As part of our MII Graduate Communications, we chatted with David Morrissey, Community Officer at St. Patricks Athletic FC.
In your own words, why did you choose to apply to the PgDip in Marketing and Management in TU Dublin?
I am currently the Community Officer at St Patrick’s Athletic FC, a role which has provided me with significant insight into the sports industry in Ireland. For more than a year I had thought about returning to education in order to increase my career prospects, with marketing beginning to stand out as an area of interest.
With the advent of Covid-19, I like many began to self-reflect about my career and the direction that I would like it to take. Consequently, I began to explore part-time Level 9 Marketing courses on offer at third level institutions in Ireland. When I came across the Marketing and Management PgDip (for non-Business graduates) at TU Dublin I was immediately interested as the course criteria seemed perfectly tailored to people like me, that do not have an undergraduate Business qualification. I followed this interest up with a phone call to the course director Sarah Strange and afterwards I quickly came to the realisation that the PgDip in Marketing and Management at TU Dublin would be the right course for me. Sarah listened to what I wanted to achieve professionally and when she had a clear understanding of my education and workplace experiences, she provided me with a course overview in a way that I could personally relate to.
Do you feel the scholarship application process gave you a chance to showcase yourself and your proposal?
Yes absolutely! The scholarship application process provided candidates the opportunity to showcase the skills and experiences that they have developed via education and in the workplace. Candidates were then given the opportunity to theoretically apply their skills and experiences to a managing consulting team tasked with developing a marketing plan for a SME.
I really enjoyed having the opportunity to share my proposal in essay form as this permitted candidates to expand on aspects of their CV and to further highlight the relevance of their skills/experiences to their proposal. The presentation that followed with representatives of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and TU Dublin was a brilliant exercise and it was one which highlighted the value of being able to concisely summarise the key points of your proposal (which had already been outlined in essay form).
Overall, I believe the application process was designed in a way which gave candidates every opportunity to put their best foot forward.
What does it meant to you to be rewarded a scholarship for the PgDip in Management & Marketing?
I am thrilled to have successfully come through the scholarship process and I would like to thank the Marketing Institute of Ireland for the opportunity. Being awarded this scholarship has given me a confidence boost and has allayed any irrational fears that may have lingering surrounding a potential return to education. Knowing that my essay and presentation impressed the interview panel reassures me that I will be well equipped to complete the Marketing and Management course at TU Dublin. I look forward to learning from the staff at the Marketing Department at TU Dublin and meeting my future classmates next month.
