Atlantic Technological University (ATU ) has launched a new free online programme, titled An Introduction to Marketing, which is ideal for secondary school students, those wishing to upskill, and entrepreneurs seeking guidance into promoting their business.
Within the programme, there are four self-directed courses – namely introductions to Marketing Concepts, Digital Marketing, Marketing Research and Services Marketing – with a digital badge awarded upon completion of each element. Once the four strands have been undertaken, students will receive a milestone badge.
Created under the Higher Education 4.0 Project, which is funded by the Human Capital Initiative (HCI ), each course takes approximately two hours to complete and can be accessed through the ATU Free Courses webpage (freecourses.atu.ie ).
An Introduction to Marketing is the brainchild of Lisa Dunne, a lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Tourism and Sport in the school of Business and Social Sciences at ATU Sligo.
Ms Dunne explains that there are three audiences ATU is currently targeting: transition year students in secondary schools; those affiliated to the New Frontiers Programme, which is based at ATU Sligo Innovation Centre; and students at the Sligo College of Further Education and Training.
Already, Ms Dunne has been in contact with the ATU Sligo School Liaison Office, and the intention is to share details of the courses with secondary school career guidance teachers in September.
Insight
“These students will gain an insight into the world of marketing and ATU, which may influence their third-level decisions,” says Ms Dunne. “The TY students will be encouraged to do some or all of the digital badges during their transition year and it is something that they can add to their CV.”
Ms Dunne has also approached New Frontiers at ATU Sligo Innovation Centre, and it has been agreed to share the relevant details with start-up business owners who have undertaken or are undertaking the New Frontiers programme.
“These business owners may wish to get an understanding of the fundamentals of marketing as they embark on their business venture,” adds Ms Dunne.
She also believes An Introduction to Marketing will be beneficial to students at Sligo College of Further Education and Training (SCFET ), which ATU Sligo has built a close relationship with over recent years. Indeed, SCFET students are now able to enter the BBS in Marketing at ATU at year two stage.
Now, these students can also complete the short course in An Introduction to Marketing to complement their studies and increase their knowledge. It is hoped that current students on the various SCFET courses will be made aware of the digital badges on offer, and this may influence them to consider a level 7 Marketing degree at ATU Sligo in the future.
Noting that An Introduction to Marketing is an excellent way to dip a digital toe into this area, Ms Dunne says: “It gives you an insight into the world of marketing, digital marketing, services marketing, and research. If a student wants to go further, they can go further, but it is just to build awareness of what marketing is.”
Acknowledging the many people who greatly assisted her in developing the courses across the various ATU campuses, from the instructional designers to graphic designers, she says that she enjoyed “getting to work with so many people in different areas within ATU”.
Although the programme does not carry a credit, she hopes that it may do so in the future. “Maybe down the line it could get a credit weighting attached to it, but, for the moment, it offers digital badges.
“I think that might be a good thing – this is a little taster, it’s not a big commitment from anybody – but it might lead people to have an interest or develop an interest in marketing. It also creates an awareness of what ATU offers, which, maybe, they might not have known about before,” she says.
Stepping stone
As with all ATU’s free courses, they are designed to be a stepping stone on the pathway to further education – be it a certificate, degree or masters in the same subject area at ATU.
In welcoming An Introduction to Marketing, Higher Education 4.0 Innovations Manager Noel Mulkeen says: “This course is adding to the growing number of free online courses that ATU is making available. These courses offer an ideal opportunity for a person to gain an insight into a particular area and, perhaps, encourage them to pursue other similar courses at a higher level at ATU.”
For those interested in An Introduction to Marketing, you can visit the dedicated webpage at https://www.atu.ie/digital-badge-marketing or check out https://freecourses.atu.ie.
To help ATU understand the profile of learners undertaking the digital badges, students are invited to complete a short survey. Please note that a dedicated email address ([email protected] ) has been created for queries related to the courses.
If someone is new to ATU Free Courses, they will have to register on the system. You will find the Introduction to Marketing courses in the Business section at the top of the page: https://freecourses.atu.ie.
