Why Study Communication

Because communication is a growing and expanding area of activity. Large digital companies today occupy the very first places among the most prominent companies by turnover, so much so that their CEOs have become public figures and almost contemporary heroes. Politicians use the most advanced communication tools and techniques to convey their messages and to obtain and maintain consensus. Billions of people on Earth work in the information sector and occupy their free time by entertaining or exchanging messages with various communication tools. Therefore, there is no doubt that communication is pervasive in everyday reality today. Moreover, a sector that is growing rapidly: few other sectors are more relevant than communication today.

Because communication is at the very heart of major economic and cultural transformations. Macro phenomena such as climate change, migrations, new local and global geopolitical structures, or the growth of new inequalities can all be interpreted thanks to the tools provided by communication disciplines. Communication has also produced new opportunities and challenges for today's world. The ongoing digital transformation, for example, has enabled forms of global interconnection unthinkable until a few decades ago, fostered collaboration between people geographically dispersed, speeded up the production, distribution and consumption of information, and democratised access to knowledge. But all these opportunities have also generated new challenges and problems: the growing (and worrisome) misinformation performed by public institutions, the issues of privacy and control of private data, and the development of forms of dependence on communication tools. This increasingly complex and fragmented landscape, which is difficult to read, must be studied and understood to be managed and guided best.

Because communication is a complex discipline and requires professionals. Studying communication and its complex economic and social implications means interpreting and understanding the transformations taking place in our society, acquiring awareness and a capacity for action and guidance of contemporary culture and society. For these reasons, communication professionals are among the most sought-after; they play an increasingly important role in companies and institutions and must adapt to the constant changes in society. If communication is now central to society, studying communication allows being at the heart of the labour market and to be among the best-equipped professionals to drive political, economic and social change.