PR Highlights 2025: A Look Back with AI and a Vision for the Future
In the summer term of 2025, a new editorial team from the 6th-semester Online Communication course took over the PR-Fundsachen blog following a lengthy hiatus. Under the guidance of lecturer Rafael Bujotzek, more than 30 students on the ‘Content Creation with Artificial Intelligence’ seminar are breathing new life into the blog. To this end, the students have, on the one hand, analysed how generative AI affects PR work. On the other hand, they have used AI tools themselves to create content.
AI as a tool, not a replacement
Whether it’s automated text generation, social media optimisation or real-time analysis of media content, artificial intelligence is revolutionising the world of PR. Yet it became clear during the seminar that AI does not replace human expertise, but rather enhances it.
The students not only learn how to use tools and applications in practice, but also engage with the ethical, strategic and societal issues that this technology raises.
More than 30 articles covering a wide variety of topics have already been produced as part of the seminar. The topics range from corporate and crisis communication, through the use of AI in the workplace and everyday life, to the role of AI in society, politics and ethics.
PR-Fundsachen: How it all began
The PR-Fundsachen blog was originally launched in 2005 by Prof. Dr Thomas Pleil whilst he was teaching at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and was populated with content over the years by successive groups of students – always with the aim of learning how to publish online.In the early years, the blog supported teaching within the PR key area of the Online Journalism study programme. In the winter semester of 2015/2016, students on the Online Communication study programme took over the blog for the first time as part of the ‘Content Strategy’ learning agency, during which the students explored the role of content in various fields.
Since then, the blog has been continued over the years in various seminars and learning agencies within the Online Communication study programme – thereby bringing a breath of fresh air to campus communications.
PR-Fundsachen also accompanied Onkomm to various events, including the Content Strategy Camp 2017 and re:publica 2017 in Berlin, where students reported live and networked with industry professionals. In the 2018/19 winter semester, an editorial team of 21 female students took over the blog as part of the ‘Content and Digital Experience’ learning agency. They researched topics such as tech trends, digital tourism marketing and ‘Tech for Good’.
Posts from previous years remain available online – serving as a living archive of change in communication and technology. By mid-2025, more than 300 students will have gained blogging experience through PR-Fundsachen.
A catalyst for the industry
With a new focus on artificial intelligence, PR-Fundsachen 2025 positions itself not only as a learning space but also as a think tank: here, perspectives, questions and potential solutions emerge for an increasingly AI-driven PR landscape.
For students, the seminar was a real highlight – it bridges the necessary gap between academic knowledge and the demands of professional experience. Rather than pure theory, participants experience how content can be created, evaluated and further developed using AI in practice.