Marketing with Online Technologies

Having attained my ordinary degree in LYIT in 2012, I was instantly attracted to the honours course and to furthering my education. The smaller class sizes, one-to-one learning and close-knit class structure provided me with fundamentals of the world of business. I would highly recommend this programme as the business knowledge, interpersonal skills and confidence gained in LYIT has prepared me for my own professional journey. In terms of employment, I obtained the position of ‘Sales Co-ordinator’ within a multi-national organisation, Marine Harvest, in just a few short weeks of graduating where I stayed until October 2014. This role allowed me to gain relevant business experience and also represent the company and myself in both the domestic and international markets. Furthermore, the honours programme has given me the chance to acquire a graduate visa to the United States, whereby I spent 3 years applying the business knowledge I gained in LYIT.

Like a lot of students at a young age I was unsure what I wanted to do in college. The Business (Common Entry) course allowed me to get a taster of management, marketing and accounting for two years before having to make the decision of choosing a specialism. Two years in I knew the marketing aspect of the course was for me. I enjoyed the creativity side of having to think in different ways to promote businesses. I even then came back a few years later to do the add-on Level 8 honours degree, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I enjoyed many of the modules the course had to offer however the Strategic Market Planning module was my favourite. We had case studies on a range of companies which we would later have to present on how we would market them to consumers. These case studies showed me how I had the ability to adapt the knowledge gained throughout the years depending on the requirements of the business or its products. It really showcased how being a marketer is being a ‘mixer of ingredients’ and how important it is to know when to go all in or pull back on marketing strategies.

After graduating, I took up the opportunity of creating social media content for a small local business selling products I didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of, something I know I wouldn’t have had the confidence to agree to if I didn’t have the experience ATU Donegal gave me.

Pramerica and the Letterkenny Institute of Technology have a long-standing relationship that has evolved since 2000 when Pramerica set up in Letterkenny. Since then, LYIT has been an invaluable partner in helping us find talented, highly qualified candidates for technology and business services positions at Pramerica. LYIT has been to the forefront in developing our skill requirements and has adjusted its curriculum to ensure that its students have the appropriate technical and business skills, knowledge and the mindset needed for a global financial services organisation such as Pramerica. I deeply appreciate the collaborative and the innovative partnership that has developed particularly over the past number of years. Our employee growth and evolution of our service portfolio is testament to our strong partnership with LYIT. I look forward to continuing to work closely with LYIT as it builds a pipeline of talent suitable for our workforce of the future.