How do we prepare the advertising and audiovisual communication professionals of the future? Transversality and hybridisation in university degrees in Spain and Europe

Article Sidebar

PDF (Castellano) EPUB (Castellano)

Main Article Content

Natalia Papí-Gálvez
Universidad de Alicante
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4871-1691
Marta Perlado-Lamo de Espinosa
Universidad Nebrija
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7476-0809
Marta Saavedra-Llamas
Universidad Nebrija
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7762-9996

Purpose: Due to the profound transformations in the advertising industry as a result of digitalisation, this research explores the university degrees in its area of knowledge offered by the main European universities, with the aim of discovering and comparing the training solutions for the preparation of future professionals.
Methodology: To do so, it reviews the websites and applies content analysis to the description of the degrees and curricula of the top ten universities in the field of communication, according to the QS World University ranking, guaranteeing the observation of Spanish universities. It focuses on the identification of the offer and type of studies (generalist or specialised), the presence of subjects from other disciplines or branches and the treatment of technology and digitalisation in them.
Results: 22 degrees oriented towards the area of knowledge were identified, three types of transversality (horizontal, vertical and external) and two types of hybridisation with technology (updating or specialisation). In Spain, the offer is more specialised than in other European universities, but also more rigid and less practically oriented, with consequences for the training of future professionals. Originality: The study provides an up-to-date picture of university education in the year in which the applicability of Generative Artificial Intelligence (2024) is being promoted in the sectors linked to these degrees. It proposes the main dimensions for the subsequent construction of instruments to measure the effect of different training strategies on the university-industry gap.

Keywords
Hybridisation, Transversality, Digital transformation, Europe, Higher Education, Digital competences, Audiovisual Communication, Advertising

Article Details

How to Cite
Papí-Gálvez, Natalia et al. “How do we prepare the advertising and audiovisual communication professionals of the future? Transversality and hybridisation in university degrees in Spain and Europe”. Hipertext.net, 2025, no. 31, pp. 229-35, doi:10.31009/hipertext.net.2025.i31.17.
Rights
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

(c) Natalia Papí-Gálvez, Marta Perlado-Lamo de Espinosa, Marta Saavedra-Llamas, 2025


Copyright

Author Biographies

Natalia Papí-Gálvez, Universidad de Alicante

Natalia Papí-Gálvez is Associate University Professor (Senior Lecturer) since 2011 in the Depart. of Communication and Social Psychology-University of Alicante (UA). Four teaching quinquennia and three recognized six-year research periods. Director of the E-COM and of University Chair on Generational Digital Gap (2020-2024). Founding partner of the ELLIS Unit in Alicante for research in Artificial Intelligence. She teaches in the Degree in Advertising and Public Relations, mainly in Media Research and Planning. Since 2008, she has participated as a researcher in several R + D + I projects. Some of her scientific paper are published in: Comunicar, El profesional de la información, Cuadernos.info, Doxa Comunicación, Anàlisi, Communication & Society, Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, Revista española de documentación. She has held the position of Vice Dean of the Degree in Advertising and Public Relations and currently is Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Digital Communication.

Marta Perlado-Lamo de Espinosa, Universidad Nebrija

Marta Perlado Lamo de Espinosa is lecturer and researcher at the Nebrija University of Madrid, she is currently Professor in the Faculty of Communication and Arts and Dean of the same Faculty. Her teaching activity is endorsed by excellent results in numerous student surveys, as well as by the evaluation processes of the Docentia programme. Since December 2024 she is the Director of the Nebrija - L'Oréal Groupe (BELSILVER) Chair in Communication, Image and Wellbeing in the Silver Generation. Author of the book ‘Mass Media Planning’ and co-editor of: ‘Audiences and Digital Media: Beyond Data’; ‘Digital Society and Employability in Communication’; ‘The Advertising Creative in the Digital Age. New roles and professional skills’ and “Competences and professional profiles in the field of Communication”. She has a large number of scientific publications in high impact journals, in which she has also been a reviewer.

Marta Saavedra-Llamas, Universidad Nebrija

Marta Saavedra Llamas is Doctor Accredited by ANECA (Associate Professor, Private University Professor and Assistant Professor) with one active six-year term (2020). Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Arts at Nebrija University since March 2021. She belongs to the INNOMEDIA Research Group (Innovation in Communication and Media). Together with Marta Perlado, she has led the TICOMCOR project, funded by the Communication Research Forum and Dircom Spain. Her priority lines of research are: communication industries, communication strategies, social audience, competences and professional profiles in communication and studies in the area, as well as the role of women in the communication industries. Also teaching innovation projects and active teaching methodologies. She has published numerous articles in high-impact scientific journals.  She directs the Chair in Film, Women and Education at Nebrija University, EGEDA and Platino Educa.

References

Álvarez-Flores, E. P., Núñez-Gómez, P. y Mañas-Viniegra, L. (2021). Efecto híbrido en la demanda del profesional publicitario: un reto ante la transformación digital en la publicidad. Palabra Clave, 24(2), e2424. https://doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2021.24.2.4

Álvarez-Flores, E. P., Núñez-Gómez, P. y Olivares-Santamarina, J. P. (2018). Perfiles profesionales y salidas laborales para graduados en Publicidad y Relaciones públicas: de la especialización a la hibridación. El profesional de la información, 27(1), 136-147. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2018.ene.13

Cervi, L., Simelio, N. y Tejedor Calvo, S. (2020). Análisis de los estudios de Periodismo y Comunicación en las mejores universidades europeas: Competencias, objetivos y asignaturas. Journalism Practice, 15(7), 1033–1053. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2020.1762505

De-Salas-Nestares, I., Martínez-Sáez, J. y Roca-Hueso, V. (2019). Los nuevos perfiles profesionales como elemento transformador de la industria publicitaria. Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación, 10(2), 11-28. https://www.doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM2019.10.2.16

European Commission (2020). Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027. https://acortar.link/Kxa6vh

Goldsmiths, University of London. (s.f.). https://www.gold.ac.uk/

Grijalba de la Calle, N., Saavedra Llamas, M. y Jiménez Narros, C. (2022). Los nuevos comunicadores audiovisuales: oportunidades profesionales y formación requerida en el contexto español. Contratexto, 37, 99-123. https://doi.org/10.26439/contratexto2022.n037.5688

Martínez-Martínez, I. J., Aguado, J. M. y Sánchez-Cobarro, P. del H. (2022b). Smart Advertising: Innovación y disrupción tecnológica asociadas a la IA en el ecosistema publicitario. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, (80), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.4185/10.4185/RLCS-2022-1693

Martínez-Martínez, I. J., Aguado, J. M. y Sánchez-Cobarro, P del H. (2022a). Análisis de oportunidades y desafíos en el sector de la publicidad en el marco de la transformación digital a través de metodologías de innovación. En M. Pacheco y M. C. Alvarado (Coord.), Publicidad, Sostenibilidad y Justicia Social, (pp. 281-290). Tirant Humanidades.

Marzal-Felici, J., Soler-Campillo, M. y Rodríguez-Serrano, A. (2020). Los estudios reglados de comunicación en las universidades del ranking de Shangai. Propuestas para una epistemología de las ciencias de la comunicación. Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación, 11(1), 179-193. https://doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM2020.11.1.17

Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Turismo. (2015). Libro Blanco para el Diseño de las Titulaciones Universitarias en el Marco de la Economía Digital. Minetur. https://plantl.digital.gob.es/agenda-digital/noticias/Paginas/presentacion-libro-blanco.aspx

Papí-Gálvez, N. y Perlado-Lamo-de-Espinosa, M. (2020). Nuevos perfiles profesionales en la comunicación publicitaria digital. En L. M. Pedrero-Esteban y A. Pérez-Escoda (Eds.), Cartografía de la Comunicación postdigital: Medios y Audiencias en la sociedad de la Covid-19, (pp. 331-359). Civitas y Thomson Reuters.

Pérez-Ordóñez, C., Torres-Martín, J. L., Castro-Martínez, A. y Villena-Alarcón, E. (2021). La creatividad en la universidad española. Un análisis crítico de los planes de estudio, la actividad docente y las necesidades del sector profesional en los grados de comunicación audiovisual, publicidad y relaciones públicas. Icono 14, 19(2), 36-65. https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v19i2.1674

QS TopUniversities. (2024). QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Communication & Media Studies. Europe. https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/communication-media-studies?page=3&region=Europe

Sánchez-García, P. y Tejedor, S. (2022). La enseñanza técnico-digital en los estudios de Periodismo en España: hacia una formación híbrida genérica y especializada en lenguajes y formatos. Profesional de la información, 31(1), 310105. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2022.ene.05

Spring, R. y Lou, Sh. (2023). AEJMC Advertising Division 2022 Teaching Pre-Conference Review: Leading Our Students into the Future: Minding the Gap between the Industry and Academia. Journal of Advertising Education, 27(1), 69-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/10980482231162857

Spring, R. y Lou, Sh. (2024). AEJMC Advertising Division 2023 Teaching Pre-Conference Review: Innovating Data Storytelling and Visualization with Artificial Intelligence and Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer. Journal of Advertising Education, 28(1), 6-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/10980482241236883

Universidad Complutense Madrid. (s.f.). https://www.ucm.es/

Universidad de Navarra. (s.f.). https://en.unav.edu/

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. (s.f.). https://www.uab.cat/

Universitat de Barcelona. (s.f.). https://web.ub.edu/es/inicio

Universitat Pompeu Fabra. (s.f.). https://www.upf.edu/

Universität Zurich. (s.f.). https://www.uzh.ch/en.html

Universität Wien. (s.f.). https://www.univie.ac.at/en/

Universiteit Van Amsterdam. (s.f.). https://www.uva.nl/en