Creative practice, collaboration and industry engagement: greater than the sum of their parts: 10 years of collaborative curriculum development and delivery: the launch of the digital marketing subject discipline and the development of the "Inverted T Curriculum".

Pirie, Elliot; Keenan, Jack

Abstract

This case study evaluates the 10-year evolution of the Digital Marketing subject discipline within Robert Gordon University (RGU), reflecting on how collaborative and creative practice was embedded throughout the subject area and beyond; the impact of industry collaboration on student engagement and participation; and the circular nature of the interactions between industry and academia ensuring subject matter remained current and industry-relevant. In 2014 RGU launched Scotland's first MSc in Digital Marketing, with a pedagogy focused on collaborative and creative professional practice, with experiential learning, live client projects and industry mentorship being embedded at the heart of the curriculum. The course design was based around an Agency structure, which was embedded within the curricula, with students working on a range of live client projects and design sprints for internal and external clients to develop campaign concepts, strategies and creative outputs with the support of academic and industry experts. In addition to supervision from academic staff, students were allocated an industry mentor who provided support and guidance. As the MSc developed and grew in popularity, many of these practices were embedded elsewhere across the school and university. This approach has informed the ethos, curriculum design and pedagogy of not only the subsequent course developments and the approaches of other subject areas within the school, but the growth of the entire Digital Marketing subject discipline. Ten years on and Digital Marketing provision within RGU has developed beyond a single master's course to an entire subject area encompassing an MSc, an undergraduate suite, a highly successful short course, accreditation agreements with three professional bodies, several research projects and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), and modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level embedded across the school and wider institution. Throughout these developments, the focus on industry engagement and collaboration has remained the team's guiding ethos.

Citation

PIRIE, E. and KEENAN, J. [2025]. Creative practice, collaboration and industry engagement: greater than the sum of their parts: 10 years of collaborative curriculum development and delivery: the launch of the digital marketing subject discipline and the development of the "Inverted T Curriculum". Journal of perspectives in applied academic practice [online], (accepted).

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 17, 2024
• Deposit Date: Nov 3, 2024
• Journal: Journal of perspectives in applied academic practice
• Electronic ISSN: 2051-9788
• Publisher: University of the Highlands and Islands
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Marketing education; Marketing students; Digital marketing; Pedagogy
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2570697