Daystar emerges second during annual PRSK bootcamp

By Benjamin Wanguba

On Wednesday, Daystar University emerged as the first runners up during the annual Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) bootcamp. The PRSK bootcamp is an annual event, where various Universities from across the country come together for mentorship from industry professionals and thereafter engage in a PR competition amongst the attending schools. The theme of this year’s event was ‘Sustainable PR practices in a Disrupted World.’

During the competition, The Multimedia University of Kenya (MMU) emerged victorious with 148 points with Daystar University coming closely in second place with 145 points and Mount Kenya University finishing in 3rd. This was an improvement as the team that represented the school in the previous year’s event had emerged 3^rd in an event where St. Paul’s University won the overall bootcamp. The Daystar team, which was comprised mostly of Public Relations and other Communication students was brought together by the Public Relations Association of Daystar (PRAD). The association has been one of the most active clubs in the school in the last year and has been organizing events whilst actively recruiting students to its ranks, even previously being recognized as the best association during the Clubs and Association (CLASS) week in Athi River.

Wendy Rugut, the association’s Finance Manager, expressed her joy over the outcome of the Bootcamp. “I am very happy with our team. Even though we did not emerge as the top, we put in a good fight and it was a great experience overall. Getting to network with our peers as well as these distinguished mentors was a fun experience and I am looking forward to the bootcamp next year,” Ms. Rugut said.

The bootcamp usually consists of two parts. During the first session, the attendees attend a special session where they get to listen to industry professionals who speak about their experience in the field of PR as well as offer guidance to the students. This year’s bootcamp saw noteworthy individual’s address the students. First to go up on stage was Ruth Chitwa, The Communications Manager at Living Goods Kenya. She was followed by Peter Mwaura, the Corporate Communications manager at KCB Group. Next up was Evelyn Serro, the Sustainability Manager at Safaricom PLC followed by Ms. Maureen Mambo, the Director of Nation Brand Development, Marketing and Communication at KEPROBA. To sum up the presentations came Cleophas Agwanda who currently serves as the Marketing Manager at IMAX Africa Ltd.

During the final session, the speakers create a challenge for the participating schools, where the students are expected to pitch a campaign in about 5 mins. This year’s campaign centered around communicating the actions of Climate Change and how they affect Sustainable development. The speakers then participate as the judges during this section.

PRAD President Shirlene Omondi congratulated the PRSK for the organizing of a stellar. “The event was fun and educational and despite taking the second place, we were able to learn from the other competitors and identify where we made mistakes during the case study challenge,” she said.