About Us

Our History

The Marketing Development Programme is the commercial title for the MSc. Marketing Practice in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

The MDP was founded by Professor Anthony Cunningham in 1983. Since then it has grown in reputation to become one of the country’s most highly regarded postgraduate courses, with a diverse network of highly successful alumni.

The MDP Offices

The MDP operates in an office facility all year round. The office is open from 9.00-17.30 Monday to Friday and is equipped to facilitate in-house meetings. It is located on campus in Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

There are two intakes of advisors each year; one in September and one in February, with each advisor remaining on the programme for 11 months. The dual intake ensures that the high standard of work produced is consistent all year round.

We work closely alongside experienced professional consultants to ensure that high quality is always achieved. Elaine Malcom, former director of Lansdowne Market Research, oversees each stage of every market research project.

Marketing Advisors

Through working on commercial projects and gaining practical experience, the programme aims to develop marketing advisors professionally, so as to prepare them for future marketing and management roles while offering clients an excellent quality of work. Our advisors are selectively chosen during an intensive multi-stage interview process. There is a diversity of nationalities, backgrounds and gender present in the team.

The client understands that marketing advisors are provided with the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge in a business environment. As such, it is a learning experience for the advisors in the expectation that the work produced will be of substantial benefit to the client. A learning discount is offered to allow for this. As a result, we offer competitive pricing to all our clients.

The team works closely with managers and market research consultants throughout the various stages of the project. Alongside this, the personalised service allows clients to be involved at every stage of the process.