Digital and social media at the heart of new Masters in Marketing

The Business School’s MSc Strategic Marketing incorporates new technologies

By Tanya Gubbay
Monday 3 October 2011

Digital and social media is at the centre of a new Masters programme that welcomes its first students at Imperial College Business School today. The MSc in Strategic Marketing is doing away with traditional paper-based teaching and learning and instead the Business School is providing the students with an iPad2 with which to carry out their studies.

The programme leaders are asking students to communicate and carry out much of their research and coursework using sites such as Posterous, Facebook and Twitter. The Business School has also created an online ‘Communication hub’ for the course, where students can ask questions and have discussions with each other and their lecturers.

"Marketeers today cannot underestimate the power of the digital and social media age. For example, if you looked at the users of Facebook as a population, they would represent the third largest ’country’ in the world.

"Customer experience on here can make or break a brand overnight and our teaching reflects this shift," said Programme Director Colin Love.

"We want our students to understand everything about these new and rapidly changing technologies and how to make the best use of them, and a large part of that is immersing the students in that world from day one. Our course will equip students with the marketing skills that are immediately relevant for companies, business leaders and entrepreneurs around the world."

At their induction, the students will be presented with a single, A5 leaflet representing the amount of paperwork they should receive for the whole year of their programme. QR (Quick Response) codes will be used at the start of each lecture, allowing students to download the slides directly to their iPad, while apps such as GoodReader, iAnnotate and Evernote will be used to facilitate note taking.

The students’ coursework will involve building websites, creating wordpress blogs, making applications and filming videos via iMovie. A MSc Strategic Marketing web app has also been developed to give students information about the programme, with quick links to course content and lecture captures.

Demand for a place on the course has been so high that admissions had to close early. Applications for next year’s programme will open in November 2011.