply, both professionally and personally, because I will spend a lot of time on it. With my master thesis about the influence of digital storytelling on the customer journey for vacation trips of the Austrian generation Y I found exactly that.
I look back at the time of writing my master thesis as a challenging but rewarding time. It was oddly satisfying to watch the raw pieces of information I gathered and the research I conducted fit together into one paper. I worked full-time while writing this paper and poured all my remaining time and energy into it, so being first rewarded by my university by nominating me and also on a European level by edcom Graduation Competition is a great honor and proves me that hard work always pays off.”
I look back at the time of writing my master thesis as a challenging but rewarding time. It was oddly satisfying to watch the raw pieces of information I gathered and the research I conducted fit together into one paper. I worked full-time while writing this paper and poured all my remaining time and energy into it, so being first rewarded by my university by nominating me and also on a European level by edcom Graduation Competition is a great honor and proves me that hard work always pays off.”
Rebecca Daul, FH Wien, 2023 Winner
“It is a special honor for me as Head of Department and for the lecturers too that one of our student takes first place in this Europe-wide competition. Rebecca's research demonstrated a high academic level that has proven itself in an international environment. Her study deals with current challenges in digital communication practice, thus striking the perfect link between theory and application-oriented research. In terms of content, the results show how important storytelling as a communication tool is, namely telling your target group an outstanding story and thus emotionally picking them up. Especially, a young target group wants to build relationships with companies or brands and get emotionally bound. This is a prerequisite for recommendation and positive word-of-mouth. In a world full of digital information overload, a company can effectively differentiate itself by this measure, namely communication stories that touch someone’s heart. Congratulations to Rebecca for this great success!”
Dr. Sieglinde Martin, FH Wien
