Undergraduate students partner with company UnderPinned for authentic social media marketing assessments

Between January and April 2024, 100 undergraduate students from ten different courses are learning through collaboration with a corporate client, UnderPinned, supported by industry professionals and academic mentors. Students in the Social Media Marketing module were tasked to perform a social media audit and develop comprehensive social media marketing campaigns for this client. The impact of the initiative extends beyond the classroom, as the students' social media marketing campaigns have the potential to make a tangible difference for the businesses they work with. 

The hands-on nature of these assessments enables students to apply theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world scenarios. Underpinned delivered a live brief to these students on 5 February, followed by a question-and-answer session and an interactive workshop on 11 March where students were asked to resolve client challenges.  

Through interactive sessions with the client, students gained real-world experience in understanding the target audience's social media preferences, crafting engaging content and implementing effective marketing tactics across various social media platforms. During one of the sessions, students worked on designing storyboards and producing marketing videos that UnderPinned could use on their social media.  

Lecturer Maria Bortnovskaya, the module leader of the Social Media Marketing Module, integrated this collaboration between students and businesses into the module coursework. She said: “The innovative approach we adopted in this module not only provides students with authentic assessments, but also offers them the opportunity to gain industry insights, understand challenges and master social media marketing skills in real-world scenarios. Collaboration with a real business equips our students with the skills, knowledge and confidence that will help them to thrive in the competitive field of digital marketing.” 

Second-year Marketing Communications BA Honours student Lilian Filler said: “I truly admire the fact that while studying at the University of Westminster, the Westminster Business School teaching team has allowed us the amazing opportunity to collaborate with real-world clients. In doing so, it has allowed students to go beyond the classroom to create a unique and valuable learning experience for our future careers.” 

Jack Williams, Chief Operating Officer at UnderPinned, said: “I was so impressed with the work presented by the Westminster students as part of their Westminster Business School program. The level of skill set, and their understanding of the media were fantastic, and I cannot wait to take the experience back to UnderPinned to improve our own output. Every program should host similar interactive sessions that ask students to perform the process so vital to marketers; to work together creatively! My hope for the next generation of marketers and social media managers has never been higher.”  

The module is supported by Westminster Enterprise Network (WeNetwork), the University’s entrepreneurial network that brings together students and recent graduates with industry to develop their entrepreneurial skills, engage in self-employment work and create businesses. The team helps connect students with the world of work to solve real-world problems and widen participation in entrepreneurship, enterprise opportunities and education. 

This course trip directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education and 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society. 

Learn more about courses in Business and Management and Marketing at the University of Westminster.