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A Laois digital marketing student at TUS Athlone is involved in an innovative project to help Irish companies expand their digital presence and become more competitive.

Chris Kearns is a mature student who lives in the village of Castlecuffe in the Sleive Bloom Mountains. He worked as a personal trainer for ten years before returning to college in Athlone to study digital marketing. He is a partner of DPD Ireland for this year’s Capstone project.

Over the next few months, the Laois student will work closely with DPD Ireland to implement a new digital marketing strategy that he has developed especially for them.

The Capstone project, which is now in its fourth year, challenges students of the Bachelor of Business (Hons) in Digital Marketing last year to put their knowledge into practice by developing and implementing a full-fledged digital marketing strategy for a host company.

While the host companies close their resource gaps in digital marketing with the knowledge of the students about the latest digital marketing methods, the students themselves get the opportunity to apply their skills in a real environment. MORE UNDER PICTURE.

In the picture lr: Patrick O’Loughlin, Marketing Manager, DPD Ireland; Louise Murray, Senior Lecturer, Department of Business and Management, TUS; Chris Kearns, senior digital marketing student, TUS; Alison Sheridan, Department Head, Economics and Management, TUS. Photo: Jeff Harvey.

“The Capstone project is a unique learning experience for our digital marketing students,” says Louise Murray, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Business and Management at TUS and one of the founders of the initiative.

“As part of their studies, with the collaborative support of the TUS team of lecturers for digital marketing, our students receive a first-class experience that faces the challenges of digital marketing in a real company. This gives them invaluable industry relevant experience to add to their resume.

“Our ultimate goal is to produce industry-mature graduates with confidence in their skills and the skills and competencies required to be an asset to a company from the start,” she explains.

70 companies from a wide variety of sectors operating locally, nationally and internationally have applied to participate in this year’s project, eight of which ultimately matched the students from the final year of digital marketing.

This great interest from companies is an indication of the value of the final project for the industry, explains Louise: “Our host companies benefit enormously as they receive digital marketing know-how from students who are familiar with the latest digital marketing trends, tools and – Strategies of the past are immersed. “Three years of their studies.”

This year students will gain experience with companies like DPD, an international parcel delivery service, and Panelto Foods in Co. Longford, whose luxury pre-baked bread is sold to major retailers in Ireland, the UK and Europe.

Other participating companies include deDANU, Ireland’s first carbon neutral health and fitness brand; Ganly’s of Athlone, Athlone Community Radio, a local non-profit, volunteer-run radio station; and Brady Insurance, a national insurance broker.

Mummy Cooks, a mom influencer and Instagram sensation who is an expert in baby and child nutrition, is also on board this year, as is the Burren

Ecotourism Network based in Co. Clare, which aims to make the Burren an internationally recognized sustainable tourism region.