Students from the Bachelor’s program in Corporate Communication at FHWien der WKW developed creative social media stories about Belgian cities as part of a short-term mobility program.
How to find stories in three Belgian cities? More than 60 students from different universities across Europe have been determined to find out. They explored Ghent, Antwerp, and Ostend for social media stories. posts, videos, and carousels.
Eight students from the Bachelor’s program in Corporate Communication at FHWien der WKW took part in the ERASMUS-funded Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) “Story Through City” from March 30 to April 3, 2026. They worked in international teams of six with students from Artevelde University of Applied Sciences (Ghent), HdM (Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart), Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Finland), and AANT (Accademia delle Arti e Nuove Tecnologie, Rome).
Hidden stories for Belgian city marketing
The students travelled by train to the cities of Antwerp and Ostend to uncover hidden stories and transformed them into social media stories:
- How does a donkey get into an elevator of a multi-story building?
- How do people in Antwerp show their enthusiasm for fashion?
- Are people in Ghent addicted to bicycles?
- Why are there so many dogs in Ostend?
The students conducted research on the target audience (young travellers) and how to engage them in compelling stories. Each team produced three Instagram content pieces – a single post, a carousel, a story or a reel. Student teams received feedback on their stories and presented the best piece to a jury, who selected a winning team at the end of the week.
Storytelling and intercultural skills
Students not only learned about storytelling techniques and how to find a hook for an engaging story but also practiced their intercultural skills and had the chance to explore their creative potential. Input lectures on Storytelling, City Marketing, Get to know your audience, Creating Magic in Social Media, Architectural Impressions rounded up the intense week. Simone Zwickl, lecturer at FHWien der WKW, accompanied our students and delivered an input lecture on Creative Writing, as well as provided support as a coach:
“Some of the teams probably felt like they were thrown in at the deep end of the water, but all of the groups showed that they could find stories everywhere and put them into Instagram stories. The presentations at the last day revealed that the students have a great potential and have used all the input to create stories.“
The week was organized by Artevelde University of Applied Sciences. Thanks to Nicky Malfliet and Tim Van der Mensbrugghe for making this possible and to Anna-Karoliina Niemelä, Kati Teirikko, Alessandra Reggiani, Luana Fedele, and Stefan Rohrbach as well as our lecturer Simone Zwickl for supporting the students.