The digital media sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.  Thanks to rising global ecommerce spending and shifting viewership from traditional TV to digital channels, digital’s share of total worldwide advertising will reach nearly 50% by 2020.  A 2018 study also predicts a dramatic acceleration in the pace of digital transformation across Asia’s economies.  In 2017, about 6% of Asia’s GDP was derived from digital products and services created directly through the use of digital technologies such as mobility, cloud, Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence.  This is expected to surge to around 60% of Asia GDP by 2021.  Developing a workforce of digital talents is thus imperative for our economy.

Google’s DIGITIZE programme aims to tackle this talent shortage right here in Singapore.  It focuses on developing digital marketing skills for a new generation of marketers, and training local talents to be future experts and leaders of the Singapore digital marketing industry.  44 Singapore Management University (SMU) undergraduates celebrated the completion of the inaugural Digitize Academy@SMU in March with a graduation party at Google’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, following which they will be taking up a four-month internship with one of Google’s agency, advertising and reseller partners.

Having successfully run the DIGITIZE programme for the past two years in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Agency and Xpand Group, this is the first time Google has extended the programme to undergraduates, with SMU as its first university partner.

[Photo: SMU students attending the programme at Google Singapore.]

“Our students are excited and privileged to be part of the DIGITIZE programme.  The exposure to speakers with real-world expertise is the biggest draw.  The practical knowledge that students will gain from this programme enriches and deepens the marketing concepts they learn within the BBM curriculum, and prepares them for the digital marketing industry.  From my point of view as a marketing professor, this is real value-add,” said Michelle P Lee, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programmes) and Associate Professor of Marketing (Education), SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

Stephanie Davis, Country Director for Google Singapore, said, “Going digital is the way forward. Consumers’ habits have changed drastically with technology and businesses need to constantly evolve skill sets along with it.  Marketing is a dynamic field, and to keep up with the ever-changing scene, we want to empower the next-generation of thinkers who can seize opportunities offered by technology to deliver innovative strategies that will delight and excite customers not just in Singapore, but around the world.”

Third-year business management undergraduate, Nicole Ng, was among the SMU cohort which participated in the programme.  She shared, “This programme has deepened my understanding of the digital landscape with a comprehensive curriculum packed with real-life examples from the experts at Google.  The topics covered are crucial for a marketer in today’s context, and are effective in shaping our mindset to be user-centric in terms of ads placements.  The programme has definitely imparted to me knowledge, confidence and interest in pursuing a career in the digital marketing sector."