Anastasiia Ilicheva
2019 International Business Management BSc graduate Anastasiia is Head of PR, Marketing & Business Development at DIBA in London, UK.
Interview
Since graduating, what have you gone on to do?
Since graduating in July 2019, I have been doing some Social Media Marketing freelance within different industries. When I’ve found my strong interest in blockchain and crypto space, I’ve started my career path at World Blockchain Hackathon as Partnerships Marketing Manager and has progressed to the position of Co-Founder and COO. At World Blockchain Hackathon, I’ve been co-hosting virtual global blockchain focused hackathons – Babylon Project.
Since then, I have also started to work as Social Media Marketing Manager at Domineum, and as PR and Social Media Marketing Manager at DIBA.
As part of my roles, my responsibilities include but are not limited to: Partnerships Marketing, Sponsorship Closures, Social Media Marketing Management, Social Media Content Creation, Campaigns Strategy Creation and Execution, Email Marketing, Human Resource Management, Press Releases Outsourcing, Panel Talks Organisation & Moderation, PR, and Market Research.
Is the above what you planned to do before starting university?
I knew that I will be working within Marketing Department, but I was mainly considering fashion industry for my career. My interest in FinTech space started after I’ve graduated from the University.
What was your favourite thing about your course?
My favourite thing about the course was the broad variety of disciplines covering different areas of Marketing and Management departments, and allowing you to explore your areas of interest. I was also excited that we had an opportunity to choose Consultancy Project as an analogue to the dissertation.
Did you complete a placement/year abroad/summer internship during your time at Newcastle?
Unfortunately, I’ve missed on this opportunities since I was an International Student and Visa Regulations were limiting access to some of the options.
What extra-curricular activities or societies were you involved with during your time here?
I was a Course Representative during my first year at the University. During my second and third years, I was working part-time in retail, exploring freelance and completing online courses.
How do you see future technologies and new ways of working (future of work) affecting your sector?
In my sector, I would say that Traditional Marketing was fully replaced with Digital & Social Media Marketing. Also, platforms such as Twitter, TikTok and Instagram allow companies to find potential customers organically due to the specifics of algorithms. And I’m also looking forward to exploring new Marketing practices within Metaverses and Augmented Realities.
Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
It’s hard to say since I’m involved into emerging technologies market, but I know that I still will be highly involved into Blockchain, NFT and Crypto industries, and I do hope that my DE&I initiatives with Babylon Project Hackathons will have a strong influence on the FinTech Industry in general. I also think that I will start my own Start-Up within this period of time.
I would recommend everyone to network as much as possible during university and to be open to all opportunities.