Scottish universities urged to embrace digital

According to a wrap up of bigmouthmedia’s 2008 graduate intelligence, harvested from a series of recruitment events, the majority of Scotland’s class of 2008 believed that the education system is not properly aiding the transition from student life. Some 56% of the recent graduates polled believed that university had not sufficiently prepared them for life in the business world.

The research revealed a worrying lack of awareness about opportunities in 21^st Century industries. Over 46.3% of those surveyed said they knew little about opportunities in digital marketing and felt that universities should help increase awareness of such emerging industries.

Some 39% also believed they should have been told more about the search marketing sector during their time in higher education.

Respondents revealed a tendency to use online media to supplement gaps in the curriculum. Some 89% said that they had learned more about search marketing reading a range of industry blogs such as Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch.

The research also revealed that a career in search marketing is beginning to appeal to university leavers from disciplines not typically attracted to the sector however. While 24.4% of the recent graduates enquiring about a career in the industry had marketing/advertising degrees and 29.3% had been studying ICT/Computing, the clear majority – 46.3% - had studied unrelated subjects.

The results indicated that this broadening attraction could in part be due to the perception of the digital marketing as a ‘hot’ industry, with an overwhelming 80% stating that they believed the sector offered a more glamorous career than television marketing.

The graduate groups questioned also revealed a preference for remaining North of the border after leaving university. Some 95% of the graduates questioned said they would prefer to pursue a high-tech or marketing career in Scotland if possible.

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