Review of Opportunities in Collaboration Between Australia and Pakistan for the Education of Marketing Post COVID-19

Introduction

This chapter presents a unique study that suggests innovating marketing education based on in-class discussions with examples from the world of politics. This study does not imply that there is a specific need to change the approach to teach marketing, however, productive changes and innovation in teaching is a natural process that applies in education of marketing (Nix, 2021; Rayburn, Anderson & Sierra, 2020). Australian education has presented itself as a role model in international education in the last three decades and has successfully applied global collaboration for productive expansion in various geographic and demographic segments (McCubbin, Hammer & Ayriss, 2021). Australia can extend its engagement and education-based relations with the South Asian nations in general and with Pakistan specifically, based on post Covid-19 developments, as illustrated in this chapter.

Marketing education in universities around the world has been based on commercial examples of cars, smartphones, shoes, bags, and sports products, where most of these products are being sold under various brand names that invest in innovative marketing and earn trillions of dollars every year (Rayburn et al., 2020). Students studying marketing; graduate with the understanding that marketing can only be applied to products, services, and brands, and hence ignoring a large area of political marketing. The rise of political marketing is based on new political leaders emerging in national and global politics due their sharp and focused marketing techniques, which can be used as cross-learning for university students, as part of their deep learning. Moreover, the Covid-19 Pandemic has broken many norms with commercial and personal daily practices. The impact of Covid-19 on Australian education has been exponential. However, some lessons could be learnt on opening doors for educational partnerships (Thatcher et al., 2020). This chapter indicates that among new emerging opportunities based on the impact of Covid-19, educational collaboration between Australia and South Asia needs to be further examined.

Since political marketing is a global case hence universities in various countries can collaborate and share the relevant knowledge and practices to enhance the marketing skills of their students. This chapter aims to suggest such a collaboration between Australian and Pakistani Universities to improve the deep learning of marketing students by cross-studying the case of success and failure in politics. The population was limited as students could be interviewed in two Australian and two Pakistani Universities. Interviews were conducted on relevant campuses, hence restricting their open thoughts. This chapter presents a qualitative study conducted on university students in both countries analysing their deep learning skills based on their application of the marketing theory to the political parties and leaders in their respective countries.

Vlosky and Wilson (2020) specified that technology has changed the way of teaching with new methods emerging regularly and claiming to be a revolution in teaching and learning. Specific studies conducted on technology used by marketing students indicated that students appreciate technological sources as being significant for business professionals, with comparatively lesser benefits for their abilities at obtaining knowledge in real world marketing (Nix, 2021; Vlosky & Wilson, 2020). The observation and structure of the interviews with university students were embedded in the education literature on surface and deep learning approaches as well as critical and imaginative thinking. The recommendations of this exercise were linked with two different labels associated with the ‘performances of understanding’ of students in the class (Biggs, 2003, p.36). Firstly, the SOLO (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome) taxonomy developed by Biggs and Tang (2007); and secondly, the five teaching approaches specified by Trigwell, Prosser and Waterhouse (1999).