Kate Minogue – John Thompson Scholar – MSc Digital Marketing

My name is Kate Minogue and I am currently undertaking the MSc in Digital Marketing at DCU. I am based in Kilkenny, so it was the perfect year for me to study a masters as the course was delivered completely online. The past year has been very different for a lot of people, however, the masters has kept me busy during a period of frequent lockdowns! I have been in some way lucky there has been very little other distractions this year.

I have over five years’ experience working in marketing and I have always had a keen interest in digital marketing in particular. I was eager to grow my skills in digital marketing and I felt this masters was a perfect fit for me.

I was living in Melbourne when I applied for the John Thompson scholarship. When I applied for this scholarship, Melbourne was in the middle of a strict lockdown and I decided to make the move home. I was delighted to have been selected as the recipient for this scholarship and it made the move home a lot easier.

I have thoroughly enjoyed studying this masters. It has given me a deeper understanding into the theory behind many digital marketing practices, and has given me exposure to many popular industry technologies. The lecturers have given us a great understanding into the pace in which digital marketing is continuously evolving, providing a good insight into the importance of continuous upskilling in this industry.

The course provides an abundance of opportunities to work with real business clients, building my skills in areas such as SEO, Paid Advertising, Website Management and more. Working with clients provides students with the opportunity to gain insight into real business problems and ways that digital marketing can provide solutions to these problems. Students are encouraged to maintain strong relationships with their clients, which has helped improve our client relationship management skills too, which will be of great benefit to us throughout our careers.
One of the aspects that I liked most about this masters, was how it provides a holistic view of all areas in digital marketing. We studied modules such as data analysis, which gave us exposure to tools such as Google BigQuery and SQL. We learned how to build both a WordPress Brochure website and an eCommerce website, exposing us to website hosting platforms and website content management systems. I feel this will stand to me throughout my career as I will have a greater understanding of these areas and will feel more confident working with these technologies.

Students also gained access to many online conferences, which included speakers from many well-known companies. These conferences were extremely inspiring as they provided insight into how these businesses use digital marketing to grow their businesses or develop new products and services. I particularly liked this aspect of the course as it was great to hear real examples of the content we were studying.
This masters was extremely challenging, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The lectures were extremely helpful, yet challenged the students to step out of their comfort zones and think creatively. Gaining this qualification will undoubtedly stand to me as I progress throughout my career in digital marketing.