Digital Asset Management

The aim of the MADAM programme is to prepare students for future development and innovation in society and business that rely increasingly upon the effective management and exploitation of a wide range of complex digital information and knowledge. Managing this digital information is presenting significant challenges for organisations and as a consequence there is an increasing demand for professionals with expertise in digital asset management. The MA in Digital Asset Management responds to this demand for digitally literate professionals to work in education and heritage institutions as well as wider industry by equipping students with a range of strategic, technical and practical skills to provide direction and leadership in this area.

There are very few institutions of any size and in any area of activity that do not create and depend on the management, exploitation and long-term preservation of digital assets.

There are important considerations of curatorial and technical standards that arise throughout the 'digital resource life-cycle', from creation through management, access and dissemination to long-term preservation. These considerations and this life-cycle are the core subject matter of the MA programme in Digital Asset Management. We want students to acquire a great deal of practical knowledge, but even more we want them to develop their critical and reflective capacities, and to acquire an understanding of the inter-dependence between the developments in digital processes, technology and curatorial practice.

The MA takes a comparative and interdisciplinary approach requiring students to explore and critically assess competing theories and practices from across library, archival, information science, and e-research thus providing a well-rounded understanding of the requirements across domains. Recent years have seen an explosion in the volume, complexity and range of digital content, often referred to as a data deluge or data tsunami, whilst government speaks of the digital economy as the engine of growth.

Reasons you should consider the MA in Digital Asset Management are:

• Cultural heritage organisations are digitising and making available digital materials relating to our history and culture.
• Archives and libraries are increasingly receiving born digital materials.
• Businesses rely on digital data and content to develop, run and manage their future prosperity.
• Research managers and data scientists work with large volumes of digital data, running experiments, simulations and visualisations.
• Employers are looking for skilled professionals with knowledge and expertise in managing these valuable digital assets.