Vikrant Mansera. Senior Social Media Manager at OKX and MSc Digital Marketing Graduate at Maynooth University

We spoke to Vikrant about his journey from working in India’s fast-moving crypto and Web3 space to studying MSc Digital Marketing at Maynooth University, and how that experience shaped his career in global social media and digital strategy.

“In India, I was working in the fast-moving world of crypto, fintech, and Web3 marketing. Before coming to Maynooth University, I had worked with Crypto.com and several other crypto and Web3 organisations, creating social media campaigns, managing communities, and managing content strategies for global audiences. It was an exciting industry to be in, but as I started growing into more senior roles, I began to feel a gap.

I had never formally studied marketing. Most of what I knew came from experience, instinct, testing, and learning on the job. That helped me move fast, but when I began interacting with senior leadership and contributing to more strategic discussions, I realised I needed a stronger academic foundation. Fintech and crypto companies move extremely quickly. Trends change overnight, user attention is difficult to capture, and brands are constantly expected to create sharp, timely, and viral campaigns. I wanted to study under experienced, research-driven, and data-driven professors who could help elevate my strategic thinking and strengthen my competence as a digital marketing professional.

Another important reason I chose Maynooth University was its openness towards AI. With AI becoming such an important part of modern marketing, I wanted to learn in an environment that did not treat AI as something separate from education, but as a tool that can improve my efficiency and research. This was one of the unique things about my experience at Maynooth. Professors not only embraced AI, but also encouraged us to think about how it can be used in marketing departments for research, social media, community building, SEO, AEO, campaign planning, and data analysis.

My time at Maynooth University was extremely practical and closely connected to real corporate work. A major part of the learning came through group projects, reports, presentations, and working on real-life business challenges for companies and public service departments based in Ireland. These projects replicated the kind of workstreams we see in professional environments: understanding a problem, conducting research, analysing data, building recommendations, preparing reports, and presenting ideas clearly. It helped me become more structured, more confident, and more comfortable working in teams under deadlines.

Today, I work as a Senior Social Media Manager at OKX, where I support product marketing teams in running digital marketing campaigns for OKX’s crypto products across Europe. I also manage campaigns for major global partners, including Manchester City and the McLaren Formula 1 Team. The role is extremely fast-paced, creative, and data-driven. The Social Media, SEO, Digital Campaign Strategy, and Data-driven Marketing modules at Maynooth prepared me well for this environment. They helped me combine creativity with structure, instinct with evidence, and speed with strategy.

Maynooth also supported me beyond the classroom. The Head of the School of Business, Professor Joseph Coughlan, was tremendously helpful when I faced blockages related to paperwork for my Stamp 1G visa process. His timely support helped me clear those challenges and secure my employment right on time. For me, that reflected the kind of guidance and care Maynooth offers to students, not only academically, but also during important career transitions.”

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