Hi, I am Sulagna (alias: Su) an Indian native who absolutely loves her Indian food. After spending a few years pumping my adrenaline in Indian PR agencies, I relocated to Cork in August 2022 to pursue my academic and professional goals.
I truly believe that mass communication exists at the intersection of empathy and technology. In short, a career in communication requires a storyteller’s instinct and a scientific temper. It’s this exact symbiosis that has drawn me to this field.
My first intrigue in this field started with a book by Michael Massing, “Now They Tell Us”, which taught me the importance of journalism and the impact of news. During this time, I was applying for colleges and was very sure that I wanted to pursue mass communication. I was introduced to PR eight years ago in a rather small chapter of mass communication in my final year of the undergraduate program at the University of Calcutta, India. I had the opportunity to get hands-on experience through internships at media houses and companies that required marketing support. This experience helped me pick my postgraduate diploma in Corporate Communication and Event Management from Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. This program validated my career choice and helped me determine my core competencies as a PR aspirant.
I started my first job with Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) India, followed by the largest Indian PR agency, Adfactors PR, where I worked with both global and Indian brands. Translating my theoretical knowledge into practical implementation has always worked for me and my clients. However, as much as I was learning on the job every day I still felt there is a gap that needed to be bridged. In 2021, I identified the gap as a lack of exposure to the global market. After working in India for over four years, I strongly felt the need to travel and at the same time expose myself to a global institution and absorb knowledge amidst a culturally diverse background that will enable me to further my skills and make an impact, be it in my own country or globally.
I am currently pursuing a masters in PR with New Media from Munster Technological University (MTU), Cork and at the same time working as a student intern at Healy Communications. This is a classic combination of learning in the classroom and implementing it in real life. Working at Healy Communications has given me complete access to the Irish media’s operations and communications space. The process of learning, unlearning and relearning is shaping and cultivating my skillset while helping me grow as a seasoned professional.
Now that I’m deep diving into a completely different market, interacting and working with people from the communications sector in the West, I can vouch for the fact that the core skills and processes required in the field of PR continue to be the same across the globe, however it is the approach that keeps changing. #PublicRelations in Ireland is similar to what we have in India, but it’s definitely more structured and streamlined. Population (safe to call them the #Public) plays a huge role in this aspect.
My academic and work experience in Ireland is helping me to observe the application of various communication methods across Irish sectors which is also a very culturally diverse environment.
Meet more of the team here
