Media Technology: Strategic Media Development, Master's Programme (Two-Year)

I had a job offer even before graduation

Gustaw Hall is an alum of the two-year Media Technology: Strategic Media Development master’s programme. Before his graduate studies, Gustaw had studied the IT and economy undergraduate programme at Malmö University.

He graduated in 2022, and now works as a business intelligence (BI) consultant for Nexer in Malmö.

“I had a job offer even before graduation,” says Gustaw. “Since we learned the same technologies and methods that are being used in the industry, I got a good understanding of the kind of work I was going to do next. So, I’d say what we learned in the programme was directly applicable to real work life.”

As a BI consultant, Gustaw helps clients in both the private and public sectors and across a variety of markets which want to make better use of their data. These include clients within the insurance industry, the car industry, and Swedish municipalities. In his work, Gustaw is tasked with finding and using relevant data that a client is generating and to visualise the data in ways that improve the client’s ability to make strategically sound decisions.

“It could for example be that I extract data from the client’s databases with sales figures from stores to build a report with visualisations concerning sale figures across a period of time. By visualising the data in different ways, I bring it to life, and make it easier for management to see, patterns in the data and get a greater understanding of their business.”

It was during the master’s programme that Gustaw discovered his interest in data visualisation as a method for digital storytelling. For his master’s thesis, he used network analysis to visualise how a domestic far-right extremist group used social networks to tell their story and to recruit new members. 

“I have always been interested in the relationship between technology and social issues. This is what motivated me to do my master´s thesis.”

Some of the benefits of the programme, according to Gustaw, are the opportunities for students to network and cooperate in projects with external companies and stakeholders.

”This programme suits people who want to work in a number of industries, not only in media. Because of its broad focus, you get knowledge of various business aspects, which means that a lot of different doors are going to open for you when you graduate.”

I liked the intensity of the assignments and fact that they so closely resembled real work life situations

Alexander Liderås, 25, is a recent graduate from the Media Technology: Strategic Media Development master’s programme. He recently started to work as a project manager for Tietoevry in Malmö, a career opportunity that came to him via another alum of the programme.

“After I graduated from the media production and process design bachelor’s programme here at Malmö University, I felt that my skillsets were a bit scattered,” explains Alexander.

“So I decided that I needed to specialise and focus on digitalisation from a business development perspective. I found out about this master’s programme, and it felt like a match made in heaven.”

Comfortable as project leader

Alexander, who grew up in the Swedish town of Västerås and moved to Malmö to study, describes himself as someone who is comfortable in a project leader role. He loves problem solving and wants to find flexible work with lots of room for creativity.

”The programme gave me a good understanding of many different aspects of my field, and I felt well-prepared to jump right into my professional career. This feeling came from the fact that I had already done a great deal of ‘real work’ throughout the course of the programme, so I understood what would be expected from me.” 

One thing Alexander liked about the master’s programme was the flexibility in the assignments. Through dialogue with the teachers, he was able to help shape the assignments, which felt extra motivating. Overall, the courses include a lot of group work, something which Alexander enjoyed.

Enjoyed the data sprints

In the programme courses, Alexander liked the data sprint assignments the most. During these two-week group assignments, he and the other student in his group would receive a data set from one of the programme’s external collaboration partners. They would then be asked to visualise the data to help solve a client’s real-life problem and then prepare and pitch their solutions to the partner companies.

“I liked the intensity of the assignments and fact that the data sprints so closely resembled real work life situations. Once we got the data set on the first day, we would need to have an idea by the end of that day and then just keep on working under time pressure. By the end of the first week, we would start preparing for how we would present our case to the customer.”

Beyond the media industry

According to Alexander, the skills he and the other students learned in the programme are by no means useful only in the media, advertising and marketing industries.

“This programme suits people like me, who want to work behind the scenes, come up with cool ideas and then put those ideas into this world. If you want to lead projects and work strategically with digital content, you should consider applying to this programme.”

I particularly liked how the programme enabled me to make use of my previous knowledge in new contexts

Sebastian Hastrup is an alum of the Media Technology: Strategic Media Development master’s programme. He is a former PhD student in computer science at Malmö University and a lecturer in media technology at Blekinge Institute of Technology.

What did you think of the programme?

The programme was interesting and challenging. It forced me to think critically about media and design problems. I particularly liked how it enabled me to make use of my previous knowledge in new contexts.

Why did you apply to the master's programme?

I wanted to widen my perspective on media theory and media culture. Added to that, I had decided to pursue a career in academia, so a master’s degree was the obvious next step.

What kind of students should apply for the programme?

I come from a mixed background in terms of disciplines, and previous to the master’s degree I also had several years experience in lecturing within different media technology topics. I think the programme suited me well because I like to work in different disciplines. So if you have acquired skills in some media-related subject or practice and want to put it into meaningful contexts, you should apply for the programme. Students applying for the programme should ideally be open for different approaches and practices in media technology.

In what ways did the programme prepare you for your doctoral studies and can you tell us about the focus of your research studies?

In terms of preparation, completing a master’s thesis was a revelation in that I realised that I had the ability to do research on a higher level. My research studies will focus on sonification, i.e. using sound as a medium to understand data. In particular, I want to look at how interaction and aesthetics can have an effect on sound perception.

What kind of professional networking and internship opportunities did the programme include?

There were instances throughout the courses were we could take part in ongoing research projects. There were also some thesis projects offered from different companies in the region. 

See a presentation film for Sebastian’s master thesis project Reactiscape