The PRCA has announced a new partnership with 11 universities across the UK for students of PR and communications that will roll out as the 2011 academic year begins.

Students at the partner universities will get free membership of the PRCA and a whole host of other benefits – including unlimited free access to PRCA online training courses and access to networking events, work placements and graduate schemes.

The PR and Communications teams of the universities will also get corporate membership of the PRCA. The initiative provides a way for PR and comms students to get an insight into the professional world, and Francis Ingham, chief executive, also believes that PR agencies and in-house practitioners will benefit from developing relationships with undergraduates.

One of the universities participating in the scheme is the University of Lincoln. Jane Crofts, PR lecturer and course leader at that university’s School of Journalism, comments: “Links to employers really add value to programmes of study and the skills inputs the PRCA will provide can only enhance the academic content of our offering.”

The universities taking part are:

Bournemouth
Buckinghamshire New
Cardiff
DeMontfort
Greenwich
King’s College London
Leeds Met
Lincoln
London College of Arts
Manchester Met
Westminster