National College of Ireland values the importance of providing students with practical skills and experiences alongside their studies so that when they complete their coursework they can succeed in the workplace and thrive outside of a lecture hall setting. The 3rd Year Marketing Capstone Showcase that took place on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024, is the ideal opportunity for students to demonstrate the viable skills they have acquired. At this fantastic event, students proudly showcased the business ideas that they have created from conception to completion as part of NCI’s collaboration with Shopify. 

This Year’s Capstone Project: An Overview 

This year’s Capstone Project tasked students with building their own ‘white label’ businesses from the ground up. Students created their own business websites using this year’s Capstone Project partners Shopify, which gave them the opportunity to explore the importance and benefits of digital marketing, website management, as well as utilizing the scope and power of social media as students promoted their products on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. The result of this project features 22 eCommerce businesses ranging from cosmetics and fitness to self-care and wellness products that students displayed at NCI’s marketing showcase.

Studying Marketing at NCI 

The Capstone Project takes place during the final year of the BA in Marketing Practice programme. It is the culmination of all the hard work and study that students have been engaging with for three years. The BA in Marketing Practice is a 3year, Level 8 programme that prepares students for careers in a broad range of industry sectors. Students get to experience a hands-on, practical learning environment that will not only equip them with the knowledge they need to understand core areas of marketing such as brand management, consumer behaviour, entrepreneurship, and digital marketing, they will also have the opportunity to take advantage of work placements and employment opportunities and take part in projects that will allow them to develop tangible skills that they can bring with them to the workplace. 
NCI proudly delivers this course that ensures students can navigate and thrive in business environments in Ireland and beyond. 

The Capstone Project is particularly exciting because students are given the chance to be innovative as well as business-minded because for a business product to exist at the end of the project, an idea must come first. Taking that idea from conception to reality is a dynamic, challenging, but ultimately extremely rewarding process and we hope that students enjoyed presenting their innovations at the marketing showcase. 

Behind the Businesses 

National College of Ireland is a place where ideas come to life. This year’s marketing showcase was buzzing with activity as students presented and explained the processes of bringing their businesses to life. When speaking to some of the people behind the products, it was clear to see that the students gained so much knowledge and hands-on experience from this task. Students Ruairi Power and Matthew Daly reflected on some of most the valuable lessons they learned from the project.

“We’ve never done anything like this before, so behind the drive of wanting it, we learned a lot about the logistical aspects of a business. Things can take longer than expected, so in hindsight we would probably start certain processes earlier if we were to start all over again.” 

Pop Into Our Pop-Up at Swords Pavilions 

At NCI we are delighted that six student teams will be showcasing their innovative products to a wider audience. Ian Hunter, Centre Director of Swords Pavilions Shopping Centre, and a past student on the Master of Business Administration programme spoke about the importance of taking part in a project like this. Noting that even since last year, the presentation standards have improved, demonstrating that the students are determined to make their mark. 

“It should be treated like a real business from day one.”, Ian explained, “Instead of viewing it as a college project, they should be moving into a mindset that focuses on coming out of college and going into business.” 

On May 25th and 26th, 2024 our Marketing Practice students will be participating in a Shopify Pop-Up event in the Swords Pavilions Shopping Centre. We are hoping that it will be a successful weekend of sales and business promotion, as well as being a brilliant opportunity to chat to members of the public and answer any questions they may have about NCI and the broad range of dynamic courses delivered by the college. This event allows students to extend the project to include retail strategy and networking, as they are taking their ideas, their branding, and their promotional skills to a real-life marketplace. According to Ian Hunter, on weekends 60,000 people can be expected to be shopping in Swords Pavilions, so the students will get to see how they fare in a busy, bustling environment. It will be hard work, but it should hopefully be lots of fun too. Olivia Fearon, Katie Guyatt Thompson, and Ava D’Arcy are looking forward to the challenge as they are excited to see how their product does in a consumer-driven environment. 

“That will be the true test, here at college the feedback has been great, but the true test will be seeing how we get on out in the shopping centre. We’re hoping people like the product.” 

Meet The Makers 

We are very proud to introduce some of the students who will be participating in the Swords Pavilions Shopping Centre Pop-Up event. 

Silent Signs 
A beautiful jewellery line that celebrates sign language was founded by Ruairi Power and Matthew Daly. Each piece is crafted with passion and precision. Wearers are encouraged to embrace the cause and celebrate the power of a silent gesture and non-verbal communication. 
Ruairi and Matthew are committed to fostering an environment that values diversity, inclusion, and raising awareness. Every Silent Signs purchase contributes to sign language education and awareness. Follow @silentsignsstoree on Instagram and make sure to pop into the Pop-Up if you’d like to see this brand in action! 

Pro-Step

A sports sock manufacturing brand founded by Sean Kelly and Rory McGuinness aims to elevate the gym experience. By providing specially designed, premium grip sports socks, Pro-Step is committed to helping customers enhance their personal growth, one small step at a time. Safety, comfort, and giving people the materials needed to improve their athletic abilities are the core concerns of Pro-Step. Follow @prostephub on Instagram and come along to the Pop-Up if you’d like to ask questions and get some answers and insights into this new brand. 

To meet the rest of our makers and explore what other products will be on display at Swords Pavilions Shopping Centre on May 25th and 26th, 2024, you can read our latest blog post - Meet The Makers 

#ChangingLivesThroughEducation