4 semesters explained in 5 minutes, or: How communication and marketing experts add IT expertise to their skills and thus increase their market value. A Q&A guide.
The next career step or simply more fun at work? It doesn’t matter. The academic continuing education programs at the Vienna Management Academy by FHWien der WKW are designed precisely to meet the needs of working professionals and the aspirations of up-and-comers.
Gerald Janous is Head of Program of the Master’s program MSc Digital Communication and Marketing and also a graduate in business administration and psychology. He provides insights into his basic thinking when developing this university course, which culminated in the question: “What else would I have liked to have completed as a continuing education course myself?”
What is special about the MSc Digital Communication and Marketing?
What makes this Master’s program unique is this extremely rare combination of IT and digital marketing, which is in huge demand in times of increasing digitalization! Here, communications and marketing experts become profound IT specialists. On the one hand, this increases career opportunities, and on the other, it’s simply fun: You don’t need a technician or an agency for every little IT problem; instead, you do many things yourself. Or you can at least be a competent discussion partner for experts in this field.
Why is now a good time to attend the program?
We are building this IT knowledge among people who have already graduated in communications or business and who already have professional experience. This means they are not the digital natives who are now growing up. On the one hand, our continuing education program can close this knowledge and experience gap, and on the other hand, it can still give them a big head start: Namely, to better understand and use the digital tools needed in communication and marketing.
The technical knowledge and the benefits are therefore also didactically in the foreground. In each course, lecturers from the field show what is needed for the respective specialist areas. There are no prerequisites in the technical aspects, IT knowledge is taught from the ground up during the training and linked with content from communication, marketing and sales.
For whom is this Master’s program particularly recommended?
We are very well attuned to the needs of professionals working in a digital communications or marketing field – not only in terms of content, but above all in terms of organizational form: Especially in the first year of study, a very high distance learning component with marketing-related IT content enables the best possible flexibility in terms of study times and locations. The lecturers use proven IT teaching material for home learning.
In the second year of study, the practical modules for digital marketing are taught as block lectures at FHWien der WKW. The program ends after four semesters with an oral master’s examination and the award of the academic title “Master of Science”. However, it is also possible to attend only the first year of study and graduate as “Academic Expert”.
Which digital competencies are built up and promoted?
The main idea is to build up the basic IT skills that are important for the digital focus in the marketing and communications sectors. We have basic modules that provide an overview of the areas of business informatics – in other words, how business processes can be mapped in informatics. Another basic module is about mathematical basics in various areas of IT and about software tools that map this. There is also an introduction to programming with a simple programming language, Python, which you will also need later for data analysis.
The first year also focuses on data analysis, i. e. in particular on the tools and skills required for this – from programming skills to database basics with SQL, from classic statistical analyses to more modern data mining methods.
An additional focus is on programming and design, as well as website design. And then in the first year there is a module with a business focus, which is about digital business models: how they work, how to create them for digital products, how to generate revenue, etc. This can be for a completely new startup, but also for products or services in an existing company. And an important interface area are IT project management skills – where you learn how to manage projects with an IT component and learn about the different tools in the field.
Do you have questions about our MSc Digital Communication and Marketing? Do not hesitate to contact our Head of Program FH-Prof. Dr. Gerald Janous for a personal consultation at 0800 40 00 77-02 or via e-mail.