Peer-2-Peer Social Media Campaign

Match Studio is a dynamic research and learning space at the University of South Australia (UniSA) where interdisciplinary teams of students, academics and researchers engage, think, learn, and co-create innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Match Studio partners teaching and work-integrated learning (WIL) with research and industry-linked projects, drawing from a suite of collaborative facilitation tools, using design thinking and co-design methods to identify and articulate a challenge, and then develop solutions that will deliver outcomes that are designed to make a difference.

In 2016 Match Studios took part in a global competition titled The Peer-2-Peer (P2P) Social Media Campaign, which was run by the US State Department and Facebook. The competition required students to develop a P2P social media campaign aimed at reducing the risk of youth drifting into violent extremism. A team of 16 students based in the disciplines of journalism, marketing, graphic design and information technology, came together to form a multi-disciplinary mock-public relations agency, The Link Collective to develop their campaign #StopISILation. As part of their course, the team created and delivered a detailed communications and social media strategy that can be viewed on the website www.stopisilation.org. Students participating in the competition and developing the social media campaign did so through a credit-bearing Match Studio elective.

In 2017, Match Studio scaled up the original P2P competition, this time partnering with the South Australian Police (SAPOL) and working with 40 students in 5 interdisciplinary teams to develop a P2P social media campaign focusing on topic Party Safe. Drawing from their own discipline-specific skill-sets and knowledge the students collaboratively researched, designed, developed, prototyped and tested a ‘party safe’ social media campaign with the aim to combat young South Australians poor drinking habits and the societal issues they carry. Teams pitched their campaigns to SAPOL’s communications team in late October 2017. You can read more abu the winning team and the project here.

SAPOL and Match Studio will partner again in 2018, with the P2P social media campaign focusing on the topic of Drug Driving.

Impact / outcomes

Students: the P2P Social Media Campaign provides students with the opportunity to engage in learning and knowledge exchange outside the traditional academic paradigms. It exposes them to a range of methodological approaches and ways of thinking, including an introduction and application of collaborative problem solving and team-based skills. It also provides students with an opportunity to develop and extend their networks and contributes to the evidence base of their professional portfolio.

Community Partners: are provided with feasible and well-researched proposals for innovations, and report being inspired by the experience of working with the students.

Teaching Staff: provides teaching staff with an innovative opportunity to engage with community partners and students in a meaningful and interesting way.

Student Assessment

Each team presents their P2P Social Media Campaign to a representative from SAPOL and an assessment team at a formal presentation night. Further assessment is then required depending on the student’s degree. For example, marketing and communications students submitted a marketing and communications plan and graphic design students submitted a design portfolio which was assessed by the Course Coordinator and an assessment team including an industry representative.

Evaluation

The P2P Social Media Campaign student consultancy model will form part of a sociometric research project which includes elements of evaluation. The paper reports on student interactions occurring in an interdisciplinary course employing group work. The aim of this study was to examine the student’s experience of interdisciplinary teamwork and interactions between team members whilst undertaking a client focused, project-based learning course.