Sajna Razi

Marketing, College of Business Administration

Sajna Razi

Sajna Razi, PhD, is currently Clinical AssociateProfessor in the Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research and teaching include digital and social media marketing, marketing technologies, digital healthcare, and online innovations in marketing education. She has 10+ years of professional global work experience in digital business/marketing consulting, program management, and customer relations.  Her work has been showcased in peer reviewed journals and conferences.

Razi is a 2022-23 Action Research Scholar.

Sajna Razi

Sajna Razi

The Effect of Learning with Marketing Technologies on Student Learning, Engagement, and Outcomes Heading link

Abstract

Marketing technologies are digital technologies used in the field of marketing to achieve business goals. In the marketing industry, the number of marketing technologies used has increased from 150 to 13000 in the last ten years, with Artificial Intelligence(AI) fueling the new developments. These are used to create and monitor omnichannel consumer experiences.  This is used in the day to day working of a marketer in the current times. So, it is critical to align the new generation of marketers to these skills and include these in their marketing education to prepare them for future successful careers. The traditional method of marketing education is currently not aligned to this dynamic need of the data driven marketer.  Bringing in marketing technologies and implementing them for learning in marketing classes helps to bridge this gap.

In this research, I study how inclusion of Marketing technologies in marketing course curriculum and learning using them, affect student learning, engagement and outcomes(skills, self-efficacy, help for future careers). The research also aims to look at whether this differs for students from diverse backgrounds. It also explores how  gaining a certification/badge on marketing technologies helps in enhancing student outcomes. The results of this research are aimed to improve student learning using marketing technology platforms and improve student outcomes.

The project was developed as part of the Action Research Scholars program to conduct a systematic study of student learning and outcomes for the New Marketing Technology initiative launched  in Fall 2022 within the Department of Marketing at College of Business Administration. The vision of this initiative is to “Educate and inspire technology driven marketing leaders in the digital era”. This includes partnering with Marketing Technology companies and bringing in hands-on application of technologies used in the industry now to the classrooms/UIC campus organizations. This is aimed to improve career skills for students, provide tangible hands-on expertise and improve student learning experience. This research  will help me to evaluate, monitor and improve this initiative through research backed methodology.

Through this research, I study how inclusion of Marketing technologies in marketing course curriculum and learning using them, affect student learning ,engagement and outcomes(skills, self-efficacy, help for future careers). This research also will help us understand how such initiatives can help in addressing STEM adoption concerns for students from diverse backgrounds. Since UIC has a very diverse student population, it is important to understand ways to engage diverse set of students in applied technologies as part of the STEM stream and to boost their career paths. Adoption and training in STEM has so far been a concern area for such populations and this research is an endeavor to throw light on this issue as well.

The outcomes of this research on Marketing Technology initiatives in classroom /student organizations will help the Department understand the adoption, engagement, learning experience and job skill development at the student level. This initiative is broad in its scope that the outcomes from this research can be applied across social sciences as well as healthcare. For example, adoption of technologies within healthcare, public healthcare and patient management is increasing in the current times. This research can help inform how such applied technologies from current industry can be employed in a University setting and engage students with tangible career outcomes.

The study will use a self-reported survey by students in classes where Marketing Technology has been used for learning.

The primary questions are :

  1. How does inclusion of Marketing technologies in marketing course curriculum and learning using them affect student learning, engagement and outcomes (skills, self-efficacy, help for future careers)?
  2. Does this differ for students from diverse backgrounds?
  3. Does gaining a certification/badge on marketing technologies help in enhancing student outcomes?

 

Student feedback based on the survey shows high promise for the inclusion of marketing technologies into my classes. I would be continuing the pedagogical technique. At the same time, as indicated by the results, more focus can be brought in to improve extra skills also.

I am the Director of Marketing Technology Hub, which spearheads the MarTech initiative within our department. The results of this study will be shared with the department for more interest generation and inclusion of methodology within the college.

Through this program, I had the opportunity to connect with faculty across colleges, discuss like-minded topics and explore avenues of future research. I will continue to connect with CATE as a mentor for future action research scholars’ program as well.