Vivien Underwood

As Econsultancy's Head of Professional Development, I oversee the development and management of all products related to individual training and education.

I joined Econsultancy in February 2006 during the initial stages of public training development. Since then I have worked on all aspects of our training delivery, most recently developing a range of new graduate certificate qualifications, a suite of elearning modules and a number of initiatives which will attract and support emerging digital talent. In addition, I am responsible for developing overseas opportunities to deliver qualifications and certificated courses.

The Professional Development team at Econsultancy can currently boast training more than 2500 people annually in over 30 subject areas, the world's most successful MSc in Digital Marketing Communications and a student retention rate across all academic programmes of more than 85%.

The class of 2012: Are businesses doing enough to find digital talent?

University careers services are not currently well equipped to provide advice on jobs in digital. In fact, given the lack of internal digital knowledge in most institutions and scarcity of up-to-date courses, meaningful advice from any quarter is thin on the ground.

Even graduates from relevant degrees such as marketing, advertising or media are largely unaware of the vast array of opportunities available.

by Vivien Underwood 22 August 2012 08:41am 2 comments

10 new specialist qualifications for the digital industry

There’s a whiff of triumph in the air: ten new specialist qualifications for the digital industry, each seeking to provide the skills needed to become a confident practitioner in disciplines as diverse as Analytics, SEO, UX, and Social Commerce.

Econsultancy's new Graduate Certificates offer an accredited route to mastering the implementation of a range of core digital skills and offer supported learning on the job.

Created in direct response to client demand (and our own findings in the recent Skills and Structures report), these new qualifications are an important development for us.

by Vivien Underwood 30 January 2012 10:44am 0 comments

Raising the bar: Econsultancy's graduating class of 2011 builds on last year's success

Econsultancy's qualifications team is chuffed to bits to hear the news that this year's MSc in Digital Marketing Communications graduates not only achieved their qualifications, but aced them.

Out of the five candidates, three were awarded merits, whilst Daniel Tomlinson (Trutex) and Lucy von Weber (South West Wales Tourism Partnership) achieved the MSc's first distinctions. The university described all this year's dissertations as outstanding and we're inclined to agree!

by Vivien Underwood 01 July 2011 13:48pm 1 comment

Top of the class: Econsultancy's first MSc graduates receive their awards

After three years of intensive study, Econsultancy’s first graduates received their MSc awards this week, making them the first in the world to gain a postgraduate degree in Digital Marketing Communications.

Graduates

by Vivien Underwood 19 July 2010 09:53am 7 comments

Degrees in digital marketing: are they helping the industry?

The number of degrees that focus on Digital Marketing is growing, but inflexibility, academic bureaucracy, and a lack of engagement with industry is undermining their value for employers.

by Vivien Underwood 04 September 2009 13:59pm 9 comments

Digital employers need to work harder to attract high flying grads

This summer’s Digital Marketing Graduate Academy gave us the opportunity to meet some of the people who will be shaping our industry in years to come. But while they spent time in the classroom, what did we learn?

by Vivien Underwood 07 October 2008 14:29pm 0 comments