DkIT Marketing Students Go Global with Combilift Ltd
03 March 2017DkIT partners with Combilift Ltd and Higher Education Institutes in Finland and Australia to launch a new global work-based learning programme for marketing students.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) together with leading forklift manufacturing specialist, Combilift Ltd has announced the launch of an international work-integrated learning programme for DkIT marketing students. The pioneering initiative brings together students from partner colleges in Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Finland, RMIT University, Australia and DkIT to work together on a 12-week global market research project aimed at increasing sales and market understanding for CombiLift products worldwide.
Participating students will have the opportunity to experience working as part of a diverse, global marketing team as they collaborate with colleagues across different time zones, geographies and cultures. Students will avail of digital facilities such as Skype, Google Hangout and Moodle to manage communications across the team and will use a wide spectrum of on-line project management software to ensure that tasks are completed according to schedule around the clock.
For the purposes of the programme, Combilift is treated as a client and the students will work as third-party marketing agents commissioned to deliver the commercially-focused research brief. Students are assessed at various stages throughout the programme and the quality of their overall report, performance in group work, client presentation and participation in the group study tour will all contribute to their overall grade. Students are also required to complete a reflective journal which is designed to encourage students to reflect on their learnings outcomes and to think about how their future career can benefit from this global programme.
At the end of the 12 weeks, teams from Finland and Ireland will have the opportunity to assemble on RMIT University campus in Melbourne to present their final report to their client. This is an opportunity for team members to meet each other face-to-face for the very first time. Having completed the professional formal aspect of the Global Programme in Australia, teams also have time to explore the depth of culture that is available in Australia, bringing back home fond memories of their entire experience, and a very valuable addition to their CV and career prospects.
Martin McVicar, CEO of Combilift has been actively involved in the development of the new work-integrated learning programme and visited DkIT campus in February to launch the initiative. The launch was streamed live to Australia and Finland and included an interactive Q&A with students in RMIT and Satakunta University of Applied Sciences. Speaking at the launch, Mr McVicar said,
“We in Combilift are a globally focused business exporting to more than 75 markets worldwide, are enthusiastic about been involved with this Global programme with participation from Ireland, Finland and Australia to come up with effective global marketing suggestions for our business.”
Also speaking at the launch, John Sisk, Lecturer in Marketing and Programme Director for Marketing Studies at DkIT also said,
“We are delighted to partner with Combilift on this new truly international work-integrated learning programme. Combilift is one of the great global enterprise success stories to come from the North East and the company continues to expand its export operations worldwide.
The opportunity for our students to work alongside industry is critically important for the development of job-ready skills because it allows them to apply academic learning to real-life professional settings. Collaboration with colleagues in Finland and Australia means students are exposed to working in dynamic international teams – experience is sure to give them a competitive edge as they embark on their careers upon graduating from the Institute”.
To find out more about the Digital Marketing, Communication & Public Relations programme at DkIT, please visit https://www.dkit.ie/programmes/ba-digital-marketing-communication-public-relations or contact john.sisk@dkit.ie
