SIFEC recently hosted the final presentations of its joint Digital Marketing course with SKEMA Business School, demonstrating a practice-driven teaching model that connects classroom learning directly with real market needs.

Built on the SKEMA Way of Learning (SKWoL), the course emphasizes learning through real projects rather than simulations. After two years of refinement, it has developed into an integrated model combining industry, education, research, and public engagement, enabling students to experience the full workflow of a commercial project.

Led by Yi Wu, Digital Marketing Course Director at SKEMA and founder of THE GEN WE PROJECT, the course introduces authentic business initiatives into teaching. This semester, it partnered with the China Cup—an international fashion competition supported by SIFEC—to launch the “Joy of Living” Design Competition, requiring students to design complete digital marketing strategies for a live event.

A key highlight was the cross-disciplinary approach. Business students went beyond theory to creative practice, developing marketing strategies around silk scarf designs inspired by personal narratives and sustainable lifestyles.

Industry engagement was central to the course. Professionals from the China Cup organizing committee, lifestyle brands, global textile companies, and digital marketing teams joined classroom discussions. Students also visited a smart manufacturing factory, gaining first-hand insight into how technology drives production and innovation.

The main outcome of the course was a Digital Marketing Launch Toolkit tailored for the China Cup × THE GEN WE PROJECT “Joy of Living” Design Competition. Four student teams conducted industry research, audience analysis, omnichannel content planning, and a 21-day multi-platform market test, followed by data review.

Final presentations reflected strong professional maturity, combining commercial logic with cultural awareness and sustainability thinking. As one SKEMA student noted, completing a full marketing campaign—from factory visits to hands-on work with Chinese social media platforms—offered a clear and practical understanding of digital marketing.

By embedding real market challenges into teaching, the SIFEC–SKEMA collaboration highlights how practice-oriented education can help students transition smoothly from classroom to career.