Salomé Kobavala

Salomé graduated from the programme in 2017. At the moment she is planning to earn a second Master’s degree, this time in Sociology and Social Anthropology at the Central European University in Budapest and Vienna. She works as a freelance journalist and social media coordinator. In the following sections, she describes her experiences of Lund University and the programme, as well as her plans for the future.

Choosing media and communication at Lund University
Salomé explains how she made the choice of what to study: ‘I chose this degree subject because I wanted to get advanced academic training in communication and media, the field in which I had been working for several years previously and continue to work up to date. Naturally, I wanted to accomplish my goal in a high-ranking, prestigious university which is why I chose Lund’.

The value of the programme and Lund is two-fold, says Salome, ‘Not only has Lund University provided me with valuable knowledge base, it has also opened doors to opportunities and personal relations that I doubt would have existed for me without my time there.’

The Lund University experience: ‘Immersive in education’
Salomé describes her experience of Lund university as a ‘very immersive education environment which was accommodated by a great library and campus facilities’, as well as a place where she made friends with ‘great people’ and ‘got instructed by wonderful teachers’.

Advice for future students and thesis writing
During the fourth and final semester of the programme, students carry out their own independent thesis project and write a master’s thesis. Salome urges future students to think about what they’d like to focus on in their project early on, but to not only focus on studies: ‘Try to put aside time for extracurricular activities and when possible, apply the knowledge you pick up in the classroom in those activities. Do your readings and know your thesis topic in the beginning of your program. If you do that, you’ll handle the whole thesis semester efficiently and the quality of your dissertation will be so much better.’

Salomé wrote her thesis on audience engagement with ‘Westworld’ and issues of AI. ‘My thesis explored audience engagement patterns with contemporary TV shows based on the case of “Westworld” and the ways in which this show provided space for identity work for its viewers. Another goal of my thesis was to examine cultural narratives around the theme of artificial intelligence which I did through the lens of the Westworld audience.’

The thesis work ‘taught me how to push myself beyond my limits’
The thesis research is an independent project carried out by students, with support and guidance from a supervisor. All supervisors at the department hold PhDs and have previous experience supervising thesis work. Salomé says that her supervisor ‘taught me how to approach and conduct qualitative research’, and that the project itself ‘taught me how to be a good interviewer, and how to structure and write a lengthy dissertation’. ‘Most importantly,’ she says, ‘it taught me how to push myself beyond my limits and accomplish a project that may seem too challenging in the beginning’.

After graduation
Salomé worked for a Tbilisi (Georgia) based human rights NGO as a communications manager shortly after graduation from Lund University.  After that, she has kept on working as a journalist. ‘Right now,’ she says, ‘I freelance for various online media organizations’.

In the future she wants to focus on  applied research, which is why she is taking another research-oriented Master’s Degree program at the Central European University in Budapest and Vienna.Salome describes her experience of Lund university as a ‘very immersive education environment which was accommodated by a great library and campus facilities’, as well as a place where she made friends with ‘great people’ and ‘got instructed by wonderful teachers’.