Tim McGrath is a graduate of Digital Skills Academy's BSc (Honours) Degree in Digital Technology, Design and Innovation programme.
Why did you do the course?
I just got home from traveling abroad, and was trying to work out what to do next. I went to Career Zoo, and got talking to the Digital Skills Academy team. I had just completed a digital marketing course and I felt the qualification with Digital Skills Academy would further enhance my CV and career opportunities.
What did you get out of the course, what did you learn?
I made great connections, got real world industry experience for my CV, and achieved a recognised qualification in Digital Skills.
What are the pros and cons of taking the course online?
The lectures were delivered online and the flexibility of the programme worked well for me.
The cons were that I hadn’t done a course fully online before. There was a learning curve and you have to learn to manage everything. You need to have the discipline to work by yourself. Being able to work online with people is also a challenge. It can be hard to find the right time for everyone particularly for group work. This was probably one of the biggest challenges in completing the course.
What were the advantages of working with an Industry Partner?
We worked with a digital agency, based in Dublin, Ireland and they wanted to organise an event in Dublin. The project started in October, and they aimed to have the event in March. We designed collateral for the event, set up the event website, the social media pages, organised content, and then other ad hoc duties, such as creating personas and wireframes. Working remotely with designers was a challenge. To liaise with the designers and the client was an excellent experience, and a challenge at the start of the project.
What did you specialise in?
I specialised in the project management and marketers stream. The course helped me understand how to manage digital projects. I learned about managing time-frames and how to coordinate digital projects from start to finish.
What did you enjoy most on the course?
I enjoyed the UX and responsive design module. It is important to understand about mobile first design, and the new way that information is being delivered. I found that quite interesting. I also enjoyed the project we worked on. Learning how to develop a website and to see it go from a design stage, to something functional, all created from scratch was really rewarding.
What are you working on now?
Currently I’m working as a digital marketing co-ordinator. The role involves some growth hacking. We are using this to test areas of our website to see if we can generate different results, and to then create improved levels of growth.
Is there anything you'd have done differently?
Maybe not differently, but when choosing your Industry Project, you can put own business ideas forward. Looking back, this could have been a good opportunity I had put forward an idea for an entrepreneurial project and got some feedback on it.
And anything you'd like to add / we should have asked you?
The course has given me an excellent qualification in digital skills and helped me to move career into the digital sector. It is a fast-growing area, and it is a significant advantage to have this qualification and experience on my CV.
