Author: Damla Gulerhan -
I started my placement last September in the Faculty of Engineering & Design as a Marketing Assistant, on our very own University of Bath campus! Most of you might be wondering why I chose to do it at Bath so in this blog post I will be talking about my experience.
Marketing department at a university
The Marketing & Web Team in Faculty of Engineering & Design is located in 2 East. Working with a dynamic team of 5, I can now confidently implement ideas from the responsibilities I undertook. Marketing in Higher Education is just as important as it is in any other sector. Offer holders must be presented with the appropriate platforms to ask any questions they may have about studying at Bath, life on campus, the city and many more… What’s crucial here is making everyone aware of the information available on our channels.
Bath engineering students are always involved in a number of different projects. There are also student competition teams (e.g. Team Bath Racing) doing fantastic things (see this year’s car for TBR…) which gives us the chance to highlight student stories and the wonderful projects they are working on! The continuous research done in various departments just show how advanced the Faculty is (e.g. Chemical Engineering department growing animal cells on blades of grass first in the UK!).
Being a student working in a Marketing role for Higher Education is the perfect chance to demonstrate knowledge of student consumer behaviour. Having walked the same path once, I am aware of what I needed before & after making my decision to study at Bath. This put me in a unique position as I could easily refer back to my own experience and assess the need for certain marketing campaigns and evaluate the outcomes of existing ones. Knowing how to target such audience and being aware of how they engage is an asset for this role!
The thing that I really enjoyed about my job was that I got the chance to work on both traditional and digital marketing channels. With the growing power of social media, all universities now have to keep up with their online presence as well as the traditional marketing materials they produce: prospectus, brochures, flyers & banners…
Full-time employee vs. student in Bath
Although staying in Bath for my placement year wasn’t something I had initially planned, it turned out to be even better than I imagined. In my free time I’d live the student life with friends around me and during weekdays from 9 to 5, I’d be a full-time member of staff! It is great that when you’re working your free time is actual free time, unlike being a student having to study for hours on the weekends.
It was also very practical to work in the city of Bath and without a doubt my after work hours were much calmer compared to those who had to go through London Underground madness every day. Also, it’s much easier to save up what you earn in Bath compared to London.
What’s next?
It has been great to be given the chance to work full-time in-between your studies with a placement year. During my time here I have managed to be involved in many different opportunities, build my campus network and further develop my skill set. Getting to directly apply what you have learned in your studies and coming back for your final year fully equipped with great practical examples you can drawback on makes me really excited for next year.
Having really enjoyed this role in the Faculty of Engineering & Design, I would like to thank everyone in my team – Alice, Becky, Beth and Jannika for always being here to help and encourage me throughout my time here.
