The collaboration enhanced graduate outcomes (95% for project participants) and signalled to students SETU's commitment to innovation and employability
Waterford Institute of Technology in partnership with Irish Distillers won an AHECS Excellence in Employability Award at the 2018 gradireland Awards.
The award was for a marketing campaign project for Irish Distillers which saw Bachelor of Business (Hons) and BA (Hons in Tourism Marketing final year students engage in an Advertising Management module where they went head-to-head to develop a creative advertising strategy to raise awareness of the Jameson Graduate Programme among 3rd level college students.
The Careers Centre built mutually beneficial links with Irish Distillers, one of the leading graduate employers.
95% employment rate
Angela Collins, Head of the Careers Centre at SETU added that the collaboration “enhanced graduate outcomes (95% employment rate from those who participated in the project) and it signalled to students and SETU faculty our commitment to innovation and employability.”
Marie O’Dwyer, marketing lecturer at WIT’s School of Business, explained how the project enriched students’ learning experience, developing marketing and advertising skills that can significantly increase employability.
“Partnering with Irish Distillers for a marketing campaign project encourages students to develop a balanced, diverse approach to solving real-world problems in a team environment. It also develops students’ collaborative and participatory skills that are essential to their future careers.
Successful collaboration
Sinead D’Arcy, Head of Jameson International Graduate Programme at Irish Distillers said that from an employer’s point of view the project proved to be an extremely successful collaboration.
“By working with students we got insights directly from our target audience which was invaluable. Irish Distillers gained innovative ideas for the student marketing campaign which contributed to it being ‘our most successful in the history of the programme’ the launch of a dedicated YouTube channel, which led to over 57,000 views during our 12-weeks media campaign.”