Richard Dron tells you about what its like to learn web app development here in Salford Business School

Are you looking for a Business Management programme where you can learn technical skills, like web app development? Are you interested in working in the digital space after you complete your degree? Or are you a business looking to work with a university because you need students with a business perspective who can manage the process of managing web app development projects?

I’m Richard, Programme Leader for BSc Business Management with Innovation and Technology, and also I look after the Web App Development module. I think it’s great and it might just be what you’re looking for!

What makes our web app development module so special? Well, firstly its part of the BSc Business Management with Innovation and Technology programme, that trains managers to run businesses of the future and harness the power of tech. I might be biased but I think it’s a brilliant programme. We’re an amazing academic team and we’ve got fantastic students too!

We use the term industry informed to describe this undergraduate degree programme. But what does that mean? Well, we’ve co-created this module with industry in mind. To make our students even more industry ready, this year they are working to client briefs and industry expectations with a local industry partner, on their way to working in digital careers where the skills they develop here will be really important.

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Dr Yun Chen talks about how your digital business can work with the University of Salford

Have you heard about digital business transformation? Here at Salford we have and we want to be part of the process that helps transform your digital businesses. Do you want to know how our students work with internal and external partners?

I am Dr Yun Chen and I run two modules working closely with industry bringing our undergraduate students within the digital business transformation process. My Mobile App Development module is a great example. This year our students developed real applications and more importantly, they worked with our established industry partners Apadmi and Sigma too benchmarking their skills against industry standards.

Could your business benefit from a number of fresh pairs of eyes looking at your app development project needs? Like you, I know that mobile devices are one of the most popular channels that help people engage people with digital businesses activities. This means it is really essential now to make sure that students understand not just the mobile technologies and theories of design but also its implementation in the real world. Let me tell you more about how Salford Business School does this.

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Yousef Essali tells you why lack of experience should not limit your ambition

In the 2nd year of my BSc at Salford I applied for a lot of placements. Not even once did I get to the interview stage! What was I doing wrong? That was during my undergraduate degree where everyone was fairly similar in age and experience. But, when you think about  the postgrad level it gets even tougher. Suddenly you find yourself competing with peers with wider levels of experience and talent.

Why did I return straight away after graduation to start MSc International Business? One reason was the opportunity to do an internship or placement as part of my course. However, after the rejection fiasco in my Undergraduate degree I knew I needed a new approach! How could I change the playing field to my advantage, bypass the traditional recruitment process and get face-to-face with potential employers?

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Ian McHale, Professor of Sports Analytics

Now that SAM’s predictions for Premier League matches are on the BBC website every week, I am getting asked three questions a lot:

1. What is SAM?
2. How does SAM work?
3. Is SAM any good?

In this blog I hope to give pretty simple answers to these questions, and point the interested reader in the right direction to get more information.

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Adam Mitcheson, BSc Business Management Studies, 2008, CEO & Founder my2be

My startup entrepreneur journey started when I went to University almost by accident! After leaving school, the job I went into required me to attend University of Salford one day a week. I soon realised that neither the job nor the course were a good fit for me, but still didn’t really know what I wanted from a career. So I decided to switch courses to a Business Degree and go full time, to keep my options open whilst I tried to work out what it was I wanted to do.

I graduated in the summer of 2008, however, that same summer the global recession hit and the graduate market collapsed. I couldn’t get near anything I wanted to do and went through a variety of soul destroying interviews with bogus companies that were springing up, as well as odd jobs. In 2010 I turned towards finance, something I’d actively tried to avoid, finding myself a job with BNY Mellon in Manchester.

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Karl Chevalier

For me, leaving University was one of the hardest challenges I have had to face so far. Having previously studied at a small independent faith school with a population less than that of a coal miner’s convention – it was hard to embrace the fact I would be competing for a place in this crowded digital environment. With hundreds of people graduating alongside me in Greater Manchester alone, and an extra few hundred graduating each year thereafter what are the chances of me being noticed? How would I ever stand out from the crowd and land my dream job?

Thousands of pounds and several hundred caffeine induced beverages later and I found myself standing looking deep in to this digital precipice with an abundance of career options available. A fantastic new parachute-shaped degree strapped to my back – but is a degree alone enough to stand out from the crowd and help land your dream job?

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Nim Tennakoon, MSc Digital Marketing student

Before I started my Search and Social Media Marketing module (SSMM), I did not consider optimising my digital profiles or worry about the ranking of my name in Search Engine Results Page (SERPs). Knowing what I know now this is one reason as to why I study Digital Marketing at Salford.

Most of us have social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I actually have more than 5000 friends on Facebook! Even my Facebook page has more than 2000 likes. On Instagram I have nearly 3500 followers. For a long time I was active online posting around twice a day. But only recently I have started to understand the theoretical and financial values behind it.

Once I began to appreciate the theory of social media marketing I became fascinated. Did you know I am what you might call in digital marketing a micro-influencer?

It’s true! I have now even read some studies that suggest users like myself with smaller follower numbers actually have higher engagement rates on social media compared to some Megastars. Therefore, people like me with similar followings can be of huge benefit to online brands.

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Seema Dosanjh – why students should do a work placement

Are you a student eager to finish university and jump right into your amazing career? Are you excited to have a professional job title and the salary that comes along with it? Are you ready to hear to the unfortunate truth about the reality that awaits you after graduation? Read this blog post on why you should consider doing a work placement to broaden your horizons.

As a natural optimist I hate having to do this. If you’re a student waiting to start your first job after completing your studies, you may want to may want to re-evaluate this decision.

The workforce is slowly but surely shifting as employers are demanding more from their applicants. There used to be a time where an undergraduate degree would get your ‘foot in the door’. Over the recent years, more job listings require candidates to have 1-3 years of work experience to even be considered for an entry level position.

This is not to say that students who don’t have prior work experience will not be employed. Instead this blog post looks at how doing a work placement during a your academic career is helpful in accelerating your professional career.

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Huzayfah Bukhat, BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology Graduate

Like many other graduates who recently graduated in the summer of 2016, I started to search for that ‘dream job‘ and in my instance – The first job. How to get a graduate job will depend on you and your personality and here is my way…

Every graduate had the same attitude and drive as me. And this meant that I needed to up my game.

As part of my final year, I learnt how to target employers using social media networks. I had already created a personal website as part of my BSc Business Information Technology program but this needed optimising to further target employers.

I would write blog posts regarding project management, web design and business analysis to build an online network and also show employers that I understand my field and what I am passionate about. It was writing these blog posts that helped me to understand what career path I wanted to take – business analysis. Here are my seven steps on how to get a graduate job:

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How do student placements work?

Are you worried about gaining work experience? When you finish university how will you stand out when applying for Graduate roles? I knew how competitive the Graduate market was. This was something I considered in my second year that drove me to apply for a student placement.

I spent my third year on a student placement. I highly recommend a year in Industry. Everyone should consider it! It is your chance to gain some fantastic working experience while you complete your degree.

I spent last year working for Virgin Media. This has been an amazing experience and has given me more opportunities than I could have ever imagined. Day-to-day I have been responsible for coaching off-shore partners in India and the Philippines and taking a communication lead on high scale projects. I have wrote nominations for national awards as well as internal communications to share key-information.

Now I am coming to the end of my student placement I have begun to reflect on the year and really appreciate the fantastic opportunity I have had. I have built knowledge, developed skills and grown into a more confident person. In the second year I was hesitant on whether a placement year was for me. I thought adding another year of study to my degree was delaying my completion of my course. Having now had the experience I can tell you that it is 110% worth it!

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