Why I chose to study MSc Digital Marketing with Advanced Practice
In this post I am going to tell you why I chose to study MSc Digital Marketing with Advanced Practice and how my experience has been so far!
I always wanted to study abroad since my first trip to Ireland several years ago.
However, it was only in the second year of my bachelor’s that I seriously took moving to the UK into consideration.
I did my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management in Italy. I am also interested in sociology and psychology, so when I was studying for the marketing module I realised that this field was the natural progression to specialise my studies.
I started comparing the ranking of the business schools in the UK and a friend suggested me to take Northumbria University into consideration, since the business school was believed to offer some of the best business management education in the UK.
At that time I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to study a business management course with marketing or choose something more specific so I decided to talk with friends that were studying or working in the field and they suggested that I specialise in digital marketing. It was in that moment that I realised how big the shift towards online channels that companies were doing was and the quantity of job position available in the field.
I started comparing the quality of life and the living cost of multiple cities around the UK and I realised how much Newcastle was a great choice in every aspect. I went to multiple fairs and I decided that Northumbria University was the university I was looking for. Additionally, Northumbria offered a course that mirrored the structure of the postgraduate degrees in Italy, so I applied for MSc Digital Marketing with Advanced Practice.
I am now in the second year of my course and I will graduate in a few months and I have to say that everything has exceeded my expectations since my first step in the campus.
In the first semester we addressed the buying behaviours of customer in the digital era and the integration between online and offline channels. In addition, we completed a business simulation and we developed both hard and soft managerial skills. The first ones strengthened my analytical capabilities, however I enjoyed building my soft skills better. In particular, we had the chance to take part in a two-day residential, aimed at understanding our personal attitudes towards teamwork and leadership. I never realised before this experience how useful self-awareness and emotional intelligence could be if used with an analytical approach.
In the second semester we developed a marketing campaign from the scratch with a detailed media plan as well as a budget plan and ROI. We addressed the analysis and metrics of marketing using software for sentiment analysis, web analytics and user experience. We built a website given a target market and we deepened the understanding of the digital marketing industry and our employability.
I opted for the Consultancy Project in the third semester where we acted as consultants in three case studies building three reports and improving our presentation skills.
I am now in the fourth semester and my group succeeded in the Applied Management Work Investigation in which we have been allocated a real client for whom we will develop a marketing and strategy report. In the next weeks we will meet our client and I am very excited of taking this last step towards my graduation in July.
I am really fascinated by how this course not only helped me to build knowledge and skills in digital marketing, but it has also grown exponentially my managerial skills and my self-awareness.
Choosing to study Digital Marketing at Northumbria University made me grow professionally and personally, and I can easily say that it’s the best choice I’ve made in my life!
