Tevin Farid – MSc in Digital Marketing Student Experience

Tevin Farid, Digital Marketing Executive – Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI)

During my final year in undergrad, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in Digital Marketing due to my love for all things digital.  I knew about the strong international reputation Dublin City University has from seeing so many people graduating from DCU and excelling in their careers.  Once I found out that DCU Business School were enrolling for their MSc in Digital Marketing degree, I did not hesitate to put in my application and I was delighted when I was accepted to the 2018/2019 MSc in Digital Marketing programme as a full-time student.

My experience during my MSc in Digital Marketing degree

The MSc in Digital Marketing programme in DCU is one of the best (if not the best) digital marketing degrees which is available globally in my opinion.  The exceptional blend of theory and practice through a cohort of thought provoking lectures provides you with a cluster of skills that are transferable to the working environment.  Key areas in digital marketing such as SEO, paid advertising, data analytics, and more are covered in great detail to equip you with valuable knowledge.  I really enjoyed the multi-cultural aspect about the course as you’re surrounded by people coming from different parts of the globe with different backgrounds and experiences which gives you another perspective when working together.  I was able to open up and get to know different people which is so vital in modern society as workforces are becoming more diverse and multi-cultural.

The lecturers involved in the course are second to none in terms of their expertise, dedication, and commitment to helping their students have the best opportunity to excel in their careers.  We were very lucky to have accredited experts as lecturers who are globally respected in their fields.  As our class only had around 40 students, we had a stronger relationship with our lecturers and were encouraged to communicate with lecturers in terms of any problems we had.  This in return allowed students to settle in quicker to the course as students felt that the lecturers actually care about their growth throughout the course rather than being 1 of 100 students that has no real connection to the course.  We regularly had feedback sessions and lecturers were even generous enough to stay back late and provide feedback on weekly assignments which helped eradicate any mistakes which were hindering our marks.

In terms of course content, I was astonished by the amount of valuable topics we covered in the space of less than one year.  The lecturers really made sure that we were fully equipped with a full set of digital skills which are highly valuable to employers.  To name a few, the course provides the opportunity of learning the fundamentals and advanced concepts of SEO, creating meaningful insights from large data sets, and learning an ensemble of advanced paid advertising concepts and strategies which I still use today at a global level.  The course gives as much detail to the theory side of digital marketing as much as the practical side.  Lecturers do their upmost best to make sure students understand the theory and methodologies of topics such as SEO and data analytics so that students understand the full depth of digital marketing concepts which I doubt is covered to the full extent in any other MSc in Digital Marketing course.

The most enjoyable part about the course was being able to execute digital marketing projects for actual clients which gives you real world experience.  This was a very unique situation being able to get practical hands-on experience working with companies while completing a masters degree at the same time.  Not a lot of people can say after they completed their masters that they had the opportunity to work with more than 4 companies in order to really test the skills you are learning.  From managing a €10,000 Google Ads grant budget for an outdoor adventure park to creating a detailed 12-month digital marketing plan for a magnet engineering company, the experience that you get from the MSc in Digital Marketing course is exceptional.  What makes it even better is that you’re working in different multi-cultural groups for each client you’re working with which helps strengthen soft skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, etc.  Soft-skills in the working environment is so important to succeed in whatever you do and the course really provides great attention to helping you develop as a person as much as your practical skills.

Other benefits of the course included being able to attend multiple conferences by established industry professionals while also having the opportunity to gain an abundance of knowledge from guest lectures from well-known companies such as Google, Hubspot, and IBM.  We even had the opportunity to go on a trip to Italy to network with industry professionals in Italy while also getting to spend time with classmates and lecturers.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience during my time within the MSc in Digital Marketing course which has opened so many doors in my career.  As a Digital Marketing Executive at RCSI, the methodologies and practical skills learned from my time in DCU still provide the foundation of many campaigns and strategies that I still use today.  If I had the chance to do it all again, I would not hesitate to pick the MSc in Digital Marketing degree at DCU.  The possibilities after completing the course will spearhead your digital marketing career to the next level.

To find out more about the MSc in Digital Marketing see: https://business.dcu.ie/course/msc-in-digital-marketing/