19/02/2025
Is Digital Marketing Education Heading in the Right Direction?
I recently had the opportunity to review the 12-hour MBA Digital Marketing curriculum from Pokhara University, and I couldn’t help but question its approach. The syllabus jumps straight into advanced tools like HubSpot and SEMrush without first covering the fundamental principles of digital marketing, a critical oversight.
How can students grasp automation, data-driven marketing, and campaign ex*****on without first understanding consumer behavior, content strategy, and organic marketing principles? Digital marketing isn’t just about mastering tools; it’s about strategic thinking, audience understanding, consumer behavior, data analysis and ex*****on. Without this foundation, even the most sophisticated tools become meaningless.
Another major concern is the listing the premium, high-cost software as a part of the Curriculum. While HubSpot, SEMrush, and Marketo are powerful, they come with expensive subscription models. How many students, especially in Nepal can afford these after graduation? Shouldn’t we be equipping future marketers with cost-effective, scalable strategies they can immediately apply in real-world business settings?
Universities must shift their focus from tool-based training to strategy-driven education. Students should first learn core digital marketing principles; SEO fundamentals, content marketing, Ads mechanism, how digital marketing works, organic reach strategies, audience targeting and more, before diving into automation and premium analytics tools.
This raises an important question: Are we truly preparing students for the real-world digital marketing landscape, or just training them to rely on expensive software?
Would love to hear your thoughts!