Leo Burnett welcomes 20 more students into the Lynx Academy
Promising creative stars of the future participate in the 6th annual Leo Burnett Lynx Academy
Dubai, UAE, March 10, 2014: As part of the prestigious Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity, 20 of the Middle East and North Africa’s most promising advertising students have been inducted into the Leo Burnett Lynx Academy. Now in its sixth year, the Academy – a collaboration between Leo Burnett and Dubai Lynx – will run alongside the Festival from March 9-11, during which time the students will work with one of the region’s leading creative agencies.
The students enrolled in the Academy will be mentored by Leo Burnett Dubai, gaining an invaluable insight into the real world of advertising. They will learn the value of communication and the way in which creative work can be used to change and modify human behaviour, in line with Leo Burnett’s HumanKind philosophy.
Under the guidance of Leo Burnett Dubai’s mentors, the students will be separated into teams to fulfil a brief, with the winning one receiving the Leo Burnett HumanKind Award at the end of the Academy.
“The participants in the Leo Burnett Lynx Academy represent the future of our industry, and must be nurtured from this early stage in order to not only encourage them to reach their full potential, but to provide them with a valuable insight into our dynamic industry,” said Raja Trad, CEO, Leo Burnett Group MENA. “Over the past 6 years, our team has mentored 80 promising students, several of which have since joined our team. The Academy is a vital springboard for launching new talent, and we are proud to be part of it.”
One of the Leo Burnett Lynx Academy graduates who went on to join the agency in Dubai is Ivanka Fernandez, who is currently working as a Junior Communications Executive. “At first I was overwhelmed that I would be participating in the Academy with students from all over the region, but those three days were probably the best days of my life,” said Ivanka. “I learnt so much, the workshops were really helpful – I probably learnt more about advertising from the Academy than I did in my 4 years at uni! It was very insightful, and very helpful to have actual professionals talk to me about the field.”
