PU to start digital marketing course

Amarjot Kaur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 23

In its correspondence sent to the vice-chancellors of all Indian universities on Wednesday, the University Grants Commission (UGC), a statuary body under the the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), has listed 43 massive open online courses (MOOCs), one of which, digital marketing, will be offered at Panjab University.

The enrolment in the postgraduate non-technology MOOCs, to be offered under the MHRD’s programme SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds), is already open and the last day to enroll is August 31, the letter states. 

The UGC has urged all vice-chancellors to ensure maximum enrolment of students in the said courses.

Spearheading the SWAYAM programme at PU, the course coordinator of MOOC in digital marketing, Assistant Professor Dr Tejinderpal Singh at University Business School, said, “The UGC had invited anyone with 10 years of teaching to apply for MOOCs. We were asked for sample videos on the basis of which proposals were made. I sent a proposal for digital marketing last year, which was accepted and then I was asked for a detailed proposal with modules. I was asked to develop a one-week course, which was reviewed by the UGC and it gave me a go ahead in December.”

Singh said the UGC gives a grant of Rs 13.5 lakh to develop the course. “The grant was sanctioned last year and I received Rs 1.35 lakh (10 per cent of the grant) after my proposal on the development of the course was accepted. It’s for the first time that the university is starting an online course in digital marketing. It’s one of the most-coveted courses,” he added. 

The course is worth four credits and allows anyone to enrol, and that too free of cost, unless the candidate opts for an exam. 

“If a candidate exits the course without taking the exam, it’s free of cost. However, those who really want to study the subject, like those enrolled in MBA, can take the exam and the UGC has a nominal charge for it, perhaps Rs 1,000,” said Dr Singh.

The beginning 

In a first, Prof Prashant Kumar Gautam of the University Institute of Hotel And Tourism Management ran two MOOCs in tourism planning and sustainable development under the UGC’s SWAYAM last year. 

“In the first semester, from August 2018 to January 2019, we had enrolled some 800 students while in the second semester, from January 2019 to May 2019, around 600 people were enrolled,” he said. 

Gautam said the UCG had identified vendors for making videos of the course as there were certain guidelines and it was a well-planned course. 

“I was given an honorarium of Rs 1 lakh to run the course and we can also have a teaching assistant. If a person, doing his/her PhD is hired as an assistant for the MOOC, the UGC gives him/her a full-semester fee of about Rs 10,000. In fact, before Prof Gautam, Prof AK Sehajpal, a retired Prof of commerce at PU, had also started a MOOC in organisational behaviour,” Gautam added.

Why digital marketing? 

Today, the communication through online platforms has become a key element of integrated marketing communication strategy and changed the way how organisations communicate with their stakeholders. Organisations have started using Internet and digital devices in their main marketing strategy in the form of digital marketing. Digital marketing is a rapidly growing force in the present marketing domain and is set be the future of marketing. It has resulted in numerous opportunities and avenues for advertising and marketing, both in domestic and international business environment. 

Therefore, there is a need to understand the fundamentals of digital marketing and to inculcate such skills among students. Keeping this in view, a course on digital marketing has been designed, which aims to build conceptual foundation of digital marketing and to develop the students’ skills to plan, implement and monitor digital marketing campaigns in globalised environment. 

The target learners of this course are primarily students pursing MBA and other management-related courses. However, anyone who wants to leverage the power of digital marketing in his business or profession may join this course. 

Prerequisites of the course are — basic knowledge of Internet and Internet browsing experimental and analytical mindset while no hardcore technical knowledge required to pursue the course. 

About the course

• Course status: Upcoming
• Course type: Elective
• Duration: 15 weeks
• Start date: Jul 15, 2019
• End date: Oct 30, 2019 
• Category: Humanities and social sciences
• Level: Postgraduate
• Course certificate: 30 marks will be allocated for internal assessment and 70 for external proctored examination