CARLOW, Ireland: It’s a job that didn’t exist until recently but becoming an influencer is an ever more popular career path among Gen-Z youth in the modern era of social media. Now a first-of-its-kind course at an Irish university is teaching wannabe influencers how to convert online presence and content on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube into revenue streams. "Influencing is something that's catching fire," course director Irene McCormick told AFP at South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow, an hour's drive southwest from the capital Dublin.
The idea grew out of a summer crash course "Digital Hustle" launched by McCormick that was taught by TikTokers and attracted 350 applicants for 30 places. "It got amazing traction, we could see the appetite for more, so we broadened it to degree level," said McCormick, a former television producer and director. After two years of development the course – a four-year-long bachelor's degree in "Content Creation and Social Media" – received accreditation and welcomed its first intake of 15 students last month.
On the state-of-the-art campus, students chatted, took selfies and scrolled their social media feeds on smartphones during a break between classes. "My friends tell me I talk a lot so I thought I might as well make money out of it and try this course," Harry Odife, 22, told AFP in the campus TV studio during a roleplay exercise. Most of the students are already immersed in the digital space or worki.