Sheikh Mohammed launches New Media Academy in Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the New Media Academy in Dubai on Monday that aims to address the needs of those within the field of digital marketing.

“Today, we launched the New Media Academy to nurture a new generation of digital experts. Our goal is to equip young people to lead the rapidly growing social media landscape,” tweeted Sheikh Mohammed.

“The academy will train media professionals in the public and private sector and develop professional social media influencers. The new media provides job opportunities and supports the development process,” added Sheikh Mohammed.

Today, we launched the New Media Academy to nurture a new generation of digital experts. Our goal is to equip young people to lead the rapidly growing social media landscape. pic.twitter.com/wojyLOZDX0

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) June 15, 2020

Through digital masterclasses, the academy will provide a broad range of career-oriented educational programmes to nurture social media content creators, reported official news agency WAM.

The custom-designed curriculum is developed by experts in social media and digital marketing including Duke University’s Matt Bailey, among the world’s most sought-after internet marketing expert; Juan Pablo Sanchez, Masterclass Educator at top 10 digital programmes; and Caleb Gardner, the former US President Barack Obama’s lead digital strategist.

Other prominent individuals associated with the academy include Neil Patel, named a top web influencer by the Wall Street Journal; Tim Ash, regarded as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under 35 by the United Nations; Justin Odisho, a major YouTuber and podcaster; Jacob Riglin, a popular global photographer; and Peter Mckinnon, YouTube star and online instructor of photography, cinematography and editing.

Instructors also include representatives from Facebook, Twitter, Google and LinkedIn.

Participants must complete 190 hours of learning to graduate from the programmes that will cover the five modules of digital media strategy, content creation to maximise digital presence, content distribution to strengthen engagement, audience engagement, and analytics.

The student journey will consist of 110 hours of classroom instruction, 30 hours of e-learning, 15 hours of expert talks and 35 hours of projects.

The academy will address three key needs of talent development, capacity building and future readiness in the region.

Interactive classes, presented in online masterclass formats, will promote “open learning” techniques to encourage students to combine theoretical study with practical applications.

The New Media Academy will commence its course on July 7, 2020 with interactive online masterclasses in digital marketing, social media and content creation open to full-time employees and international students.

The academy will offer the Impact Digital Creator Programme that aims to train 20 social media content creators per batch and help them develop into full-time content creators.

The 2-month programme, spread over a wider three-year Talent Development strategy, will provide customised curriculum for students to carefully follow up their progress and to help hone their digital skills.

The Social Media Management Development programme meanwhile will launch on August 2, 2020, and aims to upgrade digital skills of 100 full-time media professionals in both the public and private sector, per batch.

Upon completion, graduates will receive an internationally accredited certificate issued in the UAE.

Additional programmes will also be subsequently added to the academy’s curriculum.

Interested participants can pre-register for both the upcoming programmes on www.newmediaacademy.ae.