We know this is a busy time of year for you, with online events and recruitment campaigns at their peak, alongside an increased focus on postgraduate enrolments from January onwards. But take five (preferably with a brew) and discover some university initiatives and campaigns that have caught our eye recently. They may inspire your own strategy or marketing, or just simply give you some time out from your busy day.
The University of Bolton has been explaining how they can help people retrain, reskill and upskill with their postgraduate courses starting in January. This is a key marketing message right now; Bolton’s campaign uses social media such as Twitter and Facebook alongside website content to highlight particular skills and opportunities, then explore relevant courses and subject areas (such as Engineering) in more depth. We look forward to seeing what additional content they share.
Being in the middle of postgraduate open day season, our newsfeeds are full of universities promoting their virtual events. Ravensbourne’s Grad School in Conversation Series jumped out with its different approach to showcasing academics, courses, and industry links. They’re delivering a conventional virtual open day alongside these events, but the ‘in conversation’ series provides an additional opportunity to engage with postgraduate students and share content and inspiration. This kind of ‘peer-to-peer’ conversation can be so important for prospective postgraduates trying to visualise themselves as Masters or PhD students (not always easy to do).
Most of you will have probably watched David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. Over the last few years people are becoming more and more aware of the need for change due to documentaries like these and other champions driving action. This is also exactly the sort of work many universities are already doing alongside their researchers and students. It’s good to celebrate and communicate this, which is exactly what UEA are doing with their #ClimateofChange campaign. This video tells the story of how their researchers are working to tackle climate change and fight for the future or our planet. It reveals decades of dedication to this crucial issue and is exactly the sort of thing we think will inspire future Masters and PhD students.
The Cambridge Researcher offers humanities and social sciences postgraduates at the University of Cambridge a platform to share their experiences as well as specific tips for their university (recent highlights include ‘Applying to Cambridge: What I Wish I Knew when Selecting a College’ and ‘Applying to Cambridge: Top Tips for the Research Proposal’). The blog is edited by students so is a great way to engage and empower the postgrad community, while supporting student recruitment and offering a window into student life at the university. This kind of content is also a great way for universities to highlight what makes them unique at postgraduate level, whether that’s the details of an application process, or the specific research their students are involved in.
Some universities aren’t just recognising increased interest in postgraduate study, they’re also enabling students to upskill and retrain through scholarships. A great example is Edinburgh Napier University and the Housing, Construction & Infrastructure Skills Gateway working together to offer fully-funded scholarships to study a Masters in Construction, starting in 2021. These scholarships are for professionals who have been furloughed or are at risk of redundancy and the scheme will allow students to maintain links with their employers to support returning to work post-pandemic. We've seen a number of universities respond in a similar way with scholarships or free short courses and we're sure more offers will follow.
We see hundreds of postgraduate marketing campaigns and continually gather data from how our visitors and subscribers engage with our websites and emails so can offer advice and support with your campaigns. Please contact your Account Manager or email info@findauniversity.com with any questions or support you're looking for and we'll be happy to help.