Opportunity for Students to meet Ad Industry Professionals

The International Advertising Association offered students a special opportunity to meet ad industry professionals and gain career entry preparation at its 2014 Apprentice Conference. Local as well as regional and international advertising students traveled to the two day event held on Nov 7^th and 8^th at the Emirates Aviation College. Christine Dias, third year student in the Media Programme represented the University at the conference and attended presentations by speakers  and panelists representing a who’s who of the ad industry. These included Jake Thomas, CEO MENA, LinkedIn, Rayan Karaky, Agency Head of Google, Nassib Boueri CEO MENA, Wunderman as well as others from the BBC Wordwide, AGA ADK, Facebook, and the MBC Group. Speakers provided a view of the employment landscape from the perspective of the media, media agencies, technology firms, creative agencies and the client side. Interactive workshop presentations focused on how to interview and personal branding in the recruitment process.

The IAA UAE Chapter is the largest IAA chapter in the world, reflecting the dynamic growth of the regional marketing and marketing communications industries. Current membership includes over 150 companies in the MarComm industry. According to presenter Diane Slade from Perth’s Edith Cowan University who also serves as the IAA’s Vice President of Learning, “The IAA has pioneered a global dialogue between the classroom and the workplace, through its accreditation membership, case-history competitions and focus on young professionals. …”  By attending the conference, Christine was able to network with students from countries such as France, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Australia. MDX Media Programme faculty, Dr. Lucyann Kerry also attended the conference meeting with industry professionals and ad students. All students who had signed up for the event were also benefited with IAA’s Young Professional membership.